What do YOU feed your Leopard

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Seiryu

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I was curious to see what others feed their leopards. This is not a thread to say "wow, you are feeding your leo that???". If you have any criticism on someone's diet, please say so and tell them WHY they should change it. Don't just go "apples are terrible for a leopard!"

You can also use this thread to share any tips on getting them to eat healthier things.

Please also post the age of your Leo. As most of you know now, it's decently hard to get a hatchling to want to eat grass, unless they are started at in the first few weeks of life. Even then it's spotty.

We'll have 4 different categories.

1. Things that are fed in high amounts, that make up a lot of your leo's diet.

2. Things that are fed moderate amounts.

3. Things that are fed some of, but not very much.

4. Things you feed as treats, like veggies/fruits.

Mine personally changes from summer to winter, as I grow my own things in the summer and have to go for more grocery greens in the winter.

Ok here is my spring/summer/early fall diet. I personally do a more variety every day. I don't do the 1-2 greens a day thing. I feed 5-10 different things daily.

1. Grasses, Plantain, Turnip Greens, Hibiscus leaves, Radicchio

2. Collard greens, Dandelion greens, Radish greens

3. Chicory, Spring Mix (everything except Spinach and Chard), White/Yellow clover, 2-3 moistened mazuri pellets a week, on different days.

4. Butternut squash and Zucchini. He's fed these every 3-4 weeks. And it's maybe 10-20% of his diet that day. He enjoys them and it helps make sure everything is flowing good :p.

Thor is about 14 months old now. Just recently he started eating grasses by itself. Probably 2-3 weeks ago. However when I got him, I still chopped up the grass to be 1/4" size pieces and would mix it in every meal.

He doesn't really "Graze" outside, but I tear huge amounts of grass daily, and make huge piles of it. Always in 1/4" pieces. I'll mix in plantain too because he loves plantain and it's also higher in fiber.

Tips: I have found, that no matter how much grass to mazuri ratio I feed, he eats EVERYTHING as long as it has the mazuri taste. Every time I feed Mazuri I moisten it and mix in large amounts of chopped grass. Usually 2:1 (grass/mazuri) and he eats it all. This is my tip to getting your leopard more fiber and a "taste" for grasses early on.

So what do you feed your Leopard?
 

terracolson

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Really i feed spring mix, mazuri, a monkey biscuit every now and them, (tempi loves it) squash, carrots, clover, grass, dicondra, hibiscus, roses

i prepare the food for a week in advance and feed out of the container all week. MY russians get feed kitchen food 2 a week
and the leos every day
 

Deenthetortoise

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dandelion leaves, raddichio, romaine lettuce, grass, butternut squash, cactus fruit, and sprinkled with powdered Mazuri diet.
 

Yourlocalpoet

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Mixed grasses, spring greens, kale, dandelions, rose petals, clover, and timothy hay amongst several other things. Unfortunately can't get the Mazuri tortoise diet in the UK. :(
Oh and she's approx 8 years old.
 

mightyclyde

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Leopold is a yearling, weighs 99 grams. His favorite food is:

1. Raddichio <mmmm... purple..>
2. Dandelion greens
3. Endive
4. Escarole and kale <only small amounts>
5. Chard

He'll also eat:
6. Bell pepper (all colors)
7. softened mazuri
8. Cucumber
9. Carrot greens

He won't touch bermuda grass, edible weeds, or roses/merigolds.

I have yet to introduce the cactus pads and hibiscus... I've had him almost 2 months. I'd appreciate any critiquing on his diet. I'm new to this too.
 

Kayti

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I'm confused about the folks who listed vegetables among their diet choices. Every single reputable source of information I have ever found has said that any vegetables are a bad idea- has someone found one that says different?

Here's what my Leopard gets:

2 pellets of Mazuri mush a day (she only eats ~1)
with dusted greens on the side:
A pile of clover (grown on my window sill)
or
A pile of spring mix
or
A pile of romaine/chicory/endive/dandelion/whatever looks best in the produce section
or
a pile of timothy hay (from the outdoor enclosures- it's still green, which is why she probably eats it with little cajoling)

She is literally the easiest baby I've ever had. She will eat anything, and doesn't favor one over the other with the exception of the clover, which she goes nuts over for some reason.
 

Seiryu

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Kayti said:
I'm confused about the folks who listed vegetables among their diet choices. Every single reputable source of information I have ever found has said that any vegetables are a bad idea- has someone found one that says different?

Vegetables are a bad idea if fed often, same with fruits. But you can get away with giving it to them every 3-4 weeks. I only do it in small amounts and basically once a month. Any more than that to me is too often I agree.

It does seem to help with constipation though, or just to make sure everything is "flowing ok"
 

Yourlocalpoet

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Kayti said:
I'm confused about the folks who listed vegetables among their diet choices. Every single reputable source of information I have ever found has said that any vegetables are a bad idea- has someone found one that says different?

Me too, although i do give them as treats occasionally.
 

Kayti

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If your tortoise is just as happy to eat the healthy foods, I don't think something should qualify as a "treat" just because it is unhealthy. :/

I think this is just as case of anthropomorphism. There are no reputable sources that say vegetables are good, or necessary for digestion, or even enjoyed by tortoises more than healthy foods.

