Baby Sulcata Tortoise Diet Questions

[Tom]

Do you recommend this feed?

Yes. I buy and use that one myself. Been using it for several years now. I use it as a topper or mix-in with other greens. Excellent way to add variety and some fiber too. I HIGHLY recommend it!

Be aware that like any new food, most tortoises aren't going to just walk up and eat it the first day they see it. Introduce it by mixing in just a tiny little pinch for the first few days, and then gradually add more as the tortoise gets used to it. After about two weeks of that, my russian herd started looking for the herbal hay bits first and cleaned them up. They didn't even leave one crumb on the bottom of the dish.

 

[Maggie3fan]

Yes. I buy and use that one myself. Been using it for several years now. I use it as a topper or mix-in with other greens. Excellent way to add variety and some fiber too. I HIGHLY recommend it!

Be aware that like any new food, most tortoises aren't going to just walk up and eat it the first day they see it. Introduce it by mixing in just a tiny little pinch for the first few days, and then gradually add more as the tortoise gets used to it. After about two weeks of that, my russian herd started looking for the herbal hay bits first and cleaned them up. They didn't even leave one crumb on the bottom of the dish.

Holy cats Tom! I'm trying to give the correct word for a tortoise herd, that being a creep of tortoises and the resident "expert" calls it a herd??? Pulease

 

[Tom]

Holy cats Tom! I'm trying to give the correct word for a tortoise herd, that being a creep of tortoises and the resident "expert" calls it a herd??? Pulease

That's just creepy...

I like "herd" much better.

 

[MyaFitzgerald9]

Here is a thread with a good starter list of stuff to feed:

For Those Who Have a Young Sulcata...

Over and over I type up and answer diet questions and try to get people feeding the right stuff, but I find that the "norm" is grocery store food. Grocery store food is expensive, a hassle to obtain, and very low on the list of what is best for sulcatas. These tortoises are GRASS eaters. From...

tortoiseforum.org

Another question: Are fruits as a treat maybe monthly or so okay? I have seen a ton of sulcatas eating fruit and heard that they love them, but should be fed them very rarely. If I shouldnt feed my sulcata any fruit, ill make sure to do so! Let me know. I have really appreciated your help. Like I said, I am a snake person. So tortoises are new to me and found so much false information on the internet... I have a much better understanding now on what my tortoise needs to thrive because you have so much valuable information to give. Appreciate it so much!

 

[Tom]

Another question: Are fruits as a treat maybe monthly or so okay? I have seen a ton of sulcatas eating fruit and heard that they love them, but should be fed them very rarely. If I shouldnt feed my sulcata any fruit, ill make sure to do so! Let me know. I have really appreciated your help. Like I said, I am a snake person. So tortoises are new to me and found so much false information on the internet... I have a much better understanding now on what my tortoise needs to thrive because you have so much valuable information to give. Appreciate it so much!

I'm a snake person too! Drymarchon is my current fascination. Love the unicolors and rubidus.

Here are my thoughts on fruits for all non-forest species: If its so bad that you can only give them some once a month, why give it at all? Can they eat fruit and live? Of course. We've all seen it. The problem is that those sugars can wreak havoc on their intestinal flora and fauna. It doesn't kill them, but its not good for them either.

One more thought: Sulcatas are extremely adaptable. They can handle all sorts of temps, housing methods and diets and survive. Me and several others have spent the last decade or so sussing out not what is survivable, but what is optimal. We've learned a lot along the way, but there is more to go. More to learn. More questions to answer. We will be working on these questions literally for a lifetime.

One of the things we've learned is: Don't feed sugary fruit to sulcatas.

 

[Maggie3fan]

Another question: Are fruits as a treat maybe monthly or so okay? I have seen a ton of sulcatas eating fruit and heard that they love them, but should be fed them very rarely. If I shouldnt feed my sulcata any fruit, ill make sure to do so! Let me know. I have really appreciated your help. Like I said, I am a snake person. So tortoises are new to me and found so much false information on the internet... I have a much better understanding now on what my tortoise needs to thrive because you have so much valuable information to give. Appreciate it so much!

Sulcata should not eat fruit regularly. Their kidneys cannot process sugar like ours do. I have older Sulcata and bigger, so once a summer I throw a watermelon into the Sulcata pens. I do use cooked squash as a training tool. (Yep I said training). That's for another thread. I live in the PNW and my Sulcata are fed locally grown grass hay as most of their winter feed. We as loving keepers enjoy giving our animals treats, but because you do love your baby, DON'T feed fruit

 

[MyaFitzgerald9]

Do you recommend this feed?

Hi Tom, another quick question. Cuttlebone. I have one piece in there for my sulcata right now. I also supplement with calcium 2x a week. My tort seems to be interested in the new cuttlebone & has already started to munch on it. Is there any risk of too much calcium/d3 or is it fine to leave the entire cuttlebone in there?

 

[Tom]

Hi Tom, another quick question. Cuttlebone. I have one piece in there for my sulcata right now. I also supplement with calcium 2x a week. My tort seems to be interested in the new cuttlebone & has already started to munch on it. Is there any risk of too much calcium/d3 or is it fine to leave the entire cuttlebone in there?

No risk. You can leave it in there. They will excrete any they don't need.