Pellets in diet?

[swimqt]

Hey everyone, sorry...this must be on here a hundred times but I did a search and I can't find my answer.

Should pellets be a part of a tortoise's diet and if so, how much? I've read care sheets that don't mention pellets and have read about their diet on here where people don't mention it but then I saw a care sheet with a picture of a tortoise with a soft flattened shell "because it was only given veggies and not pellets".

Oh, and the tortoise that I will be feeding is, I believe, 8 years old. If that means anything at all

Thank you for your help!

 

[JoesMum]

Pellets can form part of the diet. Most of us restrict to a couple of times a week at most. They're particularly useful in winter when the weed supply is poor

 

[TortieLuver]

I would recommend either the tortoise mazuri diet or the zoomed grassland tortoise food. At 8 years old there is no need to soak in water. Age is different than size but for an average sulcata for 8 years old I would feed 2-3 times a week a couple cups. I don't usually measure by cups as I have multiple torts and simply fill their containers. I agree though that depending on where you live, pellets are used more in the winter and less other seasons when more natural foods are readily available.

 

[swimqt]

Great, thank you. I will need to keep my eye out for those. I might need to go online though...if I do, which one do you prefer more?

 

[JoesMum]

Great, thank you. I will need to keep my eye out for those. I might need to go online though...if I do, which one do you prefer more?

I can't give a preference as these brands aren't available in my country... but I did see that mazuri.com is doing free shipping at the moment!

 

[swimqt]

Ohh good find. I will be going to PETCO today and see what they have. Hopefully I won't need to always order it online.

 

[StudentoftheReptile]

If you have an 8-yr old sulcata, it may cheaper in the long run to order online.

Mazuri.com and LLLReptile.com has it the cheapest.

 

[swimqt]

I was thinking about that after I posted. The containers they sell are usually pretty small. Thanks, I'll just do that.

 

[StudentoftheReptile]

I'm about to run out of my $12 1-lb bag of Mazuri. The 25-lb bag for 30-35 bucks just makes much more sense!

 

[Cfr200]

If you have a feed store nearby that deal with Purina they can order special order Mazuri for you. My local feed store charges $26 for a 25lb bag, the only downside it that it takes about 2 weeks to get it in.

 

[swimqt]

Good to know, thanks.

The prices are so ridiculously overpriced. Even a bag of hay at pet smart is 10 but if I go to a feed store, an entire bale is 15.