[split] a good manufactured diet?

[Tommy777]

hey all, new to the forum but have been a long time lurker.... thought it was time to come out into the light

I just purchased 3 separate main stream companies tortoise food. not treats but the food they are able to live on.

Why are the first ingredients always Corn and soybean hulls. I get it that they are super cheap to produce but I've never seen corn fields where my torts are from anyone recommend a good daily feed? not a junk one.

Yes my guys get fresh veggies and weeds and flowers etc. But I want something very good to give them as their backup food after consuming fresh stuff.

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi tommy777, and welcome to the Forum!

A lot of us here on the Forum use Mazuri Tortoise Diet. Are you in the States? If so, you can buy it at any feed store that sells Purina products, or do a search in the For Sale section for members who sell it.

There are a couple of others that you can buy in pet stores, but because I don't use them, I have forgotten their names. But you're correct in assuming that corn as the first ingredient probably would not be the food of choice to buy.

 

[Katherine]

What kind of tortoises are you trying to feed? I use and happy with Mazuri as mentioned; but I also only feed it supplementally. I'm a big fan of Zoomed foods if you're feeding it as a more major portion of the diet as their products generally have more native/natural ingredient bases. I only know this to be the case for their grassland diets but might be worth looking into if you're trying to get away from all the products heavy with corn and soy.

 

[mainey34]

Mazuri and zoo med are the two that I use..

 

[Tommy777]

Hi guys and thank you for the warm welcome Yes I am in the states, southern FL. I have mostly Sulcatas and Aldabras. Fresh grasses and hays, and greens are their major foods but I want to give them a commercial feed in there as a backup for when they are done with their main food but might still be hungry.

Why are you guys all crazy about Mazuri? Have you ever read the ingredients?

Mazuri ingredients:
Ground Soybean Hulls, Ground Corn, Dehulled Soybean Meal, Soybean Oil, Alfalfa meal...

Corn? what? Alfalfa? the stuff which is high in protein (18%) low in fiber and not suitable as a main hay type.... much better grasses out there lower in protein.

I don't feed my dog corn and pigs hooves (most commercial dog foods)
so I won't feed my tort food like this either

I have yet to find any commercial Tort feed that has it right. If anyone finds one please let us know

 

[Falcon70]

Although there are many good commercial diets, remember that most of the time they should be supplemented by fresh food.

I use the diet from Turtle Source (I'm pretty sure it's very similar to Mazuri) and Zoomed Grassland.

Zoomed:
Sun cured oat hay
Timothy hay
Soybean hulls
Wheat middlings
Alfalfa meal
Ground wheat
Escarole
Endive
Calcium carbonate
......
Dried dandelion greens

So this food has no corn in it and is grasslike in texture, so just mix it with chopped lettuce or weeds even Mazuri and your tortoise will love it

 

[Yvonne G]

I started using Mazuri as a supplement because I read of its history. It was invented for the Galapagos tortoises at the zoo. And since I'm only using it to supplement the grazing that my tortoises do, I feel it is a good thing.

 

[Katherine]

Why are you guys all crazy about Mazuri? Have you ever read the ingredients?

I have read the ingredients (as I would hope anyone feeding has) and I have the hang ups about them that you do. I began feeding Mazuri a long time ago; initially because it is the feed of choice in most zoos but I continue to use it as a supplement today because I personally have raised many a healthy tortoise with Mazuri included in their diet. I agree that it has unnecessary components and some skewed protein ratios but it had never caused a health issue for any of my tortoises and I have been using it monthly or bimonthly for years. I also like it because if ever I need to medicate or give calcium supplements to a tortoise it easy for me to add those things to soaked Mazuri and save my fingers from trying to 'pill' a large disgruntled tortoise. Again; I would not advocate using this as an exclusive diet, my tortoises are able to graze and have access to native weeds and greens as their primary diet but in my experience it has worked well the way I'm using it.

Zoomed also uses soybean hulls but in general their "recipe" is preferable in my opinion but unfortunately they do not sell their products in a volume large enough to make it feasible for me use this as my supplemental food. Too many mouths to feed! If I found a pelleted died with all natural ingredients that still produced healthy tortoises for me and was available to purchase in bulk I would certainly give it a go but so far Mazuri is just what I have had the most success with for the above reasons.

In South Florida you have a great climate to grow a lot of healthy tortoise food yourself if you're concerned about the processed pelleted diets I am not really trying to "defend" Mazuri as product based on its ingredients, I know no tortoise goes to the market in Sudan and orders up a dish of this stuff, just letting you know why I feel comfortable to recommend it supplementally and why I don't loose any sleep over feeding it to my own tortoises.

 

[yagyujubei]

Wow, your logic is perfect. Since humans evolved in Africa, I'm sure that you must eat a completely African diet yourself. MMMMM wildebeest! So natural.

 

[Tom]

Katherine, The ZooMed Grassland Tortoise chow is available in 50 lb. bags. I have been running through one for months now. I've actually been using it a lot more lately. All summer long I was growing a ton of my own food and didn't need any additional food. Now that winter is here, my planted stuff has slowed down to barely a crawl and I'm producing a lot less. Trimmed grass that regrew in 3 days in summer, now takes 3 weeks to come back. Since the winter rains have not yet come to get the weeds growing, I am at a transitional point where I need to supplement their feedings more.

Tommy, while the ingredients list for Mazuri impresses no one, thousands upon thousands of tortoise keepers of many species ARE impressed with the results of feeding it. Nobody NEEDS Mazuri but everyone who does use it agrees that it is a worthwhile supplement to a varied tortoise diet. I feed it twice a week to all of my tortoises, and I consider it a well balanced supplement that insures that there is adequate protein (YES protein) as well as all the myriad trace elements and nutrients that COULD be missing from any homegrown or farm grown diet depending on the soil, growing methods, or even time of year. In other words, Mazuri fills any nutritional gaps that might be present.

 

[StudentoftheReptile]

For my redfoots, I offer a mixture of Mazuri & ZooMed that is about 25% of their diet.

For my sulcata, it is mostly back-up reserve diet in case I am ever short on fresh produce or grasses.

 

[Tom]

Wow, your logic is perfect. Since humans evolved in Africa, I'm sure that you must eat a completely African diet yourself. MMMMM wildebeest! So natural.

Have you tasted wildebeest? Its really gamey. My least favorite African meat so far...

 

[Yvonne G]

50lbs of the Zoo Med is $145, while Mazuri is only $25.

 

[Katherine]

If anyone can link me/ tell me/pm me where I could purchase zoomed in 50lb bags I would appreciate it

 

[Tim/Robin]

If anyone can link me/ tell me/pm me where I could purchase zoomed in 50lb bags I would appreciate it

You can get it here at LLL Reptile.
http://lllreptile.com/store/catalog...s/-/zoo-med-50-pound-grassland-tortoise-diet/

---

50lbs of the Zoo Med is $145, while Mazuri is only $25.

While certainly there is a price difference, remember Mazuri is 25lb bags, not 50.

 

[BillTex]

Does anyone have experience with Chaffhaye? They have a grassland mix as well as an alfalfa that looks interesting. While I feed my guys lots of opuntias and high quality greens, in the winter when I have them inside, I worry about them getting enough fiber.

What about low-protein alfalfa pellets (rehydrated of course) as a supplement. My sister-in-law raises goats and she says that alfalfa pellets are available with different minimum protein contents.

The gang: Iberas, stars, and leopards.