Hay

[Homerist]

Hi all,

Do your tort take hay like second nature?

I tried Timothy hay and and now Orchard Hay, but my tort, a Indian Star
doesn't seem to be as excited as when i offer him greens.

In fact, he barely take a bite at the hay.

Any suggestions to make hay a stable for my tort?
Thanks!

 

[tortoisenerd]

Some torts won't ever get a taste for hay. If hay is good for your breed (I'm not familiar with stars), get a salad style hay like Carolina Pet Supply sells, moisten it, and mix small amounts into the tort's salad to introduce them to it. Both timothy and orchard are good choices, but the softer the hay and the slower you introduce it, the better luck you may have.

 

[ISTortoiseLover]

my star doesnt like hay that much. if you dont intend to use Mazuri, then u have to try mixing hay with what they would eat i believe.. trick them into taking a bite. haha

 

[Tom]

Few torts will just start eating dry hay the first time its introduced.

First of all, its mostly for adults. Most babies won't eat much of it.

Second, it ought to be introduced gradually, in my opinion. Start by cutting up a small amount with scissors. Get a little bundle of it in your hand and chop it into half inch or smaller pieces. Then mist your pile with some water and let it rehydrate for a few minutes. Finally, mix a little bit of this in with your normally fed food and chop it all up together. Over time I increase the amount of grass and decrease the amount of other stuff. I also rehydrate it less and less, gradually.

 

[TylerStewart]

It's much easier with larger tortoises, like Tom said. I have a hard time even getting my bigger leopards to care for it (let alone stars), but big sulcatas usually take to it pretty easily.

Playing with the camera yesterday....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sQA1ydO5pzo&hd=1

 

[Nay]

I just love watching a herd of torts eat. Actually I just love watching any tort eat.
Why do most of us enjoy that???
Thanks for posting.
Na

 

[Homerist]

Thanks for all the suggestions and sharings! =)

I witnessed my star taking a couple of bites on the hay but he shortly spit it out, like a child tasted medicine! aahah

But I found new poos thats different in colour and texture.
before i intro the hay, the poo were wetter and greener.
after introducing the hay, i noticed the poo to be dryer and greenish-to-brown.

Does it mean my star ate the hay?

I will continue to monitor, will update soon. =)