HAY vs. GRASS vs. STRAW

[TanksALot]

there any NUTRITIONAL value to hay & natural grasses, or is it simply for roughage as a healthy part of their diet.

The reason I ask is because they're betting in their homes is straw, because it tends to hold heat better than shavings. I'm not sure if there is any benefit or harm to them eating straw as an additive to all the grass and feed that they are being given each day.

The only time they actually eat the straw is right before they go to bed and I'm not exactly sure if they eat it while they are in their rooms (which are heated and monitored) or not. And recently they have decided that two of them can fit in one house, and they peak their heads out through the door when it is opened, but neither one of them want to go out it seems, but they stick their heads out just to enjoy the Sun because the rest of them is getting heated by their reptile heater on the ceiling. It's actually quite funny to watch!

(I would have attached a beautiful photo but I am apparently a technology idiot and can't seem to get a link or anything while I'm trying to add a photo. )

 

[Yvonne G]

The reason I don't use staw, or similar type bedding is beause it molds when wet

 

[wellington]

I agree with Yvonne, it's not recommended at all for a bedding. Also neither is a pair of tortoises, specially Sulcatas, living together. Big no. Separate them ASAP. The stress you have them living in daily is very high and one will get hurt,very sick, or dead.

 

[TammyJ]

Yes, what has been said. To each, his own separate space is what they need more than anything else. They are cute of course.

 

[zovick]

there any NUTRITIONAL value to hay & natural grasses, or is it simply for roughage as a healthy part of their diet.

The reason I ask is because they're betting in their homes is straw, because it tends to hold heat better than shavings. I'm not sure if there is any benefit or harm to them eating straw as an additive to all the grass and feed that they are being given each day.

The only time they actually eat the straw is right before they go to bed and I'm not exactly sure if they eat it while they are in their rooms (which are heated and monitored) or not. And recently they have decided that two of them can fit in one house, and they peak their heads out through the door when it is opened, but neither one of them want to go out it seems, but they stick their heads out just to enjoy the Sun because the rest of them is getting heated by their reptile heater on the ceiling. It's actually quite funny to watch!

(I would have attached a beautiful photo but I am apparently a technology idiot and can't seem to get a link or anything while I'm trying to add a photo. )

FWIW, my sulcatas (4 adults) used to eat the straw I used for bedding in the winters in CT. I think it was because they ate everything else in sight very quickly and were still hungry, so they ate whatever they could find in the enclosures. It never hurt mine to eat it every winter over a 5-6 year period of time, so it's probably fine to let yours keep eating it.

Not sure of the nutritional value, if any, but it did mine no harm as I said.

 

[wellington]

I wouldn't recommend straw as a bedding and actually orchard grass hay would be much better to feed them straw. That's why straw is used for farm animal bedding and not food.

 

[zovick]

I wouldn't recommend straw as a bedding and actually orchard grass hay would be much better to feed them straw. That's why straw is used for farm animal bedding and not food.

I was young and poor at the time and was able to get the straw free from a relative. Hay was not available for free, so I used the straw instead. Since I got it free I was able to replace it entirely every few days so it would not mildew or otherwise deteriorate.

 

[SarahJoy]

Mine loves orchard grass hay in winter; I stuff it in a separate house in the cooler side of his winter habitat and he does not poop or sleep in it. Works well at this time.

 

[Tom]

there any NUTRITIONAL value to hay & natural grasses, or is it simply for roughage as a healthy part of their diet.

The reason I ask is because they're betting in their homes is straw, because it tends to hold heat better than shavings. I'm not sure if there is any benefit or harm to them eating straw as an additive to all the grass and feed that they are being given each day.

The only time they actually eat the straw is right before they go to bed and I'm not exactly sure if they eat it while they are in their rooms (which are heated and monitored) or not. And recently they have decided that two of them can fit in one house, and they peak their heads out through the door when it is opened, but neither one of them want to go out it seems, but they stick their heads out just to enjoy the Sun because the rest of them is getting heated by their reptile heater on the ceiling. It's actually quite funny to watch!

(I would have attached a beautiful photo but I am apparently a technology idiot and can't seem to get a link or anything while I'm trying to add a photo. )

I would not use straw for anything to do with tortoises. Straw works as bedding for some mammals because they produce heir own body heat. Tortoises don't, so no point in it.

Sulcatas do need grass and/or grass hay in the diet. It should be the primary food offered for adults. With the help of their gut flora and fauna, they are able to extract nutrition from grasses and hay.

 

[zovick]

I would not use straw for anything to do with tortoises. Straw works as bedding for some mammals because they produce heir own body heat. Tortoises don't, so no point in it.

Sulcatas do need grass and/or grass hay in the diet. It should be the primary food offered for adults. With the help of their gut flora and fauna, they are able to extract nutrition from grasses and hay.

Are you aware that oats are just another form of grass?

 

[Tom]

Are you aware that oats are just another form of grass?

Never thought about it.

 

[zovick]

Never thought about it.

Oat straw is essentially a coarse hay. As I said, my adult sulcatas had no trouble eating it, and it kept their beaks in very good shape and very sharp.

 

[Tom]

Oat straw is essentially a coarse hay. As I said, my adult sulcatas had no trouble eating it, and it kept their beaks in very good shape and very sharp.

