How much food?

[pinkpirate]

My Sulcata is 6 months old, 1.5" and 114g. I have been giving him collard greens and spinach everyday for the week I have had him. He eats it but usually one amount in the morning is good.

Today I switched to Spring Mix and gave him a piece of strawberry as a treat. He didn't eat the strawberry, in fact he just sat on it. But the spring mix he gobbled down like I have never seen so I gave him more and he ate that two. At that point I decided I shouldn't give him more.

My question is.......Is there a certain amount to feed each day and how many times a day?

On a side not I do have some tortoise food in the bowl, its some sort of hay that is compact till water is added. He won't eat that at all.

I just really want to make sure he is getting enough to eat but no over fed. Thank you for the help.

 

[ascott]

A safe measuring tool is the size of his shell....so grab some of your spring mix and any other green and cut it up really small until you have prepared a cut pile the size (length by height of tort) of his shell.....I would ease up on the spinach ....in the spring mix there is already spinach...so don't want to overdo on the spinach....I soak the babies here in the am...then offer them their food and they chow down...if there is a little left I place it in their enclosure and it mysteriously disappears.....

You have a baby so I would not be as concerned of them being chow hounds ...maybe if they have not balanced their consumption after the first year then you can decrease offerings as they begin to really graze in their own....

 

[Jacob]

My baby used to be the same way, im pretty sure he is full.
Babies stomachs are small and fill up fast, just feed him a pile the size of his shell,
if he eats well sometimes you can feed him twice a day.
Spring mix, cactus from the market, mazuri, dark leafy greens, kale, mustard greens, grass chopped up mixed in.

 

[lovinmesomefranklin]

Tortoises shouldn't eat more than a couple of spinach leafs a month, there stomachs don't break it up well and it gives them tummy aches, especially with baby's, so that may be a reason.

 

[Yvonne G]

Tortoises shouldn't eat more than a couple of spinach leafs a month, there stomachs don't break it up well and it gives them tummy aches, especially with baby's, so that may be a reason.

Hi lovinmesomefranklin:

Won't you take a few moments to start a new thread in the "introductions" section and tell us a bit about you and your tortoise?

That's really not the reason to limit the amount of spinach. Spinach binds calcium to it and the calcium gets pooped and pee'd out without giving any benefit to the host (tortoise). I really doubt if it causes any discomfort to the tortoise, just no calcium benefit.

 

[pinkpirate]

Tortoises shouldn't eat more than a couple of spinach leafs a month, there stomachs don't break it up well and it gives them tummy aches, especially with baby's, so that may be a reason.

Hi lovinmesomefranklin:

Won't you take a few moments to start a new thread in the "introductions" section and tell us a bit about you and your tortoise?

That's really not the reason to limit the amount of spinach. Spinach binds calcium to it and the calcium gets pooped and pee'd out without giving any benefit to the host (tortoise). I really doubt if it causes any discomfort to the tortoise, just no calcium benefit.

I have done an introduction awhile ago. Is it not showing up?

 

[dmmj]

LOL this is probably one of the top 3 or so debates we have here. I try and feed them a handful of greens a day, and then if they are still hungry I usually have something growing so they can munch throughout the day.