Veggies vs grass

KODY CORDUAN

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So, Tom has written extensively about the natural eating habits of sulcatas being grasses, very grateful for that, but I am wondering if there are adverse affects to feeding a primarily veggie diet for the yearlings. I am introducing fresh grass and he will indulge some; however, I'd like to know how much freedom I have in the matter of a time frame to get him off veggies completely. Has anyone documented the results of veggie vs grass/ weeds? How concerned should I be to expedite the process? Thank you
 

Tom

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This is another great question.

Everyone who has raised them for a while has their own idea of what constitutes "ideal". I know one guy who feeds whole bananas one or twice a week in addition to fresh grass and weeds. I know other people who use lots of grocery store greens and veggies. One guy in Florida thought it was funny that his two backyard sulcatas would climb up on the porch and eat the cat food out of the bowl.

There is not a lot of scientific data on what constitutes the ideal sulcata diet, but there are some things that most people will agree on, like a high percentage of grass in the diet. One thing I will stand behind is that sulcatas are very adaptable as far as diet goes. They will thrive on just about anything and everything within reason. In the wild they are opportunistic. They eat carrion and mammal feces whenever they get the chance, in addition to grass and weeds.

So use what you need to for convenience, and add in the other good stuff as much as you can. Your sulcata will be fine either way. If you ned to use grocery store greens, favor endive and escarole, but use a lot of variety.
 

KODY CORDUAN

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Thanks again Tom, I appreciate the information, as always. The breeder fed mainly romaine lettuce from what I can gather... obviously not a high nutritious food. I have been mixing it in with collard greens (for calcium) and lawn grass. Does it suffice to feed high calcium veggies in place of powder, or would it be beneficial to crush my neighbors chicken eggs for added supplement?
 
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