When choosing foods for your tortoise, keep a few key ingredients in mind. For example, the grass cuttings from your lawn are good for your Sulcata tortoise. Avoid alfalfa hay, which contains high amounts of oxalate and can cause kidney damage. Kale and spring mix are also excellent choices, as are grape leaves and mulberry leaves, though don’t use grape ivy!
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Grass
Grass is the staple diet of sulcata tortoises. Choose pesticide-free grass and eat only the leaves, stems, and flowers. Avoid feeding your pet alfalfa hay because it is high in oxalates, which can cause kidney failure. Timothy grass, lawn fescue, and other similar grasses are excellent choices. Always keep the tortoise on a leash.
Other foods on the African sulcata tortoiss food list include fruits and vegetables. The only exceptions are legumes and grains, which should be avoided completely. They may, however, eat alfalfa in its mature form. Fruit and vegetables, such as bananas, are also prohibited, as are animal products, sugar, and mushroom. You can give your tortoise occasional treats of fresh strawberries or raspberries. But be sure to limit this type of food to a small amount.
Hay
An African sulcata tortoisene’s diet consists of mainly fruit, vegetable oils, and grains. In hot weather, it eats mainly grass and will dig extensive burrows. In cooler weather, it spends hours grazing. In hot weather, it stays in its burrows. It rubs its body with saliva to stay cool. In summer, it spends its mornings basking in the sun to raise its body temperature.
Some pellet foods contain cereals, rice, and fruit. Fruit is toxic to turtles because it kills the good bacteria in their digestive tract. Also, large amounts of fruit may release toxins into the tortoise’s body and cause Toxic Shock Syndrome, which can be fatal if left untreated. As with humans, the amount of food to give a tortoise depends on its activity level and age. However, as a general rule, it’s recommended that you feed them approximately one-third of the size of its shell.
Alfalfa
An African sulcata tortoiseneeds lots of greens for a healthy diet. A good rule of thumb is to provide 80% of the tortoise’s diet from leafy greens. You can buy these or pick them up from your own yard. Alfalfa is especially nutritious. However, it is not the only food your tortoise needs.
Apples are not recommended for captive sulcata tortoises. Apples contain too much sugar and are not designed for their stomachs. Also, apple seeds and pips are high in cyanide and should not be fed to your tortoise. Alfalfa can be mixed in with other foods to avoid any potential toxicity. It’s important to remember that the African sulcata tortoise can eat other plants as long as they’re not toxic.
Prickly pear cactus
A healthy diet for your sulcata tortoise should include a variety of green-leaf vegetables and course grasses. Prickly pears and mulberry leaves are particularly good choices. They’re also known to eat rocks and soil. You can keep them in an outdoor terrarium or a cactus pen.
These succulent pads come in a range of colors and can be offered whole or chopped up. The tips are tender and are edible for hatchlings. The pads produced at various rates during the growing season, so you’ll want to offer your turtle a variety of colors and textures. Prickly pear cactus should never be hot when you give it to your tortoise.
Alfalfa hay
Besides grass, African sulcata tortoises love to eat fruits, vegetables, and weeds. Their diet should be comprised of 80 percent grass and 20 percent vegetables and weeds. Fruits such as peaches, apricots, bananas, figs, strawberries, and melons are also suitable for them. Moreover, they can ingest soil, rocks, and even the skin of organic bananas.
Sulcatas are capable of eating a variety of hay, though overfeeding this type of food can result in digestive problems. You can also feed your tortoise leafy greens. You can also feed them carrots, chopped sweet potatoes, dandelions, and parsley. Some other hays for your tortoise include orchard hay, which contains no seed heads or stems. Its protein content is moderate, measuring nine to 12 percent.
Timothy hay
Most sulcatas are herbivores but will occasionally eat carrion. Since they do not have the digestive ability to break down proteins, they require a variety of plant foods for optimum health. Provide your sulcata with a large yard where it can freely graze and a pile of food daily. Providing more food once or twice a week is fine, but be sure not to pyramid your feeding regimen.
Another way to add a variety of nutrients to your pet’s diet is to offer them leafy greens. Aim to include at least 80% of leafy greens in your pet’s diet. You can purchase leafy greens or pick your own. A mix of baby leaves is best for your tortoise. For additional vitamins, try giving your tortoise multivitamins every month or so.
