Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello All. I purchased a hatchling sulcata at the 2006 NRBE in Orlando for my two sons. The tortoise appears to be growing well and has a good appetite. My boys feed it mostly Mazuri tortoise food and weeds / grass they collect from the yard. The weeds are belong primarily to family Asteraceae (dandelion family) and grasses are mostly Bermuda and bahia species. Their mother frequently gives the tort peas, corn, green beans and carrots as a mixed vegetable medley. The majority of the diet is Mazuri.

Please have a look at the photos and tell me if you think the tortoise looks healthy for an approximately 1-year-old.. Also, I’d appreciate any opinions regarding the diet we are providing.

Thanks,
WK

Looks good and healthy. Slight pyramiding, but not bad. I would nix the veggies and try to get some nice hay in there. Oxbow makes some great stuff. I like to do zucchini and squash occasionally, but not more than once a week or two weeks. I think the veggies and lettuce is okay when they are younger, but when they get bigger and older you will want to switch to more hay. Grasses are weeds are great. But of course, that is just my humble opinion. Good luck. I have a friend in Orlando that has three sulcatas.

I agree you want to nix the veggies. beans and peas are very high protein which sulcatas do not need. try the squash and zuchinni instead its very high in calcium. Ideal foods are a 2 to 1 ratio of calcium to phosphorus. low protein is best. pimpkin is also good. looks good though mine is slightly pyramided too but I am hoping that he will smooth out as he gets older and bigger. what size is he? straight line / weight in grams? its fun to track if you start early.

Thanks for the replies and information. I'll stop the veggie mix then. What do you think about the Mazuri tortoise food that makes up the majority of its diet? It seems to prefer this over everything else. Whenever the kids put the tortoise in the yard, it walks past grass, weeds, and flowers and tries to eat dirt (I think because it has become accustomed to the tortoise food which resembles dirt/rocks). On sulcata nation's web page Mazuri diet is listed as one of the things NEVER to give sulcatas. Is it harmful?

I'll photograph the tortoise next to a dollar bill when I get home. It's not all that big, but a good deal larger than when we got it last August.

Regards,
WK

I like Mazuri. Mine have thrived on it. Although I think it tends to make them grow faster. Good luck.

That's what the local pet shop fellow told me. He has an eighty pound sulcata with really no pyramiding and said he raised it from a baby almost exclusively on the Mazuri tortoise diet. I'll get a photo of that animal next time I'm there and post it here.

Here's the photo of ours next to a dollar. The plastron measures 4.5 inches long and just under 3.5 inches wide if I measured correctly. Is that about right for a yearling?

I really appreciate all the info.

WK

HELLO
I PERSONALLY USE MAZURI AND LOVE IT.
I JUST RECIEVED SAMPLES FROM ZOOMED FOR A GRASSLAND TORTOISE DIET AND A FOREST TORTOISE MIX THAT THEY GUARANTEE WILL NOT CAUSE RAISED SCUTES.
IT COMES IN PELLET FORM AND REQUIRES NO ADDED GREENS OR HAYS
IT IS A COMPLETE MEAL.
THIS WOULD MAKE FEEDING A SNAP.
THEY ARE OFFERING IT WITH A MONEY BACK GUARANTEE.
NICE TO FINALLY SEE TORTOISE PRODUCTS BEING MADE THAT ARE NOT TREATS BUT A REAL DIET.
THANKS
JEFF
PLANET REPTILES

Hi Jeff. Thanks for the additional comments / info. Please see my post above about a Mazuri-raised sulcata.

Regards,
WK

I got a sample of the Zoomed diet and my male loved it. It is a complete diet and the label reads well. I had to mix it with a bit of water to get him to eat it-only takes a bit of water to bring out the smell of grass.