indoor feeding

[GriBble28]

I am trying to switch my 10 month old sully, Otis, from a solid romaine diet to a diet of grasses and treats, but the little turkey is proving more stubborn and cute and i expected. Where we are currently living it is impossible to find weeds without the fear of pest/herbicides. Right now we are following the instructions given on sulcatastation.org (i think), but i constantly worry that he isn't getting enough to eat and i cant bear that possibility, so far all has done is pick out the romaine from the grass. Has anyone had any success with switching diets and have any tips?

[Star]

If you could find a cemetery, they have an abundance of weeds, and no pesticides are used......especially in the older part, where its over grown...you will find plenty to feed Otis

[MattG]

It's pretty easy to grow weeds (and grasses, which I guess he'd prefer). I grow weeds in the paddock, but also have several seed trays with different clovers, etc.
Matthew

[Kirkie]

Hi,

Andy1 posted on here recently a combination he uses for Star tortoises when weeds are in short supply. It was a mash of Opuntia Cactus and Readigrass (this is cut, dried meadow grass used as a horsefeed in the UK, there should be a US equivilant available). I would think this would be suitable for other grassland species requiring a high fibre, high grass diet and the Opuntia is packed with calcium and fibre too. Might need to be careful with the amounts of cactus, reducing it over time but it might set your tortoise on the right track.

[16 shells]

Originally Posted by GriBble28

I am trying to switch my 10 month old sully, Otis, from a solid romaine diet to a diet of grasses and treats, but the little turkey is proving more stubborn and cute and i expected. Where we are currently living it is impossible to find weeds without the fear of pest/herbicides. Right now we are following the instructions given on sulcatastation.org (i think), but i constantly worry that he isn't getting enough to eat and i cant bear that possibility, so far all has done is pick out the romaine from the grass. Has anyone had any success with switching diets and have any tips?

Hi i converted a Leopard tort from salad leaves and fruit, to weeds and grass, i think, i am right in saying your part of the world, weeds are hard to come by, as you do like to throw the chemicles about, and manicure all areas, in suberbia. If you have the grass, possibly Bermuda Blue, this is a good food source for your tort, it can be hard to change there eating habit's, i would offer the grass only, small amounts, the general opinion is a healthy tort will not starve itself, although they can go a while without food. If the weed and flowers situation is realy bad you may have to supplement with tort pellets
Paul

[egyptiandan64]

We do use a few chemicals here, but Florida seems to be a bit warm for most weeds to grow. I've never seen a dandelion when I have been down there
I wouldn't worry to much about the grass right now. If you want to add more to his diet pick up a bag of Spring Mix at the grocery store. Just make sure you pick out the spinach (it'll be the round flat or wavy heavy leaves). You can also use curly endive, escarole, red and green leaf lettuce and dandelion. You can also use collard greens or kale on a once a week basis. You can still add fresh grass to the diet, but don't worry if he doesn't eat it quite yet as it's tough to digest and not much nutrition (it's mainly for fiber)

Danny