Some History: (Or skip to the question below) Our orphaned sulcata has been with us two months, came with some pyramiding, very timid, and we lavished him with spring mix, kale and occasional rose petals. It weighed 294 grams and was 4.25 inches long. It has gained 40 grams and grown .25 inch. It spends a good part of its day in the sunny (herbicide/pesticide/fertilizer free) lawn here in southern California, a 3 x 3 ft. solid sided enclosure, complete with partial shade and a hide, screened top. It roams daily after I place it in a warm shallow dish bath, which it now seems to enjoy, as he lingers in it for up to an hour. I have never seen it drink, but do not observe it continuously.
Then we started reading the forum posts. We discovered Tom, very stern Tom, with admonitions to feed sulcatas grass. We have a lots of grass. Tom, message received. Thank you.
For the last two weeks I stopped giving it the greens in the morning and just put it outside, in the lawn. When it comes in at evening to its indoor nighttime enclosure I give it some greens, sprinkled with cut grass. At first it ravaged them, skipping the grass, recently it still eats the greens, but much less. Kale is its favorite. Poops have always been irregular, every three to five days, large or small. I really don't track those very well.
Question: Should we assume it is eating grass because it is gaining weight, growing, and active? When I try to watch it, it freezes and does nothing or just retreats into its shell.
Calcium observation: Today, for the first time, it moved the cuttlebone near its hide and chewed on it, along with a piece of kale. We previously sprinkled calcium powder sparingly on some greens weekly. I guess we can stop doing that.
The picture is about one month ago. Thank you, all
Then we started reading the forum posts. We discovered Tom, very stern Tom, with admonitions to feed sulcatas grass. We have a lots of grass. Tom, message received. Thank you.
For the last two weeks I stopped giving it the greens in the morning and just put it outside, in the lawn. When it comes in at evening to its indoor nighttime enclosure I give it some greens, sprinkled with cut grass. At first it ravaged them, skipping the grass, recently it still eats the greens, but much less. Kale is its favorite. Poops have always been irregular, every three to five days, large or small. I really don't track those very well.
Question: Should we assume it is eating grass because it is gaining weight, growing, and active? When I try to watch it, it freezes and does nothing or just retreats into its shell.
Calcium observation: Today, for the first time, it moved the cuttlebone near its hide and chewed on it, along with a piece of kale. We previously sprinkled calcium powder sparingly on some greens weekly. I guess we can stop doing that.
The picture is about one month ago. Thank you, all