Re: Sulcata food???

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Posted by Terry on May 16, 2001 at 22:29:23:

In Reply to: Sulcata food??? posted by Lindsey on May 16, 2001 at 14:56:34:

I wouldn't feed any fruit to a sulcata.
Only feed a small amount of carrot, squash, zuccini and instead add more leafy greens and natural foods.
Endive, escarole, chicory, dandelions are just some of the greens you can feed.
Hibiscus flowers and leaves, mulberry and grape leaves and opuntia cactus are all easy to grow if you live in a warm climate.And all are a great addition to a sulcatas diet.
I have several hibiscus plants, grown out of thje tortoise area.The torts get all the flowers off the plants daily and gobble them up. They get the leaves, when I trim the hibiscus.
They also get mulberry leaves from a tree in the yard. And I grow spineless opuntia cactus for them as well.

Apart from that, they spend a good part of the day grazing on the grass/weeds etc.

Grazing on grasses, clovers, vetches and other edible weeds/plants is the best diet.Supplemented with edible weeds/plants etc.

You can give the sulcata pretty much the run of the yard, as long as it's escape proof.
Or build a large enclosure, the bigger the better. As he/she will quickly outgrow it.
My 90 gram sulcata has an enclosure that measures 12' - 6'.
It will last him about two years, after that it will need expanding.
My 70lb and smaller ( 8") sulcatas have the whole yard. With a shed that they retreat to at night.

There are several places to find info/photos of enclosures, hope these help:

http://www.turtlecafe.net/habitats.htm

http://turtlestuff.com/enclosures.html

http://sulcatastation.homestead.com/index.html

Tell us a bit more about what sort of climate you live in, which state?
I'm lucky to live in Hawaii, where my tortoises can be housed outdoors year round.

For sulcatas the more space the better. These are active tortoises that require a lot of space.
The enclosure should have both sunny and shady areas, graze/grasses and other edible weeds etc and a night time shelter.

Hope this helps.
Terry.

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: I wouldn't feed any fruit to a sulcata. : Only feed a small amount of carrot, squash, zuccini and instead add more leafy greens and natural foods. : Endive, escarole, chicory, dandelions are just some of the greens you can feed. : Hibiscus flowers and leaves, mulberry and grape leaves and opuntia cactus are all easy to grow if you live in a warm climate.And all are a great addition to a sulcatas diet. : I have several hibiscus plants, grown out of thje tortoise area.The torts get all the flowers off the plants daily and gobble them up. They get the leaves, when I trim the hibiscus. : They also get mulberry leaves from a tree in the yard. And I grow spineless opuntia cactus for them as well. : Apart from that, they spend a good part of the day grazing on the grass/weeds etc. : Grazing on grasses, clovers, vetches and other edible weeds/plants is the best diet.Supplemented with edible weeds/plants etc. : : You can give the sulcata pretty much the run of the yard, as long as it's escape proof. : Or build a large enclosure, the bigger the better. As he/she will quickly outgrow it. : My 90 gram sulcata has an enclosure that measures 12' - 6'. : It will last him about two years, after that it will need expanding. : My 70lb and smaller ( 8") sulcatas have the whole yard. With a shed that they retreat to at night. : There are several places to find info/photos of enclosures, hope these help: : http://www.turtlecafe.net/habitats.htm : http://turtlestuff.com/enclosures.html : http://sulcatastation.homestead.com/index.html : Tell us a bit more about what sort of climate you live in, which state? : I'm lucky to live in Hawaii, where my tortoises can be housed outdoors year round. : For sulcatas the more space the better. These are active tortoises that require a lot of space. : The enclosure should have both sunny and shady areas, graze/grasses and other edible weeds etc and a night time shelter. : Hope this helps. : Terry.

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