Sulcata tortoises are grass eaters. They need to eat up about 80% grasses with the rest of the diet composed of weeds and leafy greens. Sometimes, grass is not available, like during the winter months. During these months, you still need to maintain a high-fiber diet. Don’t rely on grocery store greens as the main diet for a sulcata (at any time of year). The perfect alternative to fresh grass is hay, since hay is essentially dried grass.
Introduce sulcata to hay as early as possible. You want your tortoise to get used to the taste and texture. At first, you may find that your sulcata may only taste the hay. He’ll probably leave most of it on the food dish, eating around the hay, but you need to be persistent.
There is not a set age or size to start introduce sulcata tortoises to hay. If you bring home a baby sulcata, add hay to the diet day one. If you bring home a juvenile or adult sulcata, try offering hay.
Don’t give up. If at first, you don’t succeed, try again. Eventually, your sulcata tortoise will eat hay.
Types of Hay to Give Sulcata Tortoise
There are different types of hay available. You may find that it takes a little trial and error in finding hay that your tortoise enjoys.
- Timothy hay
- Meadow hay
- Oat hay
- Orchard hay
- Alfalfa hay – offer on occasion, not regularly
Each hay has different smells, textures, and tastes. Some hay you may need to soak to let it rehydrate before your tortoise will eat it. Or, your tortoise may enjoy other hays dry and crunchy.
Do keep in mind that hay is dried grass, so you’ll want to make sure that you are offering fresh water daily and the tortoise continues regular soaks. The dried hay does not have any added moisture, unless you are rehydrating it before giving it to your tortoise.
