When thinking about a tortoise pellet, you may immediately think of Mazuri or Grassland tortoise diets. However, these aren’t the only brands of tortoise pellets. Lugarti makes reptile diets and reptile supplies. The Lugarti pellets for tortoises are deemed by the company as the “healthiest pelleted diet for tortoises on the planet.”
Lugarti tortoise pellets for consists of natural hays and grasses, as well as high-quality vitamins, minerals, probiotics and prebiotics.
Lugarti Premium Tortoise Food promotes that they are free of many of the “scary” ingredients of other commercial tortoise diets. The pellets do not include artificial colors, corn, bone meal, fructose, BHT (Butylated hydroxytoluene) nor artificial flavors.
You can feed your Sulcata tortoise Lugarti pellets as a main diet, but it’s always best to offer a varied diet with proper grasses and greens to ensure a healthy diet.
How to Feed Lugarti Tortoise Pellets
Like Mazuri and Zoo Med Grassland diets, you can feed Lugarti pellets dry or moistened.
When introducing a new pellet to your Sulcata tortoise diet, you can moisten the pellets. For some reason, many tortoises find the moistened pellets more enticing. However, if your tortoise is used to eating dry pellets, try offering the Lugarti dry to give it a fair comparison.
When feeding baby Sulcatas or younger tortoises, in general, moisten the pellets until softened. This will make it easier for them to bite onto and eat.
Lugarti Tortoise Food Guaranteed Analysis
| Crude protein (min) | 9.0% |
| Crude fat (min) | 2.7% |
| Crude fiber (max) | 32.0% |
| Calcium | 1.0% |
| Phosphorus | 0.2% |
| Sodium | 0.5% |
Lugarti Premium Tortoise Food Ingredients
Timothy Hay, Rye Grass, Oat Hay, Alfalfa Hay, Rice Bran, Almond Hulls, Calcium Carbonate, Monocalcium Phosphate, Brewers Dried Yeast; Probiotic Blend: (Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Lactobacillus acidophilus, Lactobacillus casei, Enterococcus faecium, Bifidobacterium longum, Aspergillus oryzae); Vitamin & Mineral Blend: (Zinc Methionine Complex, Manganese Methionine Complex, Copper Lysine Complex, Cobalt Glucoheptonate, Manganese Oxide, Mixed Tocopherols (Vitamin E), Mineral Oil, Selenium Yeast, Manganese Sulfate, Biotin, Ethylenediamine Dihydroiodide, Retinyl Acetate (Vitamin A), Riboflavin (Vitamin B2), Thiamine Mononitrate (Vitamin B1), Cholecalciferol (Vitamin D3), Salt); Soybean Meal, Propionic Acid, Ammonium Hydroxide, Acetic Acid, Benzoic Acid, Sorbic Acid, Tartaric Acid, Verxite, Silicon Dioxide, Orange Oil, Wheat Bran
Choose a Tortoise Pellet Food
When choosing a new pellet food for your tortoise, check the guaranteed analysis and ingredients.
Look for a pellet food that high in fiber, low in protein and low in fat. Always check the label, as the ingredients can change, altering the guaranteed analysis.
Tortoise Pellets Guaranteed Analysis
The proteins, fats and fibers are listed in min and max percentages, so the exact amounts can vary below or above the percentages.
| Mazuri | Mazuri L/S | Grassland | Lugarti | Fluker’s | |
| Crude protein (min) | 15.0% | 12.0% | 9.0% | 9.0% | 15.0% |
| Crude fat (min) | 3.0% | 4.0% | 2.0% | 2.7% | 3.0% |
| Crude fiber (max) | 18.0% | 18.0% | 26.0% | 32.0% | 18.0% |
| Moisture (max) | 12.5% | 12.0% | 13.0% | ||
| Ash (max) | 8.0% | 9.0% | 10.0% | 9.5% | |
| Calcium (min) | 0.9% | 1.0% | |||
| Calcium (max) | 1.3% | ||||
| Phosphorus (min) | 0.4% | 0.2% | |||
| Sodium (max) | 0.3% | 0.5% |
Top 5 Ingredients of Tortoise Pellets
It’s also important to take into account the top ingredients.
Unfortunately, the top ingredients can be deceiving. For example, the original Mazuri does not have ideal, healthy ingredients, but it is one of the most recommended pellet brands for tortoises.
You almost have to make an educated guess as to which commercial diet will be the best for your sulcata. However, Lugarti definitely stacks up to the more commonly used Mazuri tortoise diet.
| Mazuri | Mazuri L/S | Grassland | Lugarti | Fluker’s | |
| 1 | Ground soybean hull | Ground timothy hay | Suncured oat hay | Timothy hay | Soybean hulls |
| 2 | Ground corn | Ground soybean hulls | Suncured timothy hay | Rye grass | Corn |
| 3 | Dehulled soybean meal | Dehulled soybean meal | Soybean hulls | Oat hay | Oats |
| 4 | Ground oats | Dried plain beet pulp | Wheat middlings | Alfalfa hay | Wheat middlings |
| 5 | Wheat middlings | Oat hulls | Suncured alfalfa hay | Rice bran | Soybean Meal |
