Sulcata what to feed where to buy??

[Coco449]

Hello first time posting!
We have a sulcata shes turning 2. I've been researching their diet and I'm worried it's not a good diet. Theres a lot of conflicting information.
Right now she eats some mazuri everyday and spring mix. She spends most of her time outside and grazes on the small amount of grass out there.
I dont think the grass outside is enough for her to eat though. And our other lawns have been treated with chemicals. And I'm just finding out spinach isnt good either and that spring mix contains it.
I've seen a lot of people list alfalfa, mustard, dandelions, but where can I find that stuff? Do nurseries sell weeds? What good options are available in stores and which ones? Should I just be planting things for her instead? If so what's the very first thing I should plant?
Sorry for the long post I just want her to be happy and healthy :c

 

[Maro2Bear]

Welcome....grass & weeds & grape leaves & hibiscus flowers & cactus fruit/pads. The more weeds/grass & flowers the better. A cup of Mazuri every few days with weeds is good. The Sully section has lots of good info.

How large of a grass yard? Grazing is really the best!

welcome.

 

[Coco449]

Welcome....grass & weeds & grape leaves & hibiscus flowers & cactus fruit/pads. The more weeds/grass & flowers the better. A cup of Mazuri every few days with weeds is good. The Sully section has lots of good info.

How large of a grass yard? Grazing is really the best!

welcome.

Where can I find that stuff though? We dont have any of it growing obv is growing it the only option?
Grazing area is like 10 ft x 30ft

 

[Maro2Bear]

Where can I find that stuff though? We dont have any of it growing obv is growing it the only option?
Grazing area is like 10 ft x 30ft

Growing all those good weeds & flowers for a monster Sully is difficult, esp when you are starting from scratch.

300 sq feet of growing grass (untreated) is good. Is your Sully outside full time? Heated night box?

Any neighbors have clean weeds, dandelions, hibiscus? Cactus pads with “tuna”/flower buds?

With the whole virus thing, you want to minimize those trips to grocery stores.

Grazing on your grass is really good. Maybe even block some areas off, water well, let it grow a good height, then open up to Mr Sully. Then block another area off while it grows. Think of how farmers graze cattle. ?

You’re in Glendale AZ ? A trip to a garden center for a few flowering hibiscus would be good. Just be careful with any pesticides/fertilizers. Id prune all the flowers/buds & let the plant grow new buds/flowers that will be clean of sprays.

 

[Coco449]

Growing all those good weeds & flowers for a monster Sully is difficult, esp when you are starting from scratch.

300 sq feet of growing grass (untreated) is good. Is your Sully outside full time? Heated night box?

Any neighbors have clean weeds, dandelions, hibiscus? Cactus pads with “tuna”/flower buds?

With the whole virus thing, you want to minimize those trips to grocery stores.

Grazing on your grass is really good. Maybe even block some areas off, water well, let it grow a good height, then open up to Mr Sully. Then block another area off while it grows. Think of how farmers graze cattle. ?

You’re in Glendale AZ ? A trip to a garden center for a few flowering hibiscus would be good. Just be careful with any pesticides/fertilizers. Id prune all the flowers/buds & let the plant grow new buds/flowers that will be clean of sprays.

Tysm so helpful!
Hopefully she'll be outside fulltime soon.
About the hibiscus and pesticide what about the leaves? Should they be pruned to? They can eat the leaves too right?
I'm gonna get some prickly pear from my mom!
Is t
Ty again!

Growing all those good weeds & flowers for a monster Sully is difficult, esp when you are starting from scratch.

300 sq feet of growing grass (untreated) is good. Is your Sully outside full time? Heated night box?

Any neighbors have clean weeds, dandelions, hibiscus? Cactus pads with “tuna”/flower buds?

With the whole virus thing, you want to minimize those trips to grocery stores.

Grazing on your grass is really good. Maybe even block some areas off, water well, let it grow a good height, then open up to Mr Sully. Then block another area off while it grows. Think of how farmers graze cattle. ?

You’re in Glendale AZ ? A trip to a garden center for a few flowering hibiscus would be good. Just be careful with any pesticides/fertilizers. Id prune all the flowers/buds & let the plant grow new buds/flowers that will be clean of sprays.

Tysm very helpful!
About the hibiscus should I prune leaves too? They can eat the leaves too right?
Is there anything i can feed her from the store while i get the plants together?

 

[Dizisdalife]

Some markets may have some of these items, but I doubt any of them have all you need. For every season there are plants for your sulcata to eat. This time of year there are lots of weeds, leafy greens, annual grasses. Where I live, San Diego, has had plenty of rain so we got mallow, dandelion, chicory (my favorite to grow and feed), sweetgrass, clovers, medics, annual rye grass, plantago, wild mustard, filarees, and much more.
There are many places on the internet to by seeds and seed packages to get you started. Try Tortoise Supply.com for a good seed mix to plant. See what grows localy and pluck some seeds or cuttings to start the plants at home.
As the seasons change the mix of plants and what your sulcata will be looking for does too. By the end of April the mulberry trees will have an abundance of leaves and sulcats love to eat on them. Grapes are easier to grow in a small yard than mulberry, but I have neighbors that love to have me prune their mulberry trees. The summer grasses grow, replacing most of the winter weed growth. My sulcata becomes less interested in weeds and is mostly interested in grass (and lots of it) and grass hay. Oh, he still goes for the leaves from squash, or pumpkin growing in our garden, or flowers the come up in the yard.

