Questions on baby sulcata

[Natasha]

Hello everyone! I just want to to say it is a wonderful forum and I learned so much so far, but of course still have few questions.
We had our baby sulcata, named Morty for few months now, and I think he is doing well (could be she!), thanks to numerous advices I read. Hi is 1oz and just a few inches. I will post him in the intro soon. So here are my questions, and I would really appreciate a feedback.
1. I want to buy a Mazuri diet and give him few pieces ones a week. Well since it come in big bags, does it has an expiration date? I just worry that it will expire before he will eat it.

2. The continuos debate on his food. Right now I buy him organic mix of greens, no spinach in it. For how long would this be suitable for him? It is cold here now and he will be inside until the spring. I am going to buy a seed mix, I found links in other thread, but how does it work? So it will grow in the planters I presume, then I just cut up some and feed him. Will the grass regrow by itself, since it is in planters, or should I grow little at a time just to have enough weekly, and how to get it to produce seeds, so I can continue growing it and not to buy the mix constantly?

3.Also I keep reading that Mulberry leaves are good food. I have peach and nectarine tree, and couldn't find any information whether it could be fed?

4. Last food question. When it was worm I let him outside to get sunshine and he found this one weed and in several day he completely ate it, I guess it tasted the best. Well, after research I realized it called bindweed, and according to this threat, tt is an edible landscape for tortoises: Threat

, but according to the turtle table it contains cardiac glycosides and toxic alkaloids and should be fed in moderation. Morty is ok, but that scared me slightly. Any ideas if I should avoid this weed or let him eat it when he wants to in moderation?

Thank you so much, all the advise is greatly appreciated!

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi Natasha:

Welcome to the forum!

1. If you contact the folks here on the forum who sell Mazuri, I'm sure you can buy a smaller quantity from them. Just put "Mazuri" in the search box and click the "for sale" thread for your search.

2. He can eat the mixed greens all the time. You can add some weeds and leaves from outside to it, then when he's able to go outside, he can graze on what grows in his pen. If you buy the seeds, you can plant them in a kitty litter pan, outside his habitat. Once they're growing well, you can just put the whole pan inside the habitat, removing it to water it and let it grow some more.

3. Mulberry leaves, grape leaves, hibiscus leaves, rose of sharon leaves...all of these are good. But I don't think they will eat the leaves from fruit trees.

4. Almost all of the edible plant lists contradict each other. If you just remember to feed any one thing in moderation, and use a wide variety of foods, it will be fine.

 

[J. Ellis]

I have not been able to find an expiration date on any bag of Mazuri. I actually saw an ad lastnight stating that, if stored correctly, it could last over a year.

 

[Missy]

You can keep the mazuri in the freezer.

 

[tortoisenerd]

Welcome to the group! We love photos and intros.

Yes, Mazuri has a long shelf life (I've heard a year) and freezes well. But, best to get it from someone who sells a lot of it, not the store who has already had it sitting on the shelf for who knows how long. You should be able to find a 1 lb bag. I just keep a handful out in a little Ziplock and freeze the rest in a big Ziplock. I actually prefer the ingredients in Grassland though, very small amounts of either. Take a look and see what you think. Particularly, Mazuri has some molasses in it. Grassland is more hay based. Both have vitamins which are one of the main reasons I like to severely limit them. They can be very addictive for the tort too.

As he gets older you may want to start to introduce some hay and grass into his diet, slowly increasing the amount over time. Its unusual for them to have a taste for it until a couple years old though, but its never too early to try. The salad style hay from Carolina Pet Supply is a good choice. You can chop any type of hay up and mix a little into the greens. If you can get him to eat it with the greens, great. If not, keep trying, especially as he gets older.

You can sink a cat litter pan into the enclosure for the hatchling to graze, and have another 1 or 2 growing outside or on a windowsill. They will get mowed down like grass, so you do need to rotate them out if you go that way. There is a fair amount of grass in most of the mixes, although they have some broadleaf plants in them too. Or, tear or cut the sprouts off. You can also scatter the seeds in an area of your lawn for tort graze, especially once you have the sulcata living outdoors. Great variety so your tort can live off the land. You can mix other seeds in with tortoise mix, such as any lettuces or greens too.

 

[moswen]

I buy mazuri and cactus pads from cory (username spikethebest) but there are a lot of ppl now that advertise on the for sale section of the forum, you could get those from anyone in small amounts, feeding him 3 or 4 a week will last you forever... I use the lids from plastic strawberry, raspberry, or blueberry containers and use those for planting seed in their enclosure, alternate the tubs and give them a few days to re-grow.

The toxicity issue is different for torts, I don't know anything about that plant other than what you said but tortoises can handle much more than livestock, and most toxic plant lists are geared towards cattle and goats and stuff... Also tortoises know what's good for them and what they need, it's not like they live with mommy for 6 years while she teaches them what's safe and what's not. Also sometimes they eat some plants that are known to be toxic to help with a parasite load.

 

[Natasha]

Thank you very much, super helpful, Morty and I are grateful! Will post pics soon!!!