How much to feed 80 pound Sully

[bullanddoser1]

Hello everyone,

I recently adopted a Sully. He is 80 pounds. I am having a hard time feeding him. He eats everything in garden pulse store vegetables and greens. We have grass that he keeps clipped short. I also get Grass hay from a feed store(he does not eat much). I can't keep up with him and need some ideas. If anyone comes outside he is at your feet and attempting to get food some times he bites. I have small kids and don't know how to stop this.
An average day he gets 2 cucumbers lettuce head and another greens I have, he eats from the yard weeds, grass and some hay. Garden is almost gone and not many weeds left.
Please help with any ideas to satisfy this big boy so he does not eat my kids

 

[leigti]

Hello, welcome to the forum. I know for small tortoises they say to feed a pile of greens about the same size as your tortoise. That sounds a little daunting when you're tortoise weighs 80 pounds some experienced sulcata owners will come along soon with ideas. Meanwhile, I would talk to all your friends to see if they have left over things from their garden, mulberry leaves are good for tortoises, if you know anybody with a mulberry tree. Maybe you can grow some of your own. I know they can eat hay. I've heard someone say that they give some of the grass pellets they feed horses, but I would check that out with somebody else before you do it. There are seed mixes specific for your type of tortoise, weeds always grow easier than grass, at least in my yard
To keep him away from your small children I would build an enclosure so that at least part of your yard is tortoise free. Good luck with your big tortoise.

 

[bullanddoser1]

I like your idea on building an enclosure however it would only give him 1000sq feet of room. Is that ok for an 80 pound man. We are moving in 2 years and looking at 5 acres so it will not be forever.

 

[Tom]

Sulcatas eat a lot. This is one of the challenges of keeping these giants.

You need to stop with the store bought stuff. That is a waste of time and money. An 80 pounder could eat a whole case of romaine and still want more. Having a large herbivore like this means you either spend a lot of money on food, or a lot of time growing, finding and scrounging food.

Get some orchard grass hay or bermuda hay and start mixing the grocery store stuff in with that. Soon he will eat the hay like he does anything else. Makes sure he has a water source and uses it when feeding on dry hay. Soaking in a large tub once or twice a week is a good idea too.

Read this for lots of other ideas:
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/for-those-who-have-a-young-sulcata.76744/

The majority of what my adults eat is grass hay, fresh grass clippings from my untreated yard, mulberry leaves, spineless opuntia cactus pads, Mazuri tortoise chow, and then I throw in all sorts of weeds and stuff from the list on that thread above.

 

[bullanddoser1]

Thank you Tom.

I do have a pond with a river in my yard. He walks in it and sometimes drinks but does not Soak. Is that's okay or do I need to make him soak ? I have noticed when I make him only eat from the yard and the hay he comes to the back door and rams up against it with his shell in what I think is asking for food. Should I start to act more him when he does this and redirect him to hay?
Sorry for all the questions

 

[Yvonne G]

He might find the hay more palatable if you wet it or soak it to soften it. Also, buy your hay from a feed store, not from the pet store. That pet store stuff is so old and stiff I don't see how ANY animal can eat it. You want to go to the feed store and buy grass hay. They should have orchard grass or timothy or bermuda grass hays. It's ok to feed a little alfalfa hay, but the calcium/phosphorus ratio isn't correct for it to be one of the mainstays.

My 110lb sulcata lives in a yard appx. 30' x 75' and it has bermuda grass and weeds. I don't feed him anything. I occasionally cut off a couple branches from the mulberry tree for him but that's all. Even in the winter he has to eat the dead, brown bermuda grass.

 

[bullanddoser1]

I have Bermuda. A full bell last him about three months.

 

[Tom]

Thank you Tom.

I do have a pond with a river in my yard. He walks in it and sometimes drinks but does not Soak. Is that's okay or do I need to make him soak ? I have noticed when I make him only eat from the yard and the hay he comes to the back door and rams up against it with his shell in what I think is asking for food. Should I start to act more him when he does this and redirect him to hay?
Sorry for all the questions

I would soak him if you get him eating the dry hay better. Can't hurt and it will likely help.

Your tortoise is training you to feed him what he wants...

 

[Speedy-1]

Your tortoise is training you to feed him what he wants...

I am Guilty as charged I think !

 

[Big Charlie]

He might find the hay more palatable if you wet it or soak it to soften it. Also, buy your hay from a feed store, not from the pet store. That pet store stuff is so old and stiff I don't see how ANY animal can eat it. You want to go to the feed store and buy grass hay. They should have orchard grass or timothy or bermuda grass hays. It's ok to feed a little alfalfa hay, but the calcium/phosphorus ratio isn't correct for it to be one of the mainstays.

My 110lb sulcata lives in a yard appx. 30' x 75' and it has bermuda grass and weeds. I don't feed him anything. I occasionally cut off a couple branches from the mulberry tree for him but that's all. Even in the winter he has to eat the dead, brown bermuda grass.

I'm so glad to read this. I don't feed Charlie anything either. He eats from the yard and seems happy and healthy. He'll eat the plums that fall on the ground in the Spring and occasionally I'll give him a watermelon rind. Since I've been on the forum, I've been giving him the rose clippings. I'm wondering if I should be asking the gardener to dump the clippings in the yard for him.

 

[dmmj]

just like the 800 pound gorilla as much as he wants

 

[rosemary]

Thought I'd mention that sometimes natural grocers will give you produce that's just going out of sell date/look. Our store likes to do that so good food doesn't go to waste, plus no pesticides!!