Newbie needs help on sulcata's.

[kelly290879]

Hi everyone, I hope you can help me out here cause im getting very confused!!!!

6 days ago I bought a Sulcata from a pet/reptile shop, They told me he/she is 18mths old and gave me what I thought was good advise on feeding ect. That was until I was to start researching on the web what the requirements would be for this tortoise.

They provided me with 'REPTILIX' tortoise food, I was told to add a little water to this to soften it a little....
'NUTROBAL' to sprinkle a little over the food......
I was also told to feed hay, and veg.

Now from what ive been reading on the internet the 'REPTILIX' is a definate NO!

So from what I can understand i need stop feeding this and the diet has to be made up of grasses & weeds?
Ive searched the web and ordered some meadow seed which has the various grasses & weeds my sulcata can eat, i can then grow this inside and feed to he/she.

Now this is where i am getting stressed............

What am i to feed whilst I am waiting for this to grow?

I have been putting timothy hay down but he/she does not seem to be eating it, I have also been chopping grass from my garden but again not interested, what am I to do??

How do I get it to eat these things instead of the 'REPTILIX' the pet store so kindly gave me?

I am now terrified of not providing the right foods for the little guy/girl and after seeing some of the terrable pics of pyramiding I want to all I can to prevent this from happening.

Is there anywhere that lists the good/bad foods for sulcatas?

PLEASE........PLEASE............HELP.

( We do not know if its a male or female so I will posting a pic and hoping someone can help with that then we can choose an appropriate name )

Thanks
Kelly.

[KayMarie]

Nurtobal is what everyone on here uses, sprinkle some on his.her food three times a week and that should be goo for her/him! You should be feeding weeds, weeds and more weeds! Take a look in the edible section, there is lots of sites you canlook on to identify weeds!

Also, did the petshop tell you how big sulcatas get?

[kelly290879]

Yes they did say how large they can get, and this is not a problem as we have a very large back garden we can addapt to accomodate when he/she is too big to live in the house.

How do I get it to eat the weeds, and where will I get them from as I dont suppose there will be too many around at this time of year?

Thanks kelly

[KayMarie]

There are quite a few weeds at this time of year, i ten to find a lot of dandelion, especially. You can buy packs o weeds fromt he shelled warriors shope and grow your own if you want Just leave the weeds in her enclosure and she will find them if she is hungry

Here are some weed identification sites and i'm sure some more experienced tortoise keepers will be along to help you soon enough

http://forums.shelledwarriors.co.uk/...pic.php?t=2516

[kelly290879]

Thanks,

Ive already ordered some weeds/meadow seeds over the net and plan to plant these in shallow trays.

In the meantime I shall go weed hunting and see what i can source.

Should I just stop feeding the 'REPTILIX' or does he/she need to weaned off it?

Also it it true that if he/she is stubborn enough to not eat the hay/grass/weeds now if the other food is compleatly removed it will eat when it is hungry?

Sorry for all the questions I just want to make sure I get everything right.

[Eire_Ade]

Hi Kelly and welcome to Shelled Warriors.

Tortoises can go for weeks without food, but they need plenty of water, bath every day for about 20 minutes and always have water in the enclosure.

The pellets are to be stopped imediately and throw them away.

You will find it hard to wean a tortoise off them bit by bit, they are stuborn animals sometimes. Persevere and you will win. Its tough love but the pellets will kill your tortoise if used for too long.

Weeds are starting to grow again now so there should be plenty around, try parks and country walks, take a carrier bag and get enough for a week, they keep well in a tied bag in a fridge, but make sure you wash them before giving them to your tortoise.

Ade

Kelly,

Welcome to the forum - you have certainly come to the right place for advice.

I would suggest you look for things you may have growing in your garden... things like dandilion and pansy are easily recongisable.

Ribwort/plantain is growing at this time of the year as is vetch.... do a search on net using : http://www.alamy.com/default.asp by putting the name of the weed in... print off the picture and then go and find the weeds.

If in doubt, take a photo, post it on here and someone will certainly be along to tell you if its edible or toxic.

A tip to encourage your tort to eat hat....i chop it finely by putting it in the blender... then bag it up... spinkle some onto wet weeds each day, it sticks to the weeds and your tort will eat it without even knowing. Grasses should be a big part of a Sulcata's diet.

Dont be afraid, dont worry... you have already done a great thing by taking the pelletts away from your tort...

Hope this helps,

Weeds shuold only be around 20% of his diet, dame as leopards. The rest shoudl be grasses for the high firbre they need. Hope this helps

Here is a good site for new sulcata owners <g>
http://www.turtlehomes.org/usa/test.shtml

[kelly290879]

Thanks to all of you for the help.

Im starting to feel a lot calmer about the situation now.

Pellets are now in the bin and tomorow im off to the local parks to see what I can find, armed with pics of the weeds that ive printed off the net.

I will contine to sprinkle a little Nutrobal on the food and just wait untill he is hungry enough to eat.

I cant wait to get the grasses and weeds growing at home so I can just place it in his/her enclosure and then it is free to feed from there.

Thanks again,
Kelly.