Frankie Tortoise Tales Frankie Tortoise Tails sulcata care tortoise sulcata husbandry Frankie Tortoise Tails Frankie Tortoise Tails: Suclata Eating Habits

Frankie

Frankie

July 16, 2011

Suclata Eating Habits

1. The buffet diner. A sulcata sits in one place and eats only things within head lenght.  This technique usually involves food items place in front of suclata by keeper.  Maybe a sign of a very lazy sulcata.

2.  Sulcata two-step or the "walk and graze".  A sulcata will take two steps, stop, eat a couple of bites, chew, then take another couple of steps, stop, chew, then take another couple of steps, stop, bites, etc., etc....

3.  Taste tester.  An sulcata, unsure of what it wants, will wander around looking for just the right area with the right combination of grass and weeds.

4. The traveler.  Similar to the Sulcata two-step except this sulcata is on a mission to a non-food location but will take bites along the way.

5. The opportunist.  A sulcata who takes a sudden diversion when sighting a favorite food item.  All other activities like walking, seeking shelter, running from predator, avoiding a tornado, etc., will cease immediately so they can get it's favorite food.  "Oh wow, a dandelion!  Excellent!"

6. The idiot.  Will eat anything just to see if it is editable.

7. Not so smart eater. A sulcata will eat the same item again even though last time they ate it they got so sick they nearly died.

8.  Grass is greener eater.  No matter a keeper's effort to make a yard delicious, the suclata believes that all grass and weeds he can see on the other side of the fence is much, much better than his own.  Warning to keepers:  a sulcata will take down a fence if he can see what is on the other side.

9. Water grazer.  The moment it starts to rain or the yard sprinkler comes on, a sulcata will run out to eat wet grass.

10. Sit and Spin.  Finding a good grass patch, a sulcata will eat all within its reach and then pivot slightly to the next patch of uneaten grass until it's nearly made a full circle.

11.  The midnight snacker.  During very hot days, a sulcata will hide until dark and then run out to eat as  much grass as they can before returning to shelter for much needed beauty sleep.

12. The glutton.  Occurs mostly with hatching, juveniles and indoor sulcata that eat un-natural diets.  When served a meal of greens, veggies and fruits piled higher than the sulcata itself, the tortoise will eat every bit and then look at the owner with big black eyes begging for more.  

13.  Picky snob.  Will refuse any food item unless it's their favorite food to the point they could starve.  An example is a sulcata who refuses to eat hay in the middle of the winter when there is no other available healthy food item.

14. Nit Picker.  Provided a combination plate of food mixed together to include favorite and less favorite food items, the sulcata will carefully pick out only the favorite food items.

15.  Balding.  Will clear out one area to the point there is no grass at all.  This may be a hint that the sulcata wants a mud patch.  

1 comment:

  1. 16: The Discountable Eater
    the pretermission snacking of any delectable item with dirt, mud, leaf, or dried up up organic mass. it is an amazing shear insignificance to watching wet roses getting inhaled with whatever is sticking to them.

    17: The Earthy Gobbler
    the unnerving act and wretching sight
    of when a Sulcata will turn on its own self
    made cigars..and then smile at you like a kid would with cake on his face.

    ReplyDelete