Can I mix a small amount of pellets in with my tortoise's food every time?

Rocky219

Active Member
Joined
Nov 30, 2020
Messages
160
Location (City and/or State)
Massachusetts
Hi everyone recently due to summer ending and my tortoise having to eat more grocery greens and testudo seed mix he has gotten more picky with food. He no longer has his favorite greens available. It seems the only way for me to fix this is to use mazuri pellets with his meals. I only use a small amount each meal. Could he have too many pellets? Should I just give him no pellets for a bit to stop him being picky? Can I keep doing what I'm doing and mix in a small amount each meal? Any responses are appreciated
 

wellington

Well-Known Member
Moderator
10 Year Member!
Tortoise Club
Joined
Sep 6, 2011
Messages
49,658
Location (City and/or State)
Chicago, Illinois, USA
I skip a day or two during winter of giving mazuri. However, if you give a little each day it wouldn't be a big deal. Just be sure to give him as big a variety of greens as possible.
@Kapidolo Farms sells a lot of tortoise food you could add to his diet to mix it up and make the greens even better for him
 
Last edited:

Tom

The Dog Trainer
10 Year Member!
Platinum Tortoise Club
Joined
Jan 9, 2010
Messages
63,264
Location (City and/or State)
Southern California
How about getting different pellets? Regular Mazuri one day, LS Mazuri the next, then ZooMed Forest, followed by ZooMed Grassland. That would give you four days. Then you could alternate in dried leaf mixes from Kapidolo Farms, and Herbal Hay from tortoisesupply.com.
 

Rocky219

Active Member
Joined
Nov 30, 2020
Messages
160
Location (City and/or State)
Massachusetts
How about getting different pellets? Regular Mazuri one day, LS Mazuri the next, then ZooMed Forest, followed by ZooMed Grassland. That would give you four days. Then you could alternate in dried leaf mixes from Kapidolo Farms, and Herbal Hay from tortoisesupply.com.
Thank you! I think that I will do this
 

Rocky219

Active Member
Joined
Nov 30, 2020
Messages
160
Location (City and/or State)
Massachusetts
Variety works. Some days give him some, then others don’t. Mix it up. I guess you COULD feed too many, but you are in control so just add a “reasonable” amount.

What kind of tortoise & how large?
Thanks for responding. I have a Hermann Tortoise that is currently 3 or 4 years old. Soon he will be 4 or 5. Last time I measured he was 5 inches but I see some growth rings so I don't know if that changes anything.
 

Maro2Bear

Well-Known Member
5 Year Member
Joined
May 29, 2014
Messages
14,712
Location (City and/or State)
Glenn Dale, Maryland, USA
Thanks for responding. I have a Hermann Tortoise that is currently 3 or 4 years old. Soon he will be 4 or 5. Last time I measured he was 5 inches but I see some growth rings so I don't know if that changes anything.

So, out of curiosity, how many pf the larger Mazuri nuggets does your tortoise eat at one setting if it had a large amount?
 

Maggie3fan

Well-Known Member
5 Year Member
Joined
Jun 30, 2018
Messages
8,046
Location (City and/or State)
PacificNorthWest
Mary Knobbins will eat almost 4 cups of soaked pellets...The bag has no size on it, but the pellets look and smell just like rabbit pellets. They do not smell like the Mazuri I used to feed, as the pellets then were in chucks like dog food and they were coated with molasses and tasted and smell sweet. I didn't feed that Mazuri to babies as they seemed to get addicted and refused anything but the Mazuri.I only fed this new stuff cuz it was given to me recently...the Russians leave most of their's for the greens...so you will get a whole lot of different opinions on this subject. I say Mazuri is a supplement to be added twice a week scatter among greens...not to be used as a food...
 

Rocky219

Active Member
Joined
Nov 30, 2020
Messages
160
Location (City and/or State)
Massachusetts
So, out of curiosity, how many pf the larger Mazuri nuggets does your tortoise eat at one setting if it had a large amount?
My Tortoise eats Mazuri LS. They are pretty tiny. I would say about 60 or so. I don't know if that is too little or too much. It is a lot smaller than the large terra cotta plant saucer, maybe about 1/4 of it. They're very tiny so it is hard to count. There's always a little bit left over.
 
Top