I'm sure vegetables aren't as bad as fruit, but I don't understand why anyone would feed their tortoise anything that is clearly not good.
 

Seiryu

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Kayti said:
If your tortoise is just as happy to eat the healthy foods, I don't think something should qualify as a "treat" just because it is unhealthy. :/

I think this is just as case of anthropomorphism. There are no reputable sources that say vegetables are good, or necessary for digestion, or even enjoyed by tortoises more than healthy foods.

Feeding the vegetables sparingly isn't "unhealthy". There are things in them that are good to have, while not necessary. I think I even read Butternut Squash has some anti-parasitical properties as well.

Nor did anyone say vegetables were necessary for digestion. It aids in digestion if you have a constipated tort, as it makes stools more runny.

Anyways, if your tort is happy without the vegetables/fruits, then keep it that way. That's great. I do believe vegetables though, shouldn't be fed more than every 3 weeks and in small amounts.

If we are talking about unhealthy things, feeding Mazuri daily is more unhealthy than giving your tortoise the occasional vegetable/fruit once a month, in a small amount. Mazuri promotes rapid growth, which promotes pyramiding, deformities etc. Also it has a lot more protein than leo's need, but the proteins shouldn't be too be of an issue.
 

South FL Katie

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I haven't had Cody for very long but I've tried a variety of veggies so far. My first batch of food was collard greens, watercress endive and kale. Then we tried mustard greens, raddicio and dandelion greens. And this week past week we've added in spring mix with the spniach picked out. I didn't know until a few days ago that the collards, kale and greens shouldn't be given daily so he'll be eating spring mix for the next week or so to get rid of the acids.
He's tried a few bites of hibiscus leaves and flowers but doesn't seem to love them. And he won't eat Mazuri or timothy hay.
 

Yourlocalpoet

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Kayti said:
If your tortoise is just as happy to eat the healthy foods, I don't think something should qualify as a "treat" just because it is unhealthy. :/

I use the word treat loosely. She loves kale, so i give her it to treat her every now and again and i don't consider it to be unhealthy it just doesn't comprise the majority of her diet.
 

dmmj

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antelopes, caribou, deer, oh wait you meant leoperd tortoises never mind.
 

Kayti

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Seiryu said:
If we are talking about unhealthy things, feeding Mazuri daily is more unhealthy than giving your tortoise the occasional vegetable/fruit once a month, in a small amount. Mazuri promotes rapid growth, which promotes pyramiding, deformities etc. Also it has a lot more protein than leo's need, but the proteins shouldn't be too be of an issue.

I'm getting really sick of hearing this kind of unfounded stuff about Mazuri, especially from people who haven't even fed it to their own tortoises...?
I have TONS of excellent evidence that vegetables are likely unhealthy, and definitely not beneficial. Starting with:
http://home.earthlink.net/~rednine/nutrient.htm

Do you have any evidence at all that Mazuri "promotes rapid growth, which promotes pyramiding, deformities etc"?
Because if you don't have a growth chart clearly showing this, then you shouldn't be slandering one of the only quality pet food companies out there.

I have kept very careful records of my Russian's growth their entire lives, and I have noticed absolutely no increase in growth rate since putting them on Mazuri. On the contrary, their shells are now growing perfectly smooth for the first time ever. I believe this is mostly caused by changing them to moist sphagnum, but it also shows that the Mazuri is not causing pyramiding.

Richard Fife feeds and recommends Mazuri, and even sends out free samples with every baby tortoise he sells. He and his wife are one of the very few breeders I've seen raising perfectly smooth babies.
http://ivorytortoise.com/

I'm interested in hearing negative experiences or evidence against Mazuri, but not unfounded accusations against my quality of care.
 

Tom

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Whoa! Easy Kayti. Put your hackles down. (Smiles while typing this.)

I have to agree with Kayti on this one. I used to feel the same way about any prepared foods and the whole "protein" argument, but I have learned just in the last few months that Kayti is right about the Mazuri. I have personally spoken about the protein issue with Mr. Fife and he told me among other things that he feels people have gone too far, in general, in eliminating protein from tortoise diets. He intentionally feeds Mazuri to ensure his tortoises DO get enough protein among other things. Protein does NOT cause pyramiding. Growth in the absence of sufficient humidity does. All those old care sheets are wrong. Plain and simple.

Mr. Fife actually had a major problem when another brand of prepared food drastically reduced the protein content of their food suddenly and without warning. That diet was a staple for his torts and his vet told him they were basically malnourished and starving to death. Only after the vet visit did he notice the large drop in protein content on the label. It was that incident that made him switch to Mazuri and he's bee thrilled with the results ever since.

BTW, Mr. Fife generously allowed me to use his name and paraphrase the things he and I talked about on the phone. He gave me an hour of his valuable time, with nothing to gain from it, just to share what he has learned and help me to be a better keeper.

Our friend Cory here on the forum has a lot of connections throughout the tortoise world, including zoos, and he gets and tells the same story as Mr. Fife. Mazuri is good stuff. I never thought I would advocate on behalf of an "un-natural" prepared food, but only a fool would ignore such overwhelming evidence.

I still have mixed feelings on the veggies and fruits. I keep it to a minimum, but some people use a fair amount of it and their torts seem healthy to me.
 
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