tortoise mush

[Jupiterannette]

Ok so in my experience with animals and nutrition, i have been trying to think of how to make something that is palatable and desirable, yet healthy and balanced.

for my parrots i cut up 10 different veggies and nuts and mix them with couscous and make sure all the esential vitamins and nutrients are there. I have rehabbed many ill parrots with this...

so for dozer my newly acquired pyramided sulcata, i decided to try to make a tort version, going with health first them make it palatable

I started with chopped up timothy hay, now for ease im using grassland tort zoomed, a few pieces, and then 3-4 pieces of mazuri pellets, and a scoop of calcium with D3.. i cant wait for my tnt to arrive to i can add that too...
then i add 1 snow pea pod, and a small piece of broccoli Florette, and grind it up in my food processor, with a bit of purified water to soften the pellets. I got a small food processor at walmart for 10$ made by black and decker and it works great!

i dump this mix on kale, and spring mix in his bowl. the whole process takes less then 5 mins.

he devours it then goes for his timothy and bermuda hay that is dry.

some days i will throw in a piece of squash or carrot, or sweet potato, for vit A... other days, perhaps some green pepper (he likes it.) but not much perhaps a 1 inch by 1/2 inch piece.

this way i know he is getting all his calcium, and vitiamins, not alot of protien, or sugar, but plenty or fiber... and thats the goal right???

open to constructive criticism...

oh.. and his humidity in my house is staying around 75..... and i soak him daily.... should i raise it.. or do ya think its ok... in the summer it will be WAY higher... 85 or more..

 

[Yvonne G]

It sounds very healthful, but the one thing to think about is tortoises keep their beak in shape by biting off pieces of their food. When you feed only "mush", he might get an overgrown beak down the road.

 

[GBtortoises]

I agree with Yvonne. While your intentions are good in that your tortoise is provided with a good diet, it's missing out on an important physical activity-having to work for it's food. The act of having to bite and tear at it's food not only aids in keeping the beak trimmed but also provides added physical activity.

 

[Maggie Cummings]

In the wild they walk for miles and they take a bite here and walk then a bite there and walk. In captivity that's not always possible but I do spread the piles of food around so they do have to walk some...and legumes are not good for tortoises so I'd leave out the peas...one more thing...I *think* Joe has added calcium to his TNT so you may want to stop with the calcium. If there's no ingredients on the container he sends you shot him an email and find out because that's pretty important. I think. You don't want to give him too much calcium. Then you're just going to lightly sprinkle the TNT 3 times a week...Just a thought

 

[GBtortoises]

I disagree with the statement that legumes are not good for tortoises. Excessive amounts of legumes such as peas and beans are not good. But tortoises do require plant proteins based on species and age needs. Legumes are an excellent natural source for these proteins. All of my Northern Mediterranean, Russian, Pancake, Burmese Brown and Redfoots are fed plant proteins in the form of beans and peas. The amount depends upon the species. All but my Burmese Brown and Redfoots are fed a diet consisting of about 15-20% vegetables which consists of, but isn't limited to, various beans, peas, carrots, corn, sweet potato, broccoli, cauiflower and more. The Burmese Brown and Redfoots get even more protein.

 

[Yvonne G]

But the OP is talking about a sulcata tortoise, I think. The best diet for them is weeds and grasses. Lots of fiber and not much else. I feed quite a bit of veggies and fruits to my other tortoises too, but Dudley, the Sulcata only gets grass, hay and the occasional branch off the mulberry tree.

 

[Jupiterannette]

ok soooooo...

cut out the snow peas.. no peas or beans (check)

and i got my tnt today!!!! yeah!!!
and check on the calcium...

also he eats half his diet in regular hay.. which is all over his enclosure whether i like it or not >LOL
so is that good enough for his beak.... i didnt realize it was like birds and continually grew.. learn something new everyday!

 

[GBtortoises]

But the OP is talking about a sulcata tortoise, I think. The best diet for them is weeds and grasses. Lots of fiber and not much else. I feed quite a bit of veggies and fruits to my other tortoises too, but Dudley, the Sulcata only gets grass, hay and the occasional branch off the mulberry tree.

I realize that the thread is about suppling a diet for a Sulcata and I do agree that the bulk of that species diet should be high in fiber. I am also certain that you (Yvonne) have much more experience than I do with Sulcatas and their diet. But for someone to make the broad statement that legumes are not good for tortoises simply is not true. All tortoises require some amount of protein. Most tortoises derive that protein from plants of which one of the best sources is legumes, in moderation. Some species more than others, but it is still important to their digestive diet.

Fresh grass and fresh weeds that a tortoise would graze in nature (or on someones lawn) contains much more protein and less fiber than dried hay or dried plants (which contain more fiber than fresh grass and plants). So the tortoise is in fact consuming plant proteins if it is being fed fresh weeds and grasses. Many of those weeds are legumes. How many people feed their tortoises clover? Did you know that plant members of the clover family are legumes? As are trefoil and vetchs. More often than not hay cut at certain times of the season, especially in northern states, contains quite a bit of legumes and other weeds. Some of this hay ultimately ends up packaged for the pet hobby too.
I feed my tortoises crown vetch, which is a legume, throughout the summer months. Occasionally fresh alfalfa too which is much higher in protein than any of the previously mentioned plants. Again, as I alwaysstress, variety and quality. Not becoming fixated on only plants that are high in fiber that may also lack other important nutrients which must then be made up for with supplements. Feeding an ever changing variety of several foods allows the tortoise to consume many different vitamins and minerals that it requires.
I will certainly admit that I do not know anywhere near as much about Sulcata's as I do hay having been born into a farm family, raised on a farm, worked on a farm and still living in farm country. I can't seem to get away from hay. So graze on that! LOL

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Whew! All that hay talk made me hungry for a veggie burger topped off with some sprouts and some wheat beer.