Should I be concerned ?

[Tony the tank]

Well it's been almost 3 month since the big guys have been inside for the winter... They all seem to be doing fine...except I have noticed Tony(9 YOA) appetite has diminished.... For the last month he only eats about 2 cups of mazuri and a head of romaine a day...That is significantly less than what he use to put down..He is normal in every way otherwise.. Always pacing and very friendly.

Temps are kept at 85 -90 during he day(basking spot of 110).. UVB bulb is megaray with lots of UVB output.. Night temps stay 75-78 with an occasional dip to 72... He never drinks from a bowl but he gets soaked every 2 weeks and gets a 1/2 a watermelon the week he doesn't get soaked for added hydration..

I have tried switching up his diet..to see if he is bored.. The only thing that he realy will chow down on now is carrots..

I also want to add that he will only eat just before lights out..(the lights are set on timers to simulate dusk and dawn).. He will not touch any of his food until the basking lights are off and the first series of overhead lighting shuts off simulating dusk..

Thoughts? opinion??

 

[Zamric]

WOW, 2 cups of Mazuri and a head of romain a day! and that is when he's NOT eating?

WalkingRock gets 1 cup of Mazuri and a bunch of greens daily but only during the summer months. In the Winter he hardly eats at all and wont even touch the Mazuri when its cool outside. It doesn't matter if he's in the house or outside, at this time of the year he slows WAY down and refuses to eat. This time of the year, I also have to force him to soak! This isn't so bad when I heat the water to about 105* and put his pool in the sun. This is also the only consistant time he will eat at this time of the yearn (after his soaking).

 

[Tony the tank]

Zamric.. His normal feeding is 3 heads of romaine , a bundle of collards, 2 lg carrots and 2-3 cups mazuri...so you can probably see my concern...

I thought it could be a season thing...but my other sulcatas are still putting it down.. My big female eats like a horse..This morning she was fed 3 heads romaine, 2 bundles of collards, one bundle of kale , two pieces of corn and she grazes on all the mazuri she wants all day

(Also let me elaborate on what a bundle is....The produce centre ties them in bundles of a little over 1.5lbs then packs them into cases)

I'm wondering If I'm over feeding?

 

[Jacob]

My Sulcata Hasn't Had As Much As An Appetite This Winter, Either! Yet, He Still Is Active and Normal In Just About Every-way Other Then His Appetite.

 

[SulcataSquirt]

Just from what i have read on here of other members feeding their big sulcatas that seems like an awful lot of food for him. although most just allow to graze and then give some mazuri. thats not your case since they are inside for the winter. what he is eating sounds like enough not to be worried tho. maybe cut the mazuri down to a cup and let him eat as much greens as he wants. Just a thought you could always skip a day, then try his normal amount and see if he eats it all.

 

[Brittany6]

Whoa that's ALOT of food!!! These must be full sized Sullies!!! Wow!! I never imagined they would eat that much in a day!!!

 

[Laura]

i think his diet is giving him a belly ache.. he needs fiber.. hay...grass... are you mixing it with the veggies so he 'accidently' has to eat some when he eats the stuff he wants?

 

[Zamric]

IMHO... "YES" you are over feeding. I almost ALWAYS say you can't overfeed a Sulcata but in this case I would suggest less store bought veggies and more hay and grasses. I think they are eating what you put out just because its there. OVER 70% of a Sulcatas diet should be grass and weeds. All those other veggies are OK, but not as a staple part of their Diet. mazuri is the same way, it good for them but shouldn't be a MAJOR part of their diet, just an add-on so to speak.

 

[Tony the tank]

I feed them on there substrate which is hay..I know they eat quite a bit of hay because its in there poop...tony has put on close to 5lbs in the last 45days..

 

[Zamric]

Im sorry, I said you might be overfeeding, but I never asked about their size. How big are these big eaters? If they are over 100lbs you might be feeding just the right amount tho you could use more grass and weeds.

 

[Tony the tank]

Bare with me ..my memory is poor..Tony is around 65lbs..Tiny is around 70 and the young lady which I weighed this morning is 79-81 lbs..They all seem to be putting on a lot of weight quickly ... both the males new growth lines on the plaston are about an inch Thick..should this be a concern?

 

[Zamric]

Bare with me ..my memory is poor..Tony is around 65lbs..Tiny is around 70 and the young lady which I weighed this morning is 79-81 lbs..They all seem to be putting on a lot of weight quickly ... both the males new growth lines on the plaston are about an inch Thick..should this be a concern?

ok.... now I'll say it... Thats still ALOT of veggies but not as bad as I was thinking. WalkingRock is 75-80lbs but has a big yard and lots of veriety on grasses year round.

 

[Katherine]

Definitely wouldn't be concerned about reduced appetite. I have some of similar sizes and a bit larger and most of them slow down significantly in the cooler months. It has never proved to be a problem. My crazy females lay eggs all winter so their appetite usually doesn't drop much but they are the exception. ***** Off topic I know but WOW I can not believe they eat so much! Mine all have access to limitless grass so it's hard for me to judge how much they actually eat in a day but I feel confident that if I offered that much food to a single tortoise daily it would not disappear every day. Do yours graze in addition to all that? An inch does sound wide to me, but I also do not measure growth in my adults, my males are growing right now too so I will try to pay attention to how much just for comparisons sake.