supplementation question for those who have experience with Manouria

[Len B]

I wonder why some eat mazuri by it's self, some eat it if it's mixed with other foods,some like it moist,some eat it dry, and some refuse to eat it at all.Of the four adults I sent to Vic, two would eat it dry (never offered it moist) one of each SS one cb and one wc, the other two, one of each SS also, one cb and one wc showed no interest in it at all.Of the hatchlings I have now, I have only seen one eat it by it's self(every morning i moisten one piece in a milk jug top and put it in the enclosure's next to or in the food dish) The others have not shown any interest in it. If I crunch it up and sprinkle it on the food dry they all eat it along with every thing else.This morning I remembered that in 1996 I fed my first mep cut up frozen vegetables corn, green beans, carrot,and peas. So I cut some into small pieces and offered it to four of the emys emys and they loved it.--I'm going to try it on the impressed tortoise to see if it likes it. variety,variety,variety. Andrew, I made a list of some of the items on your food list, I am going to research them because I have no idea what they are.Always looking for new foods for the torts. Len

 

[harris]

What a great, insightful thread! My 5 Mee's consist of 1- '06, 3 - '07's, and 1 - 08. All five of them go crazy over Mazuri, whether by itself soaked (Never tried it dry?) or mixed into a vegetable "mash", which is how it's typically served. The one thing that strikes me odd is one of my '07's absolutely refuses to soak itself. She will avoid water at all costs. All the others will spend hrs on end soaking, through the day or night; they love it. She's completely normal otherwise; good steady growth, nice shell formation.

 

[HLogic]

I didn't mean to suggest that you are keeping or should keep them as one would an arid habitat species. The point was that they must have sufficient water to eliminate nitrogenous waste. I'm surprised that yours don't drink any more than they do. All of mine drink regularly, even the hatchlings which are kept in nearly 100% humidity with water constantly available. Splash a little fresh water in the bowl & they come running. Of course, they also come running when you walk by, scratch your head, think of a funny tune...

In so far as supplements, I have never used any additional animal protein. They do get (and relish) mushrooms, beans, corn, carrots, okra, brocolli, pumpkin, papaya, etc. but the base diet is comprised of collards and turnip greens. The hatchlings, indoor inhabitants and breeding females get a calcium/vitamin supplement about once per week. I hadn't tried Mazuri with the hatchlings until tonight. Several of them tried it and a couple dug right in. They were fed heavily last night and I suspect were full as there were still leftovers from that meal.

Gee, I forgot I had typed this (last week) and hadn't clicked "Post"...

 

[biglove4bigtorts]

I'm very please to get some information shared that everyone could use. So far the tortoises are happy as clams and the regime I am using is a comfortable one for me and them. They get two days off a week with no supplemtents and 3 days a week with light calcium and bee pollen supplements and 2 days a week with light calcium and D3 with vitamins. I think I may even reduce that to no additional calcium on the days the days that I don't use D3 and just using the TNT/Repashy/bee pollen blend.

I think the fact of the matter that there is not one magic regime' that gaurentees success...just a logical guess and sensible approach. If they weren't showing any problems before being supplemented, then any problems that arise could be attributed to the supplement schedule, but since that hasn't shown problematic ( it is still new), it is safe to assume something in between none and regular small amounts are safe and effective.

I love my torts and can't wait until they are big enough to seek me out for food and have bolder personalities. Now, they seem to eat and hide...lol

 

[Len B]

I'm very please to get some information shared that everyone could use. So far the tortoises are happy as clams and the regime I am using is a comfortable one for me and them. They get two days off a week with no supplemtents and 3 days a week with light calcium and bee pollen supplements and 2 days a week with light calcium and D3 with vitamins. I think I may even reduce that to no additional calcium on the days the days that I don't use D3 and just using the TNT/Repashy/bee pollen blend.

I think the fact of the matter that there is not one magic regime' that gaurentees success...just a logical guess and sensible approach. If they weren't showing any problems before being supplemented, then any problems that arise could be attributed to the supplement schedule, but since that hasn't shown problematic ( it is still new), it is safe to assume something in between none and regular small amounts are safe and effective.

I love my torts and can't wait until they are big enough to seek me out for food and have bolder personalities. Now, they seem to eat and hide...lol

I have found that if you raise the manouria youngsters separate from each other they react to human contact in a positive way more quickly.Len

 

[biglove4bigtorts]

Interesting to note Len. It makes sense, because birds are the same way. I don't think I want to seperate them...if I did, I would just divide the current habitat in half, b/c they aren't very active at this stage and are either hiding or eating, so they could do with less room, if I wanted to seperate them. I am reasonable sure, they will do better outdoors, in regards to socialixing, since it will be a much more obvious association with me as the bearer of food and all things tastey, since the will be grazeing, but getting thier plate of fruits and veggies from me and watching me place it there. Right now, they don't see a thing and just come out once the food is down, sometimes I drag em out of hiding, cause they linger too long and the food wilts.