Sulcatta Hatchling feeding ideas

[wexican]

We are first time tortoise owners and just got a Sulcatta hatchling.

We went to petsmart and got some general ideas on what to feed the tortoise but I am not 100% sold on the information we recieved. I have been reading alot of information on line and I am curious as to what your suggestions for a proper hatchling diet and more importantly, What is the correct amount of food to feed the hatchling.

Please Help Buddah(that is what we named it) is hungry

 

[Meg90]

Spring Mix. I use Earthbound farms brand. I get mine at walmart. Dust his greens with Calcium powered at EVERY feeding until he is over a year old. I use Reptocal

 

[wexican]

they told use romaine lettuce and gave us some zoo meds grassland tortoise food.

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And how much do you give him at a time?

 

[Meg90]

Romaine is OK when fed as a part of a varied diet (in addition to spring mix and other greens), but if you feed romaine alone, you will have problems. It is not nutritious enough. And skip the pellets. Ever read what is in them? Its sickening. Husk meal, and oil, and preservatives and artificial colors.

I feed as much as they can eat. My little Greek gets a pile as big as her shell in the morning, and then, in the afternoon, another portion, if she's by her food tile, or really cruising (looking for food) She eats twice a day, on most days. I would advise you to do the same.

If you want to offer some formulated diet, Mazuri can be used, sparingly though, or soon Buddha will not touch greens at all. Where are you located? I am soon to be buying like 20lbs of Mazuri, and for 5.00$ and the cost of shipping, I will send some to you. Zoos use it.

And FYI, don't listen to petstore employees. They just want to sell you stuff.

 

[wexican]

Thanks for the info. Thats why we came here. We truly appreciate help as does buddah. And we will went to a reptile pet store in AZ and they told us about the mazuri as well. We will be getting some of it tomorrow.



Thank you again.

 

[Meg90]

No problem! I just got a new baby as well (a month old) so I am right back to the worrying stage! My older baby is almost a year now....they are nerve wracking little things as youngins. But so worth it to raise....

 

[dmmj]

Most pet stores only goal is to sell stuff. I would take what they say with a big grain of salt, If I were you. Like my local pet storem loves to sell tiny hatchlings and tiny aquariums with all the setups when they know that in a few months that little tort is gonna be to big for the setup they sell, makes me sick. stick to this site lots of peopel who know what they are doing. They also love to keep their torts on rabbit pellets with no access to water, and feed them nothing but lettuce.

 

[Crazy1]

Dmmj, "they" as in the pet stores right? We here don't seem to like rabbit pellets and even sully hatchlings need access to water.

Here is a little care sheet I set up for the new 55 gram hatchling Sully I've had for about a month now and is doing fine, but Friday will be going to his new forever home. Yep another one has stole my heart.
I had this set out at my Show as a handout.
Diet:
Feed only 1 time a day.
0-6 months ¼ C (this is a little bit more than mine usually eats in a day)
6mo-1yr ¼- ½ C
after a yr 1 still a juvenile 1 C loose packed greens
Adults of course get fed more.

Approximately
75% - 85% of the diet should be comprised of graze such as the grasses, weeds, and clovers. The remaining
25% -15% of the diet can be from mixtures of dark, leafy greens such as turnip greens, mustard greens, collard greens, chicory, watercress, hibiscus leaves and blossoms, mulberry leaves, grape leaves, dandelion greens and blossoms, rose leaves and flowers, cactus (untreated with pesticides or chemical fertilizers)(not necessarily in that order). If you feed kale, mustard, watercress and collard greens, only do so once in a while in small portions.
0% Do not offer items such as chard, spinach, broccoli, cabbages, cauliflower, green beans or beans of any kind, corn, sprouts of any kind, tomatoes…or any legume or high protein vegetables, while a growing hatchling or juvenile. (my personal preferance)
for a listing of Good tort foods see this: http://tortoiseforum.org/thread-5823.html

Young tortoises (hatchlings)have problems digesting grasses. You will be much better off at this point with a diet of high calcium leafy greens and just a little grass if any (I cut the tops off wheat grass). Some people advise no grasses when they are that small but I personally feel that a little roughage is good for them. Feed high calcium greens such as turnip greens, grape leaves, dandelion greens, and collard greens (only if it can bite through the leaves). You should be able to find many of these in the grocery store. You can also use spring mix. I just pull out the spinach.

Hatchlings are about 2 inches when first hatched and between 35-45 grams, they can put on about 3 grams in a week or two and 5-6 if they are well fed. But they need to inoculate their intestines with the bacteria needed to properly break down the plant material. This is relatively common in the pet trade and we often see babies that eat like crazy but do not grow. Normally babies will pick up this bacteria from eating the 'poop' of other tortoises (if they have access to them) or eating some dirt. This is different from eating sand and gravel and getting impactions. Baby tortoises normally intentionally eat some dirt which helps them get started.. Put about 2 - 3 inches of clean damp soil from your flowerbed or veggie garden (pesticide free area) in the bottom of the enclosure and lightly pack it down. Try to keep it from completely drying out while the tortoise is living on it. It is OK (and actually good) if you see it trying to eat some of the dirt. It will not eat much. Do not sterilize the dirt first - use it straight from the garden.

The bacterial inoculation is permanent unless it is given antibiotics for some reason

Temperatures and humidity;
Temperatures should be about 85F hot end and 72-75F cool end. 90-100F can dehydrate them.
Humidity should be about 70% in hide area.
I like to use yard dirt at first then move them onto cypress mulch which I can keep damp by pouring a glass of water over it and stirring it with my hand. The lights and heat will dry out the top layer but the under layers will be damp and provide humidity.

Due to their prodigious growth rate, their demand for calcium and mineral trace elements is high. It's usually recommended that calcium/D3 (D3 should be used if no UVB light or sunlight is provided) be provided daily, However this could lead to excessive supplementation. Excessive amounts do not just flush from the tortoises system, but can and do lead to malabsorption of essential fatty acids and other deficiencies such as iron, zinc, iodine, copper. It can also cause bladder or kidney stones. Calcium has a very narrow safe range of intake. Excessive amounts of calcium can also lead to hypercalcemia and soft bones. The addition of D3 can be toxic and lead to hypercalcemia as well.

Providing of "natural" grasses and weeds are not always an option. There are some excellent supplemental diets available today that can be used when reliance on feeding store bought produce and these products eliminate the need to supplement with the commonly used powder forms of Calcium/D3.
Mazuri Tortoise food and Zoo Med Grassland tortoise food are the only two I will use. I soak them in water until softened them crumble them up over their greens or crush them in a coffee grinder and sprinkle over damp greens. Until they get a taste for them then you can just soften them and place it in with greens for a more balanced diet.
These are solely my Opinions and how I take care of a hatchling Sully.
Hopefully this will be a help to you.
I agree with what Dmmj said Pet stores are there to sell you stuff and most don't know much about Tortoise care

 

[dmmj]

I should have said they refers to the pet store near me.

 

[Crazy1]

Dmmj hope you knew I was joking