paigefaneller
New Member
All I've said is I've done my research, & during my research everyone has said different things, my torts are extremely picky on what I give them, but I was never exactly sure if it was good for them
New Sulcata Mom//Food? Vitamin C?
- Thread starter paigefaneller
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paigefaneller
New Member
I've done ZooMed (I know it's similar to Mazuri) but they don't even go NEAR it when I soak it for them, I've tried to put kale in it too to see if they would try to eat it then... nope
Yeah, I hear, I would try the original pellets, stay away from the "small tortoise" or the "LS"
Do you know what they were eating before you got them? That may be something to check out and start with that. Once they're used to their new home and warm, they'll eat! Theyll come around, just keep it up!!
Hi @Paigefeneller
The torts are not exceptional in being picky. It is very common indeed.
They know what they like and they like what they know.
You have to think of yourself as the parent of a child that only wants to eat chips and chocolate. Both are fine in small quantities occasionally, but not for every meal.
You have to get tough, either they eat what you say or they go hungry. A hungry tort will eat and will come to no harm if it goes on hunger strike for several days as long as it is soaked for at least 30 minutes every day while it's refusing food.
These two torts do need to live entirely separately as one will bully the other into decline. They are not social and it will only get worse as they grow rapidly to their full 100lb+ size. These torts are the bulldozers of the tort world. They have bags of personality but do as they darn well please.
ZooMed and Mazuri are totally different. Few tortoises "like" the ZooMed Grassland food, even though it is good for them. Most tortoises LOVE the Mazuri and take to it like candy.
It takes time to get them used to the ZooMed stuff, but its worth the effort, because mixing that in will improve the quality of the foods you are feeding them. Start with just a tiny little broken pice of one pellet. Soak it in a little water until it turns to mush. Then chop up your greens for the day, spray them with water and mix in your ZooMed mush. Over time you can add more and more of the ZooMed stuff as they get used to it. THis precess can take up to a month or more in some cases. Be patient. It is worth the effort to get them eating the right stuff.
if I let baby sulcata eat/graze outside for a couple of hours does he still need to be fed his regular diet
Your baby can only go out for short periods on the warmest days.
You should feed your tort as normal.
Tom's comment made me remember that I forgot to mention that I do use the zoomed grassland pellets too but I run a couple of pellets through a coffee grinder and sprinkle the shreds over fresh food to get Spur used to the hay and I also throw some soaked original Mazuri pellets on top for a treat. It's worked out well I think.
I'm glad to hear sow thistle is good for them, I have wayyyyy too much of it out back
