Not sure exactly where I need to ask this so I put it here. Miracle will be part of the family for 3 weeks tomorrow and is doing awesome, I believe she is around the 6 week or so mark. First usually around 10 a.m. Miracle gets put into the grass to eat she eats as many dandelion flowers and clovers until she is full which takes her about 20 minutes, I then will let her roam around for aprox. another 20 minutes and then soak her for about 10-15 minutes while outside to keep the water warm, then I let her eat again for about 15-20 minutes before putting her back into her tank. Questions----is it O.K. for her to just eat dandelion flowers and clovers while outside, now I do use the organic salad mix that is recommended on here from walmart during the day also, she gets at least 1 big feeling of outside grass, sometimes two times a day, then I feed her at least one other time during the day of the salad mix, and then I put 3-4 pieces of salad into her bowel at night which she usually sucks down. Also not to do with feeding, how hot is to hot for the soak water?, I'm a little afraid I might get it to hot but I've also read on here that having it to cool is not good for the babies either. And one last thing, when she does eat outside, the clover and dandelion flowers I keep a spray bottle full of warm water with me and periodically spray her down and I also spray down the clovers and dandelion so she gets a little more moisture while she eats. Am I doing this correctly?
A few questions concerning feeding, etc.
- Thread starter randy
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SOunds like a bit over doing. 
Im exhausted reading that!
The water should feel warm to you.. not hot.
spraying down what she eats is fine.. it also helps the calcium powder stick to it better.
Sounds like she has a great appetite..
Is Miracle a Sulcata?
Im exhausted reading that! The water should feel warm to you.. not hot.
spraying down what she eats is fine.. it also helps the calcium powder stick to it better.
Sounds like she has a great appetite..
Is Miracle a Sulcata?
You are doing perfect...all the way around from what you detailed here...love the water bottle spraying ...good job ...
...good job ...dmmj said:
That's what I do, I try to judge if the water would be to warm/hot for a baby before I put her into it. Also exactly how deep should it be, I try to have it deep enough so that her legs are completely submerged and just a bit of her shell, she's not thrilled about her baths she gets each day but I've read that most sulcata's aren't. Most of the time she poops in the water which is one of the things I try to accomplish while doing this.
ascott said:You are doing perfect...all the way around from what you detailed here...love the water bottle spraying
Ya, it serves alot of purposes, it also gets me cooled off too since the weather has been quite hot already here in Wichita Falls Tx., and when my kids are outside with me and the tortoise I can squirt the heck out of them and have some fun. Also I haven't bought any solid or dry tortoise food for her yet, is this required? and I was wondering if the zoo med tortoise food would be O.K. for a little bit until I was able to get the Mazuri.
All sounds good to me too. Let me get this straight though, you let her graze twice, then she gets one or two feedings of grass, then she gets the salad mix too, plus you follow her around with the spray bottle? Man, you are working overtime! Dandelions and clover are both good foods, but I wouldn't want either of those to make up too much of the diet. My felling on the matter (not based on any scientific studies) is to limit each one to no more than 10% of the total diet. Grass, other weeds, cactus, Mazuri, grape hibiscus and mulberry leaves, other grocery store greens,etc..., should make up the other 80%-90%.
There is nothing wrong with what you are doing, but it seems complicated and labor intensive to me. Here's what I do with hatchlings: once the day warms up, I stick them outside in a wire covered grazing pen for about an hour. Then I bring them back in for a 20-30 minute soak. While they soak I put a pile of food in their enclosure that should be enough to last for the rest of the day. When the soaking is done I rinse them and stick them back in their enclosures.
I soak mine in 90 degree water. Another member uses 95.
Dandelions and clover are both good foods, but I wouldn't want either of those to make up too much of the diet. My felling on the matter (not based on any scientific studies) is to limit each one to no more than 10% of the total diet. Grass, other weeds, cactus, Mazuri, grape hibiscus and mulberry leaves, other grocery store greens,etc..., should make up the other 80%-90%.There is nothing wrong with what you are doing, but it seems complicated and labor intensive to me. Here's what I do with hatchlings: once the day warms up, I stick them outside in a wire covered grazing pen for about an hour. Then I bring them back in for a 20-30 minute soak. While they soak I put a pile of food in their enclosure that should be enough to last for the rest of the day. When the soaking is done I rinse them and stick them back in their enclosures.
I soak mine in 90 degree water. Another member uses 95.
Laura said:SOunds like a bit over doing.
The water should feel warm to you.. not hot.
spraying down what she eats is fine.. it also helps the calcium powder stick to it better.
Sounds like she has a great appetite..
Is Miracle a Sulcata?
Ya, Miracle is a Sulcata, she was in a small cardboard box sealed up at UPS from Thursday to Monday without all the comforts of home, I guess that is why I'm a little on the anal side with her.
Tom said:All sounds good to me too. Let me get this straight though, you let her graze twice, then she gets one or two feedings of grass, then she gets the salad mix too, plus you follow her around with the spray bottle? Man, you are working overtime!
There is nothing wrong with what you are doing, but it seems complicated and labor intensive to me. Here's what I do with hatchlings: once the day warms up, I stick them outside in a wire covered grazing pen for about an hour. Then I bring them back in for a 20-30 minute soak. While they soak I put a pile of food in their enclosure that should be enough to last for the rest of the day. When the soaking is done I rinse them and stick them back in their enclosures.
I soak mine in 90 degree water. Another member uses 95.
Concerning the cactus, my sister-in-law has 3 pots of the Elephant Ear type, the round and flat prickly cactus. I got 5-6 for cuttings from her and waiting to plant them. How should I feed these to her?, should I peel them or just cut pieces of them without the needles and put them in her bowel? By the way thanks, I'm still learning and she seems to be doing great so far and being patient with me.
I'm not familiar with that type and I know that some types are toxic. I would not feed any until you get a positive ID. You can order "spineless opuntia" of several types from several people here on the forum, or you can buy it in any Mexican or "ethnic" market. Sometimes it is called nopales, and it's an ingredient in some Mexican dishes.
When I feed it to my babies I carefully rub all the tiny glocchids off with thick rubber gloves under running water. I only feed them the smaller, tender young pads, and I levave the pads whole. I find that they have an easier time biting chuncks off if they can pull against the weight of the pad. In the past, i have minced it and mixed it with greens, but this makes a slimy mess. My adults demolish the big fibrous older pads like they are nothing.
When I feed it to my babies I carefully rub all the tiny glocchids off with thick rubber gloves under running water. I only feed them the smaller, tender young pads, and I levave the pads whole. I find that they have an easier time biting chuncks off if they can pull against the weight of the pad. In the past, i have minced it and mixed it with greens, but this makes a slimy mess. My adults demolish the big fibrous older pads like they are nothing.
The cactus is the spineless prickly pear and people all over town have clumps of these in their front yards, they also grow like wild cakes around here in the fields. I have 5 cuttings that I am going to plant soon if this is a good food source.
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