Over feeding horsefield

[Shelby13]

Hi, we have a horsefield who is approx 3.5 inches long so quite small. I'm just wondering how much food we should be giving him per day as I don't want to over feed him and cause him to grow too quickly etc but at the same time I don't want to under feed him. We are monitoring his growth but seeing as we have only had him nearly 4 weeks it's still early days. We provide him with a diet of various weeds and wild flowers and the occasional lettuce mix. Is it possible to overfeed him on weeds etc? Any advice is greatly appreciated

[pagan queen]

I would feed him as much as he wants. There is no evidence that suggests "too much food" causes pyramiding.

[Merlin M]

I agree with what was said above, remember he is still growing!

[sandy]

Originally Posted by Shelby13

Hi, we have a horsefield who is approx 3.5 inches long so quite small. I'm just wondering how much food we should be giving him per day as I don't want to over feed him and cause him to grow too quickly etc but at the same time I don't want to under feed him. We are monitoring his growth but seeing as we have only had him nearly 4 weeks it's still early days. We provide him with a diet of various weeds and wild flowers and the occasional lettuce mix. Is it possible to overfeed him on weeds etc? Any advice is greatly appreciated

Natural grazing is the way to allow as much food as they want, this way they have to work for the food. Just plonking food in front of them will cause over feeding. There is no evidence either way about food, I speak from experience, not what others say or have read.

[Suze65]

I agree with all the above, I feed mine as much as they want, they don't naturally over eat, what is over feeding , what is growing to fast or too slow, they all grow at different rates, and mine are are all growing with smooth shells. Make sure he is well hydrated.

[Catwoman63]

Originally Posted by Shelby13

Hi, we have a horsefield who is approx 3.5 inches long so quite small. I'm just wondering how much food we should be giving him per day as I don't want to over feed him and cause him to grow too quickly etc but at the same time I don't want to under feed him. We are monitoring his growth but seeing as we have only had him nearly 4 weeks it's still early days. We provide him with a diet of various weeds and wild flowers and the occasional lettuce mix. Is it possible to overfeed him on weeds etc? Any advice is greatly appreciated

Hi, I put enough food on their slates the size or a bit larger pile than their shell size, and if they eat all that and look for more then i give them a small pile more, although mine do get to graze on weeds inside and outside their enclosure as well, the food i put down is mainly a "top up" and they usually eat all of it x

[Shelby13]

Thanks that really puts my mind at ease. We are bathing him roughly 3 times a week and he seems to quite enjoy that, he lays quite happily and drinks the water too. He has a large shallow water bowl in his enclosure which he climbs into as well so presume he is keeping hydrated enough. We did a lot of research prior to getting him so we knew the basics but everyday is a learning curve

Another question I have is how damp to keep his substrate, I read that they don't fair well with ground that is too moist but that the substrate needs dampening. Is it a case of spraying it however often in the day? He is in an open table with a mediteranean soil substrate in the main area.

[becciwales]

I came on to ask that exact same question!! I spray my substrate twice a day but the light dries it out so quickly! I don't think my substrate is deep enough either. How deep should it be? He's a 4 month old hatchling xx

[Merlin M]

I use a watering can to wet and turn the would for mine while they are in the bath, it should be damp enough that is sticks together if you squeeze it, but no water should come out... At least that's how I do it...

[becciwales]

Thank you. What do you use? I've got topsoil at the moment but not sure whether to try coco coir x