How MUCH to feed 1.5yr old African Sulcata?

[Zabbi]

Hey!

New to this forum. I hope it's still active and I can get some responses.
I am having difficulty knowing how much to feed my baby. His name is Sampson. From what I have gathered, he is about a year and a half. I feed him primarily romaine lettuce with calcium supplements as well as let him roam around on occasion around the lawn. It's Bermuda grass. This is very very occasionally though as I work a lot and mostly keep him inside.
Here's the thing: I feed him a big handful of the lettuce a day and sprinkle some of the calcium supplement on top. He always munches it up though. I feed him a bit more and he kind of leaves it alone.

I just am not sure that I'm feeding him the right amount.
I don't want him to be hungry but all that lettuce gets really expensive too so I don't want it to go to waste.

Any advice??

Also- at about what age do you know for sure the gender of the baby? I am pretty sure he's a boy because of some "noises" that he has made at "night" lol but I'm just curious. I just call "Sammy" in the meantime.

Thanks!

-Lizzi

 

[Tom]

Hello and welcome to the forum.

If you click on the threads in my signature. You will find the answers to your questions and many more answers to questions you didn't even know you had.

I'll hit your main questions here though.

The best way to feed any young tortoise is to put them in a safe outdoor enclosure and let them graze all day at will. You can plant pasture mixes, Russian tortoise mixes and sulcata mixes in there, and just let him eat his fill. When indoors, I like to give mine a pile twice a day.

Your diet needs some serious improvement. Romaine alone is not a great diet. Feeding it occasionally is fine, but there are so many other things that you could and should be feeding. The best thing is grasses and weeds. Outside of that you can feed mulberry, rose, hibiscus and grape leaves. Spineless opuntia cactus pads. Gazanias, pansies, dandelions, carnations and many more. You can post pics here of the weeds in your area and we will try to help you ID them. At the grocery store, you can get spring mix or Santa Barbara mix, endive, escarole, red or green leaf lettuce, butter lettuce, collard greens, turnip greens, cilantro, water cress, carrot tops, etc.... Lots of variety is important. You can get your tortoise eating all of this by gradually mixing it in with the romaine. You might have to chop it all up together. You can also try some Mazuri tortoise chow. Many forum members sell it here.

Calcium should only be given two or three times a week tops. It can interfere with the absorption of other minerals and trace elements if it is given too much or every day.

Outside time is very important. They should be getting outside time daily as long as the weather permits. In my signature are lots of ideas for outdoor enclosures. They need the exercise and the sunshine. The larger the better.

There shouldn't be any noises at night. What sort of noises are you hearing? This could indicate a respiratory infection. What does his temp drop to at night?

Most of the time you can tell their sex by 3-4 years old, but occasionally one will surprise you.

Hope these things help.

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi Lizzi:

Welcome to the Tortoise Forum!!

Your tortoise is big enough to live outside now. Do you have anyone who can help you build him an outdoor enclosure?

There are many, many more and better types of greens you can be feeding your baby besides romaine lettuce. And how boring for him to only get one thing at every meal. Next time you go to the store, buy a bag of Spring Mix. Then the next time, buy a bunch of collard greens. The next time you can buy some turnip greens. And once you get your outdoor pen built, Bermuda grass is a great diet for a sulcata. Not too many people know this, but Bermuda grass originally comes from Africa (and so does your tortoise!).

(You don't often see a cat with that coat color. He's very pretty)

 

[ALDABRAMAN]

Welcome!

 

[pam]

Welcome

 

[Jacqui]

Hi! *waves* Welcome to TFO!