Ok Timmy is driving me nuts! He just turned 3 and is just over 8 inches. He has an awesome outdoor enclosure which works cuz I live near Phoenix. Anyway he is eating me out of my home. I recently installed some irrigation so I could grow some grass and weeds for him. The problem is he eats all the stuff before it can really grow. I have tried feeding him as much as possible but he still grazes down all the newly planted grass. He eats at least 2 heads of romaine each day and some mazuri and the seedling grass. How do I grow the grass before he eats it all?
Starving sullie
- Thread starter Timmytort
- Start date
- Status
Well you can probably put seeds in different tubs every other few days then when the the grass is long enough you can put it in the enclosure to eat. No wait thought of a better idea put all the seeds in a bunch of different tubs at the same time then when it gets to be a desired length put the tub in the enclosure so when you get to the last one it will be longer and every time you take one out put new seeds in.
sod. it's square feet of grass that's already grown. you can get it at any plant nursery. maybe even home depot or lowes. they even come in different varieties at the nursery by me. it may be a bit more costly but definitely worth it in the end. get the sod then plant seeds as well. that way your tort will eat the sod and hopefully the new stuff will be left alone. for the most part.
If you go with sod make sure and ask if any pesticides were used on it...
You may wanna section off a few places and just give him access to one section while the other sections are growing and when a new section is ready then close off the old one and start the growth process over. Its best to figure it all out now while he is still small because it will not be any easier when he is 50+ POUNDS...
You may wanna section off a few places and just give him access to one section while the other sections are growing and when a new section is ready then close off the old one and start the growth process over. Its best to figure it all out now while he is still small because it will not be any easier when he is 50+ POUNDS...
You have to do it like they do for horses and cattle...rotate your pastures. Divide the area in half. You have the tortoise on one half while the other half is watered and growing. Once the grass is growing nicely and in no danger of the tortoise damaging it, you would rotate weekly. I'm fortunate in that I have three that I rotate the tortoise through. This means its two weeks for two of them to be watered and grow while he's on one, then at the end of the week he's moved to a different one and so on.
- Joined
- Aug 20, 2011
- Messages
- 1,125
Do you ever wonder where they put it all....I swear they eat more than twice there size in food every few hrs...:
LOL....oh and if you purchase sod...please keep in mind that in sod there is that green plastic netting within the roll of sod...so if your tort eats all the day down he may become entangled in the squares of the plastic mesh......I believe if you can get your hands on Bermuda grass species they tend to not use that plastic mesh .....dividing the space is going to likely be your best bet...also you may want to visit your local market and see if you can set up collecting their produced left overs or tear offs...just a thought
I agree with the rotaing pastures concept. You could also plant all the edibles outside the enclosure or if he just wanders the yard, build a raised garden bed with a few cinder block and grow what ever you want to feed him.
Time to start looking at other things to feed too. Look into dry horse hay. I like orchard grass hay, bermuda grass hay and timothy hay. Very cheap too. Order some cactus pads and plant a bunch of them too. Find some friends or neighbors with a mulberry tree and offer to periodically trim their tree for them. Grape vines? Pretty easy to grow.
This works too. When these get over grown, I move some bricks and remove the top and let the adults mow it down.
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/Thread...ut-Safe-Outdoor-Baby-Enclosures#axzz1bCImgmqM
This works too. When these get over grown, I move some bricks and remove the top and let the adults mow it down.
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/Thread...ut-Safe-Outdoor-Baby-Enclosures#axzz1bCImgmqM
If your area can grow them, I would suggest planting a few grape vines, they provide a good amount of leaves throughout the year, plant some in his enclosure surrounded by bricks so he can't eat them and 1 or 2 outside and you should also try and get him eating hay , like said above, those two things are great money savers.
rotating pastures is a good idea if you have the room to do so. RV has the back yard - all of it and she does eat the grass to the ground. On one hand, its nice we don't have to mow, but on the other hand, she stomps the yard (and stomps and stomps and stomps) if she has nothing to eat. I've gotten her hooked on mazuri, and mix it with grated carrot and microwaved fresh pumpkin (gotta love this time of year). Past that, it's tough love. she is still gaining weight and getting bigger, so I don't thinks she's suffering for lack ...
All good suggestions.
- Status