So there are options, but as your sulcata grows it becomes more advantages for you to grow most of the foods you need.

 

[Coco449]

Some markets may have some of these items, but I doubt any of them have all you need. For every season there are plants for your sulcata to eat. This time of year there are lots of weeds, leafy greens, annual grasses. Where I live, San Diego, has had plenty of rain so we got mallow, dandelion, chicory (my favorite to grow and feed), sweetgrass, clovers, medics, annual rye grass, plantago, wild mustard, filarees, and much more.
There are many places on the internet to by seeds and seed packages to get you started. Try Tortoise Supply.com for a good seed mix to plant. See what grows localy and pluck some seeds or cuttings to start the plants at home.
As the seasons change the mix of plants and what your sulcata will be looking for does too. By the end of April the mulberry trees will have an abundance of leaves and sulcats love to eat on them. Grapes are easier to grow in a small yard than mulberry, but I have neighbors that love to have me prune their mulberry trees. The summer grasses grow, replacing most of the winter weed growth. My sulcata becomes less interested in weeds and is mostly interested in grass (and lots of it) and grass hay. Oh, he still goes for the leaves from squash, or pumpkin growing in our garden, or flowers the come up in the yard.

So there are options, but as your sulcata grows it becomes more advantages for you to grow most of the foods you need.

So I'm pretty much clueless I am the opposite of a gardener. But how would I start planting seeds if the area is like dry hard dirt? Do you just put fertilizer?

 

[Yvonne G]

So I'm pretty much clueless I am the opposite of a gardener. But how would I start planting seeds if the area is like dry hard dirt? Do you just put fertilizer?
View attachment 290149

You take a shovel and turn the earth over, chopping up the clumps with the shovel. Then rake it smooth, sprinkle the seeds then lightly rake again to cover the seeds. Keep it watered (gently so you don't disturb the seeds).

That patch of green in the picture is Bermuda grass. This is a great tortoise food. All you need do is water it and it will soon cover that whole dirt area.

 

[Maro2Bear]

So I'm pretty much clueless I am the opposite of a gardener. But how would I start planting seeds if the area is like dry hard dirt? Do you just put fertilizer?

View attachment 290149
View attachment 290149

Yes, whst Yvonne said. I wouldn't fertilize though. Your yard could use a good daily watering. Most grasses prefer cooler moist conditions to properly germinate the seed. Id water any grass you have...in the morning.

Getting a three tined hoe and scarring the earth a bit will help break up the hard baked soil. It looks pretty baked dry...
I would work on little bits of the dry hard areas....every day a bit more. Water in the morning. Hopefully some grass will go to seed, drop, and start growing. Grass aldo has roots...and will spread out and grow in moister conditions.

 

[Tom]

Here is a thread explaining WHAT they should eat:

For Those Who Have a Young Sulcata...

Over and over I type up and answer diet questions and try to get people feeding the right stuff, but I find that the "norm" is grocery store food. Grocery store food is expensive, a hassle to obtain, and very low on the list of what is best for sulcatas. These tortoises are GRASS eaters. From...

tortoiseforum.org

Your question though is WHERE to find this stuff, right? Its all around you. Road sides, back yards of friends and neighbors, empty lots, wilderness areas. There are lots of mulberry trees in AZ. You'll still have weeds for a while longer too until it all burns up in the coming heat.

I find it easiest to grow my own. You can plant all sorts of stuff and never have to go anywhere for food. Like you, I didn't know jack about planting and growing stuff when I started. Watch YouTube videos. You'll learn a ton. I get my seeds from @TylerStewart and his lovely wife Sarah at tortoisesupply.com. They have a Testudo mix that is fantastic and several good grass seed pasture mixes that don't have all the yard chemicals in them like what you'd get at the hardware store. They also sell an herbal hay mix that is a bunch of dried flowers and stuff that works great as a topper to sprinkle on.

Any decorative plant bought at a store will be full of systemic pesticides. These pesticides are taken up by the roots and integrated into the plants tissues. Those poisons last for a year and you can't wash them off since they are inside the plant's tissues. You'll need to grow your own from seed, or from cuttings off of mature plants that you find. Plants intended for human consumption will not have these toxins, but plants like hibiscus will. You can plant theses plants, but don't feed any to your tortoise until you get new growth after a year or more.

Plants that will work well in your climate are lavatera, spineless opuntia cactus, mulberry trees, grape vines (for the leaves, not the fruit) and all sorts of grasses. Look around at what people around you are growing for more ideas.

Every local nursery has at least one plant nerd, if not several. Take samples from your yard or neighborhood and ask for help IDing them. If a weed sprouts up, cut some and take it to your plant nerd, or post pics here and we'll try to help with an ID. It takes time and effort to learn these plants, but its SOOOOOOOOOO worth it. Its the best possible food for your tortoise, and its all FREE.

And STOP spraying toxic chemicals on your other yards! That's not good for you, your animals, or any of the local animals. Those areas can become tortoise farm areas.

If you must use grocery store foods, favor endive and escarole. Add in cilantro, arugula, mustard, turnip and collard greens, carrot tops, celery tops, grated squash, and many others for variety. Add in some soaked ZooMed Grassland pellets for variety and fiber. Go to Will's site @Kapidolo Farms and get an assortment of the dried leaves and flowers he sells to mix in with your grocery store greens.

Questions and conversation are welcome.