Leopard Diet Question

[Seiryu]

Was trying to use the search function, found some answers, but not all. Sorry for all the questions but I really don't want to screw this up.

I'm basically going to make a list of everything you guys think is good to possibly get and see what my local grocery has (Meijer is what it's called). Also have farmers markets as well.

Getting a baby Leopard here, probably before August. Waiting for them to get in from a breeder nearby (with health certificates yey).

So I've been reading some things I wanted to clear up.

Spring Mix - Is this used INSTEAD of grasses/weeds?

I know to use a variety of things, but a few posts stated their Leopard won't touch hay or grasses much. I want to feed it as much variety as possible.

If I get Spring Mix, but he also likes Grasses/Hays. About what % should the spring mix be in the diet?

I plan on planting things in his outdoor enclosure for when he gets bigger. Is there a seed mix for grasses and such that's good for Leopards? And what other things are good to plant that are on the cheaper side?

Thistles - What part do they eat or do they eat it all? That stuff is very prickly to me.

Grasses - Do I just use the grasses from outside or is there a place where you guys buy grasses? And which grasses are ok and are any bad? I live in Michigan, so I don't have access to grass between Oct/Nov to sometimes April (Michigan weather sucks, winters duration changes every year)

Hay - I think I read timothy hay is good, any other types? And where does one get these types of Hay. I don't think the local grocery stores have any.

Fruits - I know not to feed often. But is 1/2 times every 2 weeks good? And which are good and seem to be a favorite for your tort?

This is roughly what i'm thinking in terms of food.

Main Diet: Clovers, Dandelion, Collard Greens ,Turnip Greens, Thistles, Spring Mix, Grasses, Timothy Hay.

"Treats": Strawberries, Grapes and Cantalope.

Calcium/d3 supplement: I have both Herpitivite(d3/calcium) and Rep-Cal(no d3). Now I mix it 50/50 for my Basilisk. Do you recommend mixing or just the Herpitivite?

And for 1 year and under tortoises, 6-7 days a week, sprinkle some on their food? Just a pinch or so?

Thanks again, looking forward to the responses. Note, I pretty much looked all this up and put it all together. Looking for personal experiences, not just links to websites.

 

[Flametorch]

Spring mix shouldn't be used as a main diet, compared to grasses at least. In nature grasses are their true main diet, and I guess its best to keep it that way. Usually baby leopard torts would jump for the mix in oppose to hay, but I don't know about growing live grass itself and their reactions compared to spring mix. You can get timothy hay and orchard hay (even alfalfa hay, though not recommended) from a pet store because they are often used for rabbits, you can also get cuttlebones in the bird section of the store too. I don't think you should pick up grasses anymore (you know from parks and stuff) and I think grow everything on your own, like in pots you can move indoors, because you never know whats in those grasses. When buy seed make sure they can eat it (look at tortoisetrust.org, I know they had a list somewhere that shows what grasses they can eat and be grown: buffalo, bluegrass, etc...) just make sure that it has no added chemicals. As in percentage in how much to feed spring mix, it's not really bad for them so you can leave it as a second choice for your tortoise; however, if you can use grass as much as possible. Remember, tortoises can choose when they want to eat. I haven't tried this yet but you can take dandelion puff and throw them in a pot and grow your own dandelions, I read in another topic that you can cut them about one inch from the base before they develope seeds and that they'd grow back, so I guess that's extremely useful. There's also another website that lists all edible landscaping and plants for leopards and sulcatas (also toxic, but I wouldn't recommend looking at that because memorizing both lists can cause confusion in the future, and you will begin to be unsure whether something's poisonous or not.). As for calcium supplements, now I only use a 'pinch' lol because I was told I using wayyy too much. Mine hasn't had fruit yet so I don't know the outcome of that. Then again I'm not someone who really hands out 'treats' so I might not bother at all really. Sorry about the rambling but I remember posting a thread like this and no one replied, and last week I swang into overdrive walking to all these pet shops, and looking at my tortoise 24/7 and a half. So it's okay to be a little worked up... just don't panic or else you'll be making more trips to the supermarket than you need. I just got my tortoise last week.

 

[Seiryu]

