Everyone keeps tortoises a little differently. This is in part because we all live in different parts of the country and often have different living situations. Apartment vs. a several acre ranch, for example. Doesn't make one person's way right and another's wrong. Often multiple ways will yield positive results.
On that note, I wish to share my thoughts and experiences with intentionally feeding smaller amounts and skipping occasional days with the intention of growing them slowly. First of all, I'm primarily speaking about "desert" species of tortoises. I have no idea how any of this applies to forest torts or any of the Testudo genus.
I used to advocate this very thing and practiced it for more than a decade with sulcatas, leopards and a few others. The idea was to simulate the less than ideal food supply conditions presumably found in nature. This, in theory, was supposed to help them grow dense healthy bone and help to prevent pyramiding. In fact, what it produced for me was small, stunted, tortoises that still pyramided anyway. My adult male sulcatas will be 13 years old in just a few months and they are 43 and 48 pounds at the last weigh in. This is way below normal. They certainly grew slowly, but I don't think it had any positive effects on their health.
By contrast, I now feed my younger sulcatas, leopards and other species a big pile of stuff each day or let them graze as much as they want in an outdoor pen on warm days. They eat A LOT more than any of my older torts ever did. All of them are growing very smoothly and show every indication of being very healthy. They are all growing at a nice, steady rate that compares more with "normal" for their respective species. I believe a big reason for this is the drastic change in my husbandry style from dry to wet.
My point is that as long as housing conditions are correct, underfeeding serves no useful purpose. It does not make their shells healthier and it does not make them grow smoother. If they are housed and cared for correctly, they grow very healthy and smooth when you let them decide how much they need to eat. Understand, I'm not advocating FAST growth, I'm just saying that its fine to let the little buggers eat. I would make an adjustment if an adult tort were showing signs of obesity or some other problem, but otherwise, I let them eat. In other words, I see no reason to force less than ideal conditions upon them. They can survive less than ideal conditions in nature and in captivity, but why should we force this upon them if they grow in a very healthy way when we provide the right conditions AND an ample supply of the right foods. This is the same reason why so many people keep the babies too dry. They can survive less than ideal most of the time, and we think that its dry where they come from, so we're going to give them less than ideal conditions in captivity too. I know better now. Yes they can SURVIVE less than ideal conditions, including a limited food supply, but why should we intentionally inflict this upon them when they THRIVE in IDEAL conditions, to include an ample supply of appropriate food.
I know what they are capable of surviving. Now I'm in the process of learning how much healthier they are when I provide optimal conditions including an optimal food supply.
On that note, I wish to share my thoughts and experiences with intentionally feeding smaller amounts and skipping occasional days with the intention of growing them slowly. First of all, I'm primarily speaking about "desert" species of tortoises. I have no idea how any of this applies to forest torts or any of the Testudo genus.
I used to advocate this very thing and practiced it for more than a decade with sulcatas, leopards and a few others. The idea was to simulate the less than ideal food supply conditions presumably found in nature. This, in theory, was supposed to help them grow dense healthy bone and help to prevent pyramiding. In fact, what it produced for me was small, stunted, tortoises that still pyramided anyway. My adult male sulcatas will be 13 years old in just a few months and they are 43 and 48 pounds at the last weigh in. This is way below normal. They certainly grew slowly, but I don't think it had any positive effects on their health.
By contrast, I now feed my younger sulcatas, leopards and other species a big pile of stuff each day or let them graze as much as they want in an outdoor pen on warm days. They eat A LOT more than any of my older torts ever did. All of them are growing very smoothly and show every indication of being very healthy. They are all growing at a nice, steady rate that compares more with "normal" for their respective species. I believe a big reason for this is the drastic change in my husbandry style from dry to wet.
My point is that as long as housing conditions are correct, underfeeding serves no useful purpose. It does not make their shells healthier and it does not make them grow smoother. If they are housed and cared for correctly, they grow very healthy and smooth when you let them decide how much they need to eat. Understand, I'm not advocating FAST growth, I'm just saying that its fine to let the little buggers eat. I would make an adjustment if an adult tort were showing signs of obesity or some other problem, but otherwise, I let them eat. In other words, I see no reason to force less than ideal conditions upon them. They can survive less than ideal conditions in nature and in captivity, but why should we force this upon them if they grow in a very healthy way when we provide the right conditions AND an ample supply of the right foods. This is the same reason why so many people keep the babies too dry. They can survive less than ideal most of the time, and we think that its dry where they come from, so we're going to give them less than ideal conditions in captivity too. I know better now. Yes they can SURVIVE less than ideal conditions, including a limited food supply, but why should we intentionally inflict this upon them when they THRIVE in IDEAL conditions, to include an ample supply of appropriate food.
I know what they are capable of surviving. Now I'm in the process of learning how much healthier they are when I provide optimal conditions including an optimal food supply.