This seems to me like the people who let their DTs here just live outside in the back yard with no heat or shelter and then conclude that since the animal is still alive, they must be doing it right.

I never let my sulcatas have access to straw and the beaks of mine were like wise in good shape and sharp. In fact, I had some given to me that had beaks that were not in great shape, and something in my routine and/or diet sorted out the beak condition before I could even deliberately attend to it.

While the straw did not kill your animals, I still do not think it is a good idea, and Bermuda or orchard grass is a better food item for them.

 

[zovick]

This seems to me like the people who let their DTs here just live outside in the back yard with no heat or shelter and then conclude that since the animal is still alive, they must be doing it right.

I never let my sulcatas have access to straw and the beaks of mine were like wise in good shape and sharp. In fact, I had some given to me that had beaks that were not in great shape, and something in my routine and/or diet sorted out the beak condition before I could even deliberately attend to it.

While the straw did not kill your animals, I still do not think it is a good idea, and Bermuda or orchard grass is a better food item for them.

And as I said, I couldn't afford to buy regular hay, so used oat straw instead with no problems.

Guess we just have to disagree on this. Keep in mind also that this was in 1973-78 when not very much was known about tortoise husbandry as it is now 50 years later.

 

[jsheffield]

Dozer, the Aldabra I'm currently living with, has a diet comprised mostly of greens and weeds, but soon the weeds will be dead or under snow, so I'm working to acclimate them to some orchard grass pellets I got from my local Tractor Supply store.

• I rehydrated some of the pellets with plain warm water
• I rehydrated some dried cactus and used the excess "juice" to rehydrate some pellets
• I rehydrated some dried hibiscus flowers and used the excess "tea" to rehydrate some pellets

I'm interested in seeing which of the pellet preparations Dozer will go for... if none, then I may branch out to mixing them in with some Mazuri or butternut squash.

Jamie

 

[sharon 1970]

there any NUTRITIONAL value to hay & natural grasses, or is it simply for roughage as a healthy part of their diet.

The reason I ask is because they're betting in their homes is straw, because it tends to hold heat better than shavings. I'm not sure if there is any benefit or harm to them eating straw as an additive to all the grass and feed that they are being given each day.

The only time they actually eat the straw is right before they go to bed and I'm not exactly sure if they eat it while they are in their rooms (which are heated and monitored) or not. And recently they have decided that two of them can fit in one house, and they peak their heads out through the door when it is opened, but neither one of them want to go out it seems, but they stick their heads out just to enjoy the Sun because the rest of them is getting heated by their reptile heater on the ceiling. It's actually quite funny to watch!

(I would have attached a beautiful photo but I am apparently a technology idiot and can't seem to get a link or anything while I'm trying to add a photo. )

I use Aspen and edible bedding, only because the lady who had him before she passed away used it, so I just carried on using it as that is what he was used to, I know its popular with tortoise owners

 

[wellington]

Are you aware that oats are just another form of grass?

So, have you fed oats? Never thought about it that way. Another possible food source for winters?

 

[zovick]

So, have you fed oats? Never thought about it that way. Another possible food source for winters?

I did not feed the oats themselves, just the "straw" which is left after the oats themselves are harvested. Essentially, the oat straw is just like hay except the stalks are thicker. The farmers cut the dried stalks and baled them up like hay to be used for bedding for horses and other animals.

You can now even buy commercially available "oatstraw" which is being sold by health food type stores for human consumption:

Frontier Co-op Oatstraw Green Tops, Cut & Sifted, Organic 1 lb.

Oatstraw is the green top of the oat plant, harvested when the seed is at the milky stage, before it's fully ripe. Cultivated for over 3,000 years, oats were not an intentionally cultivated grain. A happy accident, it was originally considered a weed

www.frontiercoop.com

The above item is more costly than the straw bales which you can buy at a feed store. It might be a good addition to the diet for a tortoise or two, but the cost would be prohibitive for feeding a large number of animals.

This next link shows what I used, except this particular straw is made from wheat stalks rather than oat stalks. The straw made from oats has thicker stalks as I said above.:

BELL NURSERY Straw Bale Full Size STRAWFULL1PK - The Home Depot

We are thrilled to announce exciting news, we're now offering our full-size straw bales shipped directly to your home from BELL NURSERY. Each individual full size straw bale is inspected carefully before

www.homedepot.com

 

[Tom]

I use Aspen and edible bedding, only because the lady who had him before she passed away used it, so I just carried on using it as that is what he was used to, I know its popular with tortoise owners

Because the person before you used the wrong substrate is not a good reason to carry on using it.

Please give this a read for safe substrate choices and care info:

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

 

[zovick]

I use Aspen and edible bedding, only because the lady who had him before she passed away used it, so I just carried on using it as that is what he was used to, I know its popular with tortoise owners

Just a word of caution for you about Aspen Shavings. I tried it using once for my Star Tortoises and one of them ate a huge amount of it and died from an impacted gut. The necropsy showed NOTHING in its entire digestive tract except Aspen Shavings.

So it seems that some tortoises are liable to eat the shavings purposely and then they are unable to digest them leading to deaths such as what I experienced.

I would recommend NOT using Aspen Shavings at all for tortoises.