Slowdown lil fella! More food will come.

[Waltumus]

So I've seen the care sheets on what to feed your sully, but this is more about routine and amount. In his outdoor enclosure (24×16 feet) which is pretty big for a 8 incher. He has access to cuttlebone, hibiscus, grape vine, crab grass, st.augustine, chickweed, clover, bermuda....etc. He has access to this stuff everyday. Then twice a week (tuesday and saturday)I give him a plate in the morning of half mazuri and half grass land zoomed. On tuesday I chop up a lil spineless prickly pear with the food and saturday I sprinkle a little calcium and reptivite on the food mixed with a little bit of dark leafy greens. What I'm aiming for is that slow sustainable growth. I'm always afraid of over feeding and it's just very hard on the body. On those two meals he gets, I give him enough to eat till he's full and rarely leaves any behind. My question is should I give him the turtle chow more often maybe 3 or 4 times a week? He always gives me that look like "I want some" on his off days. Or should I just leave as is.

P.S.
He gets soaks 2 times a week in a kiddie pool and a giant terracotta saucer gets clean water everyday. I also spray his enclosure down as well everyday. I will increase the enclosure to (70×70 feet) when he gets a little bigger.

 

[Waltumus]

I like this pic

 

[Tom]

I can tell from reading your post that you've been reading some of the old outdated care info. We used to say things like: "Fast growth is bad", "Protein causes pyramiding", "They get all the water they need from their food", "If you don't keep them dry and on dry substrate, they will get shell rot or a respiratory infection", etc… All of these things are false.

I don't try to make my tortoises grow fast or slow. I feed them the right foods, which is what you are doing too, keep them hydrated, and house them correctly. They grow however fast they grow, and they all grow at different rates, even when they are clutch mates that hatched together and have been fed and cared for identically.

Also, your enclosure size is certainly adequate (384 sq. ft.), but I prefer bigger. I house my 5"+ juveniles in something 30x30 (900 sq. ft.) or larger if possible. Sulcatas like to roam, and the more space you give them, the better. My adult enclosure is 7000 sq. ft. and they roam every inch of it.

 

[Waltumus]

Thanks @Tom, I was worried about over feeding as far as hard on the digestive system. I will definitely get that enclosure bigger sometime within the next couple of weeks. If I give him the full back yard it will be 4900 sqft, which I was thinking should be enough for 1 adult male. but I just read 1 adult needs a acre of land. Will 4900 sqft be neglectful or adequate for him alone?

 

[Pearly]

Hi there! It's great to see when people actually take their time to research proper diets for their pets and really put some effort into their. Nutritional status. I think lot of it has to do with personal comfort level. For me there's no "overfeeding" as long as the food items being offered are what their bodies need to be healthy. I feed my babies twice a day and ALWAYS put more food down than what they can manage. There's always some left over food. I always swap the flat rocks out with clean/full ones. The only time there's no food there is at night when the lights are out but even then there're all the plants, pillbugs, earthworms... I could really say, that my babies are never starving, but they always eagerly come to me at each feeding time. One of them was not eating at the beginning and I was seriously worried he'd be one of those failed hatchlings and we'd lose him, so I'm just thrilled to see him eat and grow now. The other one always loved to eat and she still does and even with her great appetite I don't see her soft fleshy body parts bulging out of the shell. She seems to be growing just the way she should be. She's strong, active, outgoing and healthy. I took both of them for a well check to our tort vet and the both got great report on their health, growth and development. This is just my 2 cents from the very limited experience of the past 12 months with my baby RF's, first reptiles ever

 

[Waltumus]

Thanks @Pearly, that's great you have the ability to save that Lil RF's life. I agree nutrition is so important. Animals aren't going to trhive on cookie cutter diets. They need a range of different nutritional needs.

 

[Speedy-1]

I like to always leave Speedy a little more than he can eat , if he is awake he has food and water available . I feed him Mazuri pellets , covered with a pile of chopped and soaked hay every 3rd day . I have never used calcium suppliments , he eats grape leaves , and cactus , and always has cuttlebone available . I do sprinkle crushed up egg shell over his food every so often !