Reptile & Amphibian Forums

i been exparimenting with different beddings for my young sulcta at first i had bed a beast then some dude told me it to moist and could give my sulcta respitorry infection so i went to the local feed store and bought a 50lb bag of rabit pellets i read the ingrients and it says 100% protein and i thought that the goal in a sulcta diet is low protein and hihg fiber. know he wont stop eating the pellets every time i check hes eating them so what should i do im so confused every wed sight his condridicting.

ps i read in a book about sulctas that rabbit pellets are good and will simply add to his meal.

please help meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

The label is wrong if it says 100% protein. It'd probably look more like jello if it were.

Also remember that bed-a beast is only as damp as you allow it to be. It might not be all that bad for it's hide box.

As per diet, if consumed as a part of a varied diet, they won't do any harm.

Other problems with rabbit pellets though are that they mold when wet, and can be labourous to clean when soiled.

I don't recommend the rabbit pellets.

I personally used dry dirt for the bulk of my substrate when my sulcatta was young. It was easy to scoop waste out, allowed for burrowing, wore down nails, ect. My only complaint was that it was a bit dusty.

Ian

Aside from them turning into moldy mush when they get wet I don't rabbit pellets because it's alfalfa.
If they eat too much alfalfa that can turn bad for the kidneys... too much protein in the diet.
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PHRatz

This is a bit of an aside, but does anyone have access to an actual account or study of a wild sulcatta's diet throughout the year? I know lots of people shy away from legumes and the high protein, but it is plant protein. I'd almost bet it's a fair percentage of the normal diet. I just can't see sulcatta's eating "only" grasses when different seasons will bring much more luscious and tasty plants to the dinner table. What I wouldn't give to spend a year in Africa following one of these behemoth's around

Ian

>>This is a bit of an aside, but does anyone have access to an actual account or study of a wild sulcatta's diet throughout the year? I know lots of people shy away from legumes and the high protein, but it is plant protein. I'd almost bet it's a fair percentage of the normal diet. I just can't see sulcatta's eating "only" grasses when different seasons will bring much more luscious and tasty plants to the dinner table. What I wouldn't give to spend a year in Africa following one of these behemoth's around
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>>Ian

There is a book out called Leopard and African Spurred Tortoise by a man named Holger Vetter that is about just that subject: following them around in Africa.
My thing about the protein is about the fact that in captivity we can't duplicate their wild diet, so we need to be more careful about what we feed them. We have to think about water/humidity in relation to feeding, but we just cannot duplicate the wild.

I live in an area that is very similar to their native habitat, enough so that the Abilene Zoo has or had (the last time I was there) a whole display set up on the comparisons of West TX to the region they are from.
I get to see my sulcata graze in an area that is as close to her homeland as she can in North America. Since she's been here with us I've noticed how the different weeds spring up at different times of the year. She does have nice greens growing year round, they just aren't the same greens all the time. I assume her homeland is like this too like you say.
It really would be interesting to be there in Africa to follow them around though, wouldn't it?
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PHRatz