Pellets and weight gain

[amils]

I am sometimes feeding the pellets and must be careful of feed to much. Three times in a week is about ok.

[Ozric Jonathan]

I'm not really a believer in man- made foods for torts but I have been feeding some Pretty Pets to that tort that I have who has been terribly underweight and sick.

It is correct that most pellets are grain-based and tortoises don't eat much grain naturally. But the ingredients are all known and listed. The protein in PP is about 8% which is a bit more than a lot of 'natural' grazing might be but its not a huge amount. All the necessary minerals are included and you get a D3 supplement as well as calcium.

This particluar tortoise just doesn't eat very much volume of anything. So a few mouthfulls of this is maybe a lot better than a few mouthfulls of dandellion for this tortoise. She wasn't thriving on a weed diet after about July this year even though she was living outdoors in a coldframe with heating and access to outside.

This tort was on tube fed Critical Care formula and it did a fantatsic job. If I could get pellets made of that I would feed it to this tortoise.

But really I like growing and feeding plants and I don't plan on feeding pellets to the rest of the torts.

[Alan1]

Originally Posted by Watermelon

Erm just to be clear are you insinuating that I am one of those ashamed?

At one time people were afraid to say they used pellets because the Tortoise Trust said pellets are not good. A lot of people though would just rather feed plants for their own reasons but some people do it because they want to be 100% natural .. yet throw on Nutrobal, let them bask under an artificial sun and hibernate them in an unnatural environment

I would rather use weeds but in winter find that pellets are handy

[Pussygalore]

yes you might get more weight gain but providing the growth is even and weight to size ratio correct then why is it not ok. Surely its far better to feed a product that offers a balanced diet and contains everything the tort needs alongside whatever greenery can be found than a diet of a few mixed lettuce leaves which is often what many new and even older owners resort to in the winter. I have been getting lovely smooth growth since using the Exotic Leaf and Nutrazu to which I add either baby or cob Pre Alpine, I do this to increase the fibre content and find they will eat the Alpine far more readier if its mixed well with the complete pellet, mine also have greens offered alongside.

[amils]

Originally Posted by Pussygalore

yes you might get more weight gain but providing the growth is even and weight to size ratio correct then why is it not ok. Surely its far better to feed a product that offers a balanced diet and contains everything the tort needs alongside whatever greenery can be found than a diet of a few mixed lettuce leaves which is often what many new and even older owners resort to in the winter. I have been getting lovely smooth growth since using the Exotic Leaf and Nutrazu to which I add either baby or cob Pre Alpine, I do this to increase the fibre content and find they will eat the Alpine far more readier if its mixed well with the complete pellet, mine also have greens offered alongside.

My opinion is that this advise is very good.

[jamestaylor18]

I have also found great weight gains with pellets. Like most people i only feed twice a week max to try and manage this massive gain. In the past mine have gained 10g/week while on pellets, however when you average it out over a 4 week period, the weight gain drops by weeks 3&4. I have also notice that when you try and introduce weeds again they turn up there noses!

I can understand it tho, imagine eatng chocolate & yummy food then goin onto salad, i think i would do the same!!

[EJ]

I'll just a little bump up...
http://www.shelledwarriors.co.uk/for...ad.php?t=38042
http://www.shelledwarriors.co.uk/for...ad.php?t=45413

My frist post on the topic... is gone.

I still think the evidence I've provided is compelling. I also think that those who are open minded enough to try it eventually are very pleased with the outcome.

Those rehomers that are deformed and they were fed pellets... well... I suspect there are other factors because those tortoises that a fed the diet and are provided with the proper environmental conditions... look and seem to be perfect although only time will tell.

Note... Tortoises do eat a great deal of grain aka... seeds... in the wild. When the short wet season ends in many tortoises ranges they are left with nothing but dried grasses/plants and the seeds they produced for the next season.

To the Old Timers... note the shift in acceptance and the results obtained from that acceptance.

[Watermelon]

To the people who are against them, ej's tortoises look lovely and have very nice smooth shells and they are raised on... Is it complete pellet diet ej? Cant remember. The deformed torts cant surely be just cos of pellets? Were they even tort pellets? Mine dont poo out pellets. Deformity could also be due to lighting, dehydration... Humidity? Why dont you post a pic of your torts again ej. p.s happy new year everyone... Well for tonight!

[Alan1]

yep
During summer, the tortoises are thus faced with a completely different range of available foods. Aside from some succulent plants, such as various species of stonecrop, evergreen shrubs, and greenbrier that forms vast thickets in some regions and is readily consumed, most of the food still available is meagre and dry. Since the intake of vitamins and essential unsaturated fatty acids remains vital also throughout the summer months, the tortoises resort to consuming seeds, wild fruit and berries of all kinds. These wild-growing fruits and berries are, however, not at all comparable to the sweet and watery fruits and berries meant for human consumption. http://www.testudo-farm.de/html/life_in_the_wild.html

[Horace2]

Originally Posted by Watermelon

Erm just to be clear are you insinuating that I am one of those ashamed?

Yes but if you are not ashamed then sorry