Spring mix shouldn't be used as a main diet, compared to grasses at least. In nature grasses are their true main diet, and I guess its best to keep it that way. Usually baby leopard torts would jump for the mix in oppose to hay, but I don't know about growing live grass itself and their reactions compared to spring mix. You can get timothy hay and orchard hay (even alfalfa hay, though not recommended) from a pet store because they are often used for rabbits, you can also get cuttlebones in the bird section of the store too. I don't think you should pick up grasses anymore (you know from parks and stuff) and I think grow everything on your own, like in pots you can move indoors, because you never know whats in those grasses. When buy seed make sure they can eat it (look at tortoisetrust.org, I know they had a list somewhere that shows what grasses they can eat and be grown: buffalo, bluegrass, etc...) just make sure that it has no added chemicals. As in percentage in how much to feed spring mix, it's not really bad for them so you can leave it as a second choice for your tortoise; however, if you can use grass as much as possible. Remember, tortoises can choose when they want to eat. I haven't tried this yet but you can take dandelion puff and throw them in a pot and grow your own dandelions, I read in another topic that you can cut them about one inch from the base before they develope seeds and that they'd grow back, so I guess that's extremely useful. There's also another website that lists all edible landscaping and plants for leopards and sulcatas (also toxic, but I wouldn't recommend looking at that because memorizing both lists can cause confusion in the future, and you will begin to be unsure whether something's poisonous or not.). As for calcium supplements, now I only use a 'pinch' lol because I was told I using wayyy too much. Mine hasn't had fruit yet so I don't know the outcome of that. Then again I'm not someone who really hands out 'treats' so I might not bother at all really. Sorry about the rambling but I remember posting a thread like this and no one replied, and last week I swang into overdrive walking to all these pet shops, and looking at my tortoise 24/7 and a half. So it's okay to be a little worked up... just don't panic or else you'll be making more trips to the supermarket than you need. I just got my tortoise last week.

Thanks. Ya thats why I didnt want links to websites, most replies will just be "go here". When in reality. While I was looking things up, so many sites contradicted one another. I don't know which is good or bad.

So the Mix then, is basically a replacement for the grass part if I can't get it. I could mix it in with his grasses/weeds though right?

So what do you do for grasses then if you don't use the grass from outside? I wouldn't be going to random areas, it'd be my front/backyard that I know doesn't have any pesticides, fertilizer etc. And of course, rinse off everything before I use it well.

 

[Flametorch]

Sure, mixing spring mix with weeds or grasses, should be fine. You might end up doing that anyway to make your leopard eat grasses too lol. You could use grasses in your yard, like that shouldn't be a problem. Overall good luck though.

 

[Seiryu]

If anyone else has any input it'd be appreciated, thanks.

 

[purpod]

Salutations!

I always add the spring mix greens to what ever else they end up eating; I do not use it as a "back-up", but as part of their main staple. When you go to the grocery store, you will find various greens you can mix together, providing a yummy salad your tortie will love to chow down.

I also add shredded squash, punkin, carrots, red leaf lettuce, parsely, celery leaves, radish leaves, kale & more. Not all of those ingredients on every feeding, but you get the idea... I've also gotten spinless cacti and succulents from the nursery, and my leopards munch on those in their outdoor enclosure as they like. Strawberries are a favorite too, as is watermelon, canteloup & bananas. Another 'treat' for tort's are grape leaves and hibiscus flowers. Just remember that fruits should be limited, mainly sticking with the dark greens.

As for the grasses, you can buy tortoise grass seed mix online; I got a small bag once from Carolina Pet Supply & when it was just lil' sprouts, Snortie Tortie would just mow them down like a lawn mower. Now the grasses are mature, and altho she will sometimes nibble on it, it's not her favorite thing any longer.

In the past, I have had tort's that just LOVED dandi leaves & flowers, however, neither Snortie Tortie nor MR Sweeetheart care for them. Their favorite is the dark burgundy lettuce leaves. Be sure that any wild weeds have not been sprayed with pesticides, or you may have a sickly tort...

Okie, enuf from me for now; those are some of the suggestions I would recommend from personal experience.

Bestest Wishes!
Purpod

 

[Seiryu]

Salutations!

I always add the spring mix greens to what ever else they end up eating; I do not use it as a "back-up", but as part of their main staple. When you go to the grocery store, you will find various greens you can mix together, providing a yummy salad your tortie will love to chow down.

I also add shredded squash, punkin, carrots, red leaf lettuce, parsely, celery leaves, radish leaves, kale & more. Not all of those ingredients on every feeding, but you get the idea... I've also gotten spinless cacti and succulents from the nursery, and my leopards munch on those in their outdoor enclosure as they like. Strawberries are a favorite too, as is watermelon, canteloup & bananas. Another 'treat' for tort's are grape leaves and hibiscus flowers. Just remember that fruits should be limited, mainly sticking with the dark greens.

As for the grasses, you can buy tortoise grass seed mix online; I got a small bag once from Carolina Pet Supply & when it was just lil' sprouts, Snortie Tortie would just mow them down like a lawn mower. Now the grasses are mature, and altho she will sometimes nibble on it, it's not her favorite thing any longer.

In the past, I have had tort's that just LOVED dandi leaves & flowers, however, neither Snortie Tortie nor MR Sweeetheart care for them. Their favorite is the dark burgundy lettuce leaves. Be sure that any wild weeds have not been sprayed with pesticides, or you may have a sickly tort...

Okie, enuf from me for now; those are some of the suggestions I would recommend from personal experience.

Bestest Wishes!
Purpod

Thanks. Ya I don't plan to give too many fruits, is why I called them "treats" . I imagine it's good for them once in a while for variety.

So Hibiscus are not an everyday thing then?

In terms of the grocery store. I didn't realize I could just pick greens out lol. I figured most were probably not very nutritional or good for them (whether high on Oxalates etc).

Now are pretty much any grasses (Like in my backyard) good for them?