Commercial tortosie pellets are be a healthy additive to a varied diet. Not all commercial pellets are good for sulcata tortoises, but there are plenty of healthy options to feed your tortoise.
What Should You Look For?
When shopping for healthy pellets for your sulcata tortoise, look at the ingredients. It’s important to choose pellets that have sulcata-approved ingredients.
Fruits, Vegetables – You don’t want the pellets to include a lot of fruits and vegetables. These pellets are better suited for omnivorous turtles and tortoises.
Animal Proteins – Sulcatas need a low protein diet. The proteins that they do need come from dark leafy greens, like spinach and collards (fed in moderation along with a varied diet). So, you want to avoid commercial pellets that include animal proteins, like poultry, worms, etc.
Find commercial tortoise foods that are primarily grass, weeds and greens.
Mazuri
The more popular and commonly known tortoise pellet is Mazuri Tortoise Diet. Mazuri has a high fiber content, which is vital for sulcata tortoises. It, also, contains valuable nutrients that help supplement a diet of fresh grasses, weeds and greens.
When shopping for Mazuri for tortoises, you’ll find two variations – original and LS.
Original Mazuri (5M21) is a larger pellet that has been proven tasty to tortoises. The original Mazuri pellet is a healthy pellet despite the soybean hulls, ground corn and dehulled soybean meal, and it is a great additive for a healthy diet.
LS Mazuri (5E5L) is a smaller pellet is a low-starch version of the original pellet. It contains less corn and soybean than the original formula.
Zoo Med Grassland
Zoo Med Grassland Tortoise Food cotains long-stem fibers from natural grasses like oat, timothy and alfalfa. The pellet also contains nutritious dandelion greens, yucca and other plants. The Zoo Med tortosie pellet is primarily grasses and other plants, making it a very healthy option for sulcata tortoises.
Hay Pellets and Cubes
Fewer people are aware of hay pellets, but 100% hay pellets are a healthy option for tortoises. You can purchase hay pellets and hay cubes at a local feed store that supplies food for horses. OR you can buy smaller bags online (great for testing your tortoise).
When shopping for hay pellets, look for the same healthy hays that you would feed if you were buying loose hay – timothy hay and orchard hay are the more common hay choices.
Make sure that the hay pellets or cubes that you buy are 100% hay. You don’t want any additives in the pellet.
Feeding Sulcata Tortoise Pellets
When feeding a Sulcata tortoise commercial diets, offer pellets 1-3 times a week. Commercial tortoise foods should not be the primary diet, but fed along with a varied diet of grasses, weeds and greens.
If your sulcata won’t eat the pellets dry, you can moisten them in warm water. You can also try a rose hip- or hibiscus-infused water (use dried flowers for an easy infusion) for more flavor.
