Alternative to Zoo Med Grassland

[LisaGG]

Hi All

Our horsefield, Henry, has been having very wet poos for the past few days so I wanted to make sure we are doing everything we can diet wise before we go down the route of a vets visit. He recently came out of semi-brummation, by which I mean he desperately wanted to hibernate but we hadn't prepared him for it so we were waking him up every day and giving him soaks and food. He is suddenly full of life again and has a big appetite but has started having wet poos despite his diet not changing. We try give him dandelion leaves and flowers as much as we can but also have to buy store bought greens in winter when its harder to come buy wild flowers/weeds in the garden. We always stick to the darker greens, kale is his favourite and stay away from things like iceburg lettuce. I read on here that grassland pellets might help but I am struggling to get them in the UK. Is there anything else similar we can try? We are also going to order some seed mixes that have been recommended on here so we can grow more variety. It's the first full year we have had him so still learning but he seems really happy and is full of energy at the moment, as you can see from the pic he's very mischeivous 😃

 

[Tom]

In your country they sell "PreAlpin" and "Komodo". I think you can also get Mazuri there now. Arcadia also has a new prepared food out you could look for. You can also use soaked horse hay pellets mixed in to add fiber. Get the Timothy or orchard grass hay type, not alfalfa. Soak one pellet in a little water over right to get it to disintegrate, and then mix it up with the greens for the day.

Be aware that any new food will take weeks to slowly introduce. Your tortoise will not initially "like" any of these foods.

Kale is okay once in a while to add variety to the diet, but not as a staple. If you must use grocery store food, favor curly endive and escarole. Add in arugula, cilantro, spring mix, Italia dandelion, kale, collards, and many others for variety when weeds and leaves are not available.

You tortoise should Neve be loose on the floor like that. It is a recipe for disaster in one of many ways, and it cannot be made safe no matter how much you intend to supervise. I hope we can prevent you from having to learn this lesson the hard way as so many before you have had to.

Please read these for the correct care info. Pet shops and internet sources are notoriously bad.

The Best Way To Raise Any Temperate Species Of Tortoise

I chose the title of this care sheet very carefully. Are there other ways to raise babies and care for adults? Yes. Yes there are, but those ways are not as good. What follows is the BEST way, according to 30 years of research and experimentation with hundreds of babies of many species. What is...

tortoiseforum.org

Info For New People. Please Read This First.

Hello and welcome to tortoiseforum.org! We are all glad you are here! There is no other forum like this anywhere. We have tens of thousands of members from all over the world ranging from kids with their first tortoise to people who have been breeding and keeping high end tortoises since the...

tortoiseforum.org

 

[LisaGG]

In your country they sell "PreAlpin" and "Komodo". I think you can also get Mazuri there now. Arcadia also has a new prepared food out you could look for. You can also use soaked horse hay pellets mixed in to add fiber. Get the Timothy or orchard grass hay type, not alfalfa. Soak one pellet in a little water over right to get it to disintegrate, and then mix it up with the greens for the day.

Be aware that any new food will take weeks to slowly introduce. Your tortoise will not initially "like" any of these foods.

Kale is okay once in a while to add variety to the diet, but not as a staple. If you must use grocery store food, favor curly endive and escarole. Add in arugula, cilantro, spring mix, Italia dandelion, kale, collards, and many others for variety when weeds and leaves are not available.

You tortoise should Neve be loose on the floor like that. It is a recipe for disaster in one of many ways, and it cannot be made safe no matter how much you intend to supervise. I hope we can prevent you from having to learn this lesson the hard way as so many before you have had to.

Please read these for the correct care info. Pet shops and internet sources are notoriously bad.

The Best Way To Raise Any Temperate Species Of Tortoise

I chose the title of this care sheet very carefully. Are there other ways to raise babies and care for adults? Yes. Yes there are, but those ways are not as good. What follows is the BEST way, according to 30 years of research and experimentation with hundreds of babies of many species. What is...

tortoiseforum.org

Info For New People. Please Read This First.

Hello and welcome to tortoiseforum.org! We are all glad you are here! There is no other forum like this anywhere. We have tens of thousands of members from all over the world ranging from kids with their first tortoise to people who have been breeding and keeping high end tortoises since the...

tortoiseforum.org

Thank you Tom for your advice, I will have a look for some of the foods you suggest. He isn't ever left unsupervised when he's out of his enclosure and he only has the run of the spare room where there are no other pets or people walking around. My husband is at home all day so he sits with him and they keep each other company. It doesn't seem fair to keep him confined to his enclosure all day and night, surely that would be cruel.

 

[Tom]

Thank you Tom for your advice, I will have a look for some of the foods you suggest. He isn't ever left unsupervised when he's out of his enclosure and he only has the run of the spare room where there are no other pets or people walking around. My husband is at home all day so he sits with him and they keep each other company. It doesn't seem fair to keep him confined to his enclosure all day and night, surely that would be cruel.

No one thinks letting them roam loose will do harm. If they did, they wouldn't do it. But it almost always eventually does harm. We've seen everything here. One somehow swallowed a 2 inch sewing pin, and the owner had no idea where the pin came from as no one in her house sews. We've seen heads smashed in doors, escapees from doors left open, broken legs from being accidentally kicked or stepped on, dog maulings, ingestion of dust bunnies, ear rings, coins, necklaces, carpet fibers, we've seen electrical cords bitten and tangled around legs or heads, poisoning from household chemicals or fumes... The list is endless. As I said, it cannot be made safe, and everyone has the best of intentions, but they find a way to hurt themselves.

It is completely fair to keep them confined to their enclosure day and night. And its the only way to keep them safe. Loose on the floor is dangerous, too cold, and full of potential for harm. Loose on the floor in human habitation is not fair. Their enclosure is supposed to be large enough and correctly designed to accommodate ALL of their needs. In the warmer months, adults and larger juveniles can/should spend all day outside in a large properly designed enclosure. Most people, I'd say the majority, get defensive about this subject. It upsets people and makes them feel belittled or insulted somehow. I've had this argument countless times over the decades, and I will never stop because you know what's worse than feeling how you feel right now? Imagine the feeling of your tortoise dead in your hands because you insisted on learning this lesson the hard way. Just go there in your mind for a minute. I can tell you from first hand experience that it is sickening. You will feel a nauseating terrible adrenaline rush and you will sob uncontrollably while holding the lifeless corpse of what was once a beautiful animal full of life that is now dead or disfigured because you didn't know better and failed to listen to the people who have been down this road before. I mean you no insult, but the choice is yours. I'm trying to prevent you from making a common mistake that will hurt you and your tortoise beyond words. I am not trying to upset you or drive you away. Just the opposite.

 

[TammyJ]

Tom is totally right! Please provide your tortoise with his own dedicated and safe enclosure before the bad and completely unexpected thing happens!

 

[Beasty_Artemis]

Yes torts will never learn how NOT to taste every little object!!!