my radiata eats mazuri pellets only. refuse eat other food

[enchilada]

recently my radiata start eating mazuri pellets only. he refuse eat anything else.
He used to love spring mix and fruits.

anything i can do to make him start eating normal, more variety food?

 

[Tom]

Mix whatever you want him to eat with soaked Mazuri and then gradually reduce the amount of Mazuri over a period of weeks or months.

I wouldn't feed them any fruit. Weeds and leaves are best. Radiata LOVE spineless opuntia too.

 

[ZEROPILOT]

Exactly what Tom said.
Lots and lots of tortoises do this once they've tried Mazuri.
I resorted to placing greens in a food processor and mixing them in.
You'll eventually find a balance where they will eat everything.

 

[naturalman91]

i had a reverse situation my redfoot wouldn't eat mazuri so i just gave him tough love of only giving him mazuri for a couple day's until he'd eat it it worked and now he will go to town on it any time

 

[enchilada]

just found out one more thing he'd like to eat besides mazuri------aquatic turtle food
guess i should starve him for couple days and try the veggie/mazuri mix

 

[Tom]

Shouldn't even need to starve him. Just use a very small amount of finely chopped new stuff mixed in. It will be such a small amount that he won't notice it. Gradually increase the amount over a week or two until he does notice. Then hold that ratio until he gets hungry enough to eat it all, before continuing to increase the new food and reduce the Mazuri.

 

[mitchellr]

Dont give turtle pellets. They are high in protein in general.

 

[Tom]

Dont give turtle pellets. They are high in protein in general.

The Mazuri we are talking about is not "turtle pellets". It is balanced nutrition formulated for tortoises, and the protein content i just fine for our tortoises. It has been tried and tested by thousands of tortoise keepers for decades.

Protein is not the villain that people once thought it was, and many of our tortoises have been protein deficient for quite along time because of this misconception.

 

[mitchellr]

Look at chat #5 tom

 

[Tom]

Look at chat #5 tom

Ouch. My apologies. I did not catch that.

In that case I agree with your previous post entirely.

 

[enchilada]

UPDATE: mixed mazuri with veggie was working well, but i start being lazy again.... so i back to just toss some veggies or soaked mazuri everyday, depends on how busy i am.
yesterday he starts eating veggies again suddenly.

 

[Zeko]

Not sure why people are so up in arms about feeding Mazari every day. Simply chop it up, mix in weeds/other foods and serve. High protein does NOT lead to pyramiding.

I've fed this tortoise a Mazari mix every day for 4 years:

 

[Grandpa Turtle 144]

just found out one more thing he'd like to eat besides mazuri------aquatic turtle food
guess i should starve him for couple days and try the veggie/mazuri mix

Water turtle food should have too much protein in it ! Cause most water turtles have a need for protein ! And don't starve your baby :water is what makes helps spring mix go bad if you sprinkle Mazarin powder on spring mix it will last longer . And the tort will eat it the vegys . And you'll be happy it won't spoil as fast !

 

[mitchellr]

Not sure why people are so up in arms about feeding Mazari every day. Simply chop it up, mix in weeds/other foods and serve. High protein does NOT lead to pyramiding.

I've fed this tortoise a Mazari mix every day for 4 years:

View attachment 129031

This is a cherry head tortoise. They require little bit of protein in their diets. But not so for radiated tortoises

 

[Zeko]

This is a cherry head tortoise. They require little bit of protein in their diets. But not so for radiated tortoises

How about a 1 year old sulcata. Same exact Mazari/weed/grass mix. My opinion still stands on the fact protein does not create pyramiding.

 

[ZEROPILOT]

From what I've seen and dealt with. Be happy when your tortoise eats!
A tortoise with a healthy appetite is a great thing.
Mine eat Mazuri and greens that I whip up in a food processor and serve like peanut butter with some sort of side, usually Hibiscus.
They HAVE to have Mazuri or they pout.

 

[Chad]

New member here but used to keep Radiata for yrs. Like others mentioned, I would soak the mazuri then mash it by hand into the greens I would feed them. This would keep them from only eating the mazuri. I had excellent smooth growth and zero issues.
I sold my group to another breeder in Florida and I'm betting they are all breeding now. I need to track him down but I've moved across country since then.

 

[Yvonne G]

@enchilada - Can you set your tortoise up outside in an area with plenty of weeds and grasses? I'll bet he'll eat then.