Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I e-mailed Mazuri and asked "Your tortoise chow is designed for Galapagos tortoises. Do you have any research indicating if it is appropriate for tortoises of the genus Testudo, or any other tortoises besides Galaps? Also, are the directions for feeding other tortoises the same?".

Their quick response said that the tortoise chow "is suitable for a variety of land tortoises and is used by zoos and individual breeders across the country with great success. We recommend feeding 1-4% of the body weight daily."

That 1-4% is the same instructions as those for Galaps.

Of course that isn't research, but they were nice enough to respond. And what tortoises make up that "variety of land tortoises"?

There are "technical papers" on the mazuri website (www.mazuri.com) about their reptile foods including the tortoise chow.

I found that most of the people in this field are more than willing to share information and 'talk tortoise'. That is why I always recomend going to the source for information. I learned early on that there are very few people who are too busy to take the time out to answer any questions. This covers the keeper to the PhD.
This is not the response to your question is not surprising and if you were able to be more specific with your questions you probably would have gotten more answers.
Ed

One other thing, their research is probably based on a biological model.
So, there is probably an assumption that a tortoise is a tortoise. What this means is that the tortoise and most likely all tortoises require a certain amount of nutrients in a certain ratio for the organism to survive, grow and reproduce.
I would guess that different species fill these requirements based on available resources and the particular niche they inhabit but the ratio of required nutrients is probably the same.
What do you think?
Ed

Ed said: What do you think?

I think they might not know with any certainty what works for other species. From what I know there is some variation in what torts eat, with some being grass eaters, some broad-leaf eaters, some fruit-eaters, some omnivores, etc. Although Mazuri thinks they have an all-purpose, total diet for tortoises, I'll continue to use it as a supplement.

Go to the website and read the technical papers. They talk about their rationale for the foods but not in great depth.

My male russian eatin' the good stuff:

As will I.
Ed

I think that 1% - 4% is a reasonable amount.
There are some needs that all of the land tortoises seem to share, such as the need to utilize calcium and sunlight to make strong bones and shells. Individual species have found ways to utilize the plant food found in their particular niche to meet those needs.
Our tortoises don't always eat the same things.
Some days they scarf down all of their Mazuri and other (much rarer) days they hardly touch it. The same can be said for their cuttlebone. I think that they select what they need when they need it. There are some breeders in Jacksonville (FL) who firmly believe that their tortoises won't eat plants that are harmful to them. If that should turn out to not be true, they have been incredibly lucky over the past couple of decades that they have been breeding tortoises.
Just sharing some thoughts,
Karl