zoo med tort food

[shanekm2003]

hi just tried some : zoo med "natural" grassland tortoise food
crude protein 9%
crude fat2%
crude fibre 26%
calcium 0.9-1.3%
phosphorus 0.4%
sodium0.3%

soaked in water and my two hermans luv it!
im not gonna use it as main food source but maybe a small ammount every other day mixed in with leaves (dandelion , water cress and other weeds)
what do u think of the zoo med stuff , good or bad ?
thanks

 

[Millerlite]

I think the grassland stuff is pretty good. I use it but most of my tortoises wont eat the stuff. lol. i still over it and they do bite at it every now and then, but not eating a lot of it yet. Its good healthy food and nothing wrong with it. I always did believe in variety, but the grassland food is better then a lot of things

 

[Isa]

Is it as healty for the torts as the mazuri?

 

[Crazy1]

Mazuri
Crude protein not less then…….. 15.0%
Crude fat not less than…………….. 3.0%
Crude fiber not more than………. 18.0%
Calcium (Ca) not less than……….. 0.95%
Calcium (Ca) not more than……… 1.45%
Phosphorus (P) not less than……. 0.60%
Sodium (Na) not more than……… 0.60%
Sodium (Na not less than…….…... 0.10%
Vitamin E not less than……………. 330 IU/lb

Check the Mazuri site at www.Mazuri.com for more info

 

[Isa]

Mazuri
Crude protein not less then…….. 15.0%
Crude fat not less than…………….. 3.0%
Crude fiber not more than………. 18.0%
Calcium (Ca) not less than……….. 0.95%
Calcium (Ca) not more than……… 1.45%
Phosphorus (P) not less than……. 0.60%
Sodium (Na) not more than……… 0.60%
Sodium (Na not less than…….…... 0.10%
Vitamin E not less than……………. 330 IU/lb

Check the Mazuri site at www.Mazuri.com for more info

Thanks Robyn you answered my question

 

[Crazy1]

Not so fast, Commercial diets have been debated by many, but the truth is, I did look further into the ingredients, list of the minerals, etc. here is the sites I went too.
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=6447 click on more information button
http://www.mazuri.com
http://www.zoomed.com/db/products/E...zOjE6IjAiO3M6ODoiU2VhcmNoX3kiO3M6MToiMCI7fQ==

I am currently putting together a table comparing all three. I have not used the "natural" Grassland by Zoo-Med or the Pretty Pets though someone gave me a jar. I have used Mazuri and I do supplement my adult DT with it. But I am not a biologist, nutritionist or any other 'ist' and there are way too many ingredients that are listed that I do not know what they are, let alone how to pronounce them. Even if a food states it has Dandelion in it, it does not tell me how much is in it. It could be the main ingredient or a flake. I am not sold on any commercial diet as the only source of nutrition. That’s just Me, and at this time I am not willing to put my hatchlings up as test subjects. So for now I will use what I am comfortable with which is greens, weeds, flowers, etc. and occasionally Mazuri for the adult DT's.

I think everyone of us as tort Keepers must educate ourselves by reading the ingredients, looking at the nutritional values and researching any commercial diets we are thinking about using, then make our own informed decision as to what to feed our torts. What has worked for some may not work for others due to a number of things in the tort environment or genetics.

I truly hope that there is no one out there (and I know there is) that would take someone’s word (as gospel) on the subject of commercial diets for torts without looking into the product themselves.

 

[Isa]

Thanks Robyn
Do not worry, I would never offer a diet based mainly on commercial tortoise food to Hermy, I just wanted to offer him as a suplement once or twice a month. I will go to the USA in May, I will order some mazury there (the shipping cost for Canada is crazy).
Thanks a lot for the links, they are really interesting and helpful to make the best decision