Poop eating.

[Thalatte]

Actually I live a block and a half from a feed store so access isn't a issue just didn't think you were supposed to feed it till they were bigger. I was going to try it when I put them outside but I will pick some up tomorrow.
Does it have to be both orchid and Timothy? Or can I get just "grass hay"?
How long can I store it? If I chopped a bunch up and put in a dry Tupperware will it go bad?
Sorry they are probably stupid questions but the horses and goats go threw hay so fast I never worry about it going bad.

 

[Tom]

These questions aren't stupid at all. Quite reasonable, I think.

As far as type, the main ones are orchard grass hay, Bermuda hay, and Timothy hay. These are the ones I know, use and have experience with as far as tortoises go. Others might be okay too, but I don't know about them. You can use some alfalfa once in a whole too. I avoid the stems when I occasionally use the dry alfalfa. I grow my own so mine usually eat it while it's still green.

I think hay goes a little stale after a while, but this is something new to me too. I have a camel and a donkey, as well as the tortoises and I go through the bales pretty quickly. I just pull a flake out as needed for my tortoises. My guess would be that it's fine for at least a couple of months if stored dry in a tupperware container. Maybe longer.

Let us know how you get it all blended up. Some people use a food processor or a blender. I've never tried that. I just use fresh stuff for babies and chop it with scissors, or whole dry flakes for adults.

 

[cemmons12]

Wow Tom, I didn't know you had a camel! I got to get back out to Cali some day in the future before I'm to sick to travel! Sorry for hijacking your thread for a minute!

 

[Dizisdalife]

I buy grass hay pellets. They are made from hay that has been chopped up very fine (perhaps milled) and made into a pellet. I just soak the pellets in water to re-hydrate them. Usually I will mix them with Mazuri to add fiber and bulk to the Mazuri. They store pretty good too. Currently I am feeding timothy grass hay to my tortoise. I have fed bermuda and also orchard grass in the past. I think my tortoise likes the timothy the best, but I don't know for sure. The feed store sells it only in 50 lb. bags for about $14. Usually I keep 5 pounds and give the rest to a friend that has horses. He used to give me pellets, but now he is using oat hay and I don't want to feed it to my tortoise because of the nitrates. Here is a link to the manufacture's web site. I like this brand because it has no molases or other additives.

http://www.mountainsunrise.com/pellets.html

 

[bigred]

My redfoots eat dog and cat poop all the time, no way to stop it. They can sniff it out pretty fast

 

[Thalatte]

Wow Tom, I didn't know you had a camel! I got to get back out to Cali some day in the future before I'm to sick to travel! Sorry for hijacking your thread for a minute!

I don't mind hijack all you want!


Well the feed store doesn't have any of the hay I wanted except in massive (the big round bales not the smaller rectangles). So I wasn't able to get hay but I picked up more mazuri and now have a lifetime supply it seems. I will add that to their diets. Will that suffice for now until they go in their summer enclosure? It has a variety of grass and weed seeds planted. They haven't grown yet but should within a month or two. If not I can look into ordering some hay. Also the feed store promised to call if they get something smaller in (hey only buy from local farmers so they can't promise a date).

 

[Dizisdalife]

Wow Tom, I didn't know you had a camel! I got to get back out to Cali some day in the future before I'm to sick to travel! Sorry for hijacking your thread for a minute!

I don't mind hijack all you want!


Well the feed store doesn't have any of the hay I wanted except in massive (the big round bales not the smaller rectangles). So I wasn't able to get hay but I picked up more mazuri and now have a lifetime supply it seems. I will add that to their diets. Will that suffice for now until they go in their summer enclosure? It has a variety of grass and weed seeds planted. They haven't grown yet but should within a month or two. If not I can look into ordering some hay. Also the feed store promised to call if they get something smaller in (hey only buy from local farmers so they can't promise a date).

Some feed stores and pet stores are selling small bags of hay for rabbits (and other small animals). I advise you to not get the pellets that are "hay based" because thay have other ingredients formulated for the small mammals and may not be okay for tortoises. The grass hay that they sell seems to be okay.

http://www.zupreem.com/our-food/small-animals/natures-promise™-western-timothy-hay

 

[Thalatte]

They had a Timothy/alfalfa combo but thought the alfalfa was bad? Do they still need hay when being feed produce (~30%) and mazuri (~70%)?

 

[Dizisdalife]

They had a Timothy/alfalfa combo but thought the alfalfa was bad? Do they still need hay when being feed produce (~30%) and mazuri (~70%)?

Alfalfa is not bad, it's just not good. I would not feed it as a regular diet. I have been told that sulcata need long fiber from grasses. Fresh is best, but hay is probably second best. Mine really didn't start eating hay until he was two years old. Most of that is from timothy or bermuda hay pellets that are moistened and mixed with Mazuri in a 50/50 mix. He gets that three times a week during the summer and twice a week during the winter. His main diet is fresh grass, cultivated weeds, leaves from squash, mulberry and grape, and opuntia cactus. He eats regular hay (from bales) sometimes. Up until he was two years old his diet was mostly produce. He still gets kale, collards, endive, turnip, mustard that I grow or buy from the local market. I like growing for him so that he can just eat what he wants and the rest doesn't spoil. This time of the year I do buy some produce for him to eat.