New Leopard is a picky eater

hi,

I just got my tort about one week ago. He seems healthy. When I first got him I was feeding him kale and grape leaves. He really seemed to eat it up. I recently made a mix of dandelion, collard greens, romain, and shredded carrots. He won't touch the stuff. I also started putting calcium in this mix and I'm wondering if that is what is turning him off. But he did not eat it plaine either. Tonight he wouldn't eat it so I went out and got a few grape leaves and of course he didn't waste any time. No calcium on the grape leaves. I am worried about his calcium intake. I got him a turtle bone and he doesn't touch that either. Not sure what to do.

Change his diet. The base diet should be lettuce, red or green leaf and spring mix are good. No iceberg lettuce. Too much Kale is bad so I would remove that for babies. You will find foods they do not like, like carrots, spinach, etc. which is normal. Just keep looking and trying new stuff, but keep the base diet there for nutrition. Feed moist Mazuri pellets also for protein and vitamins. Very few of mine ever liked cuttle bone, so I just sprinkle some calcium powder on their food pile a few times a week.

Chopping up the stuff he doesn't like and mixing it in with the chopped up stuff he does like helps to trick them into eating it all. Most don't like calcium, so do just a small pinch 2-3 times a week. Most leopards don't like grass when young, but it will be better if you can mix some in and get him eating it. Get as much variety mixed in as possibly

Okay, thanks for the info. I've noticed he waits for the veggies to dry and then he eats it up. Not too sure why. I put him outside every day for an hour and he is very active and strong. I am assuming he is doing okay. He does graze on the grass out there a little. I'll keep trying. I guess I'll add little bits of other stuff to the grape leaves and see how that goes. I soak him every day for about 15 min then let him go outside and roam a bit. He really enjoys it out there but still way to small to leave outside for now.

Many tortoises do not like to have their diet completely changed if they are only fed a couple of types of food for long periods of time. A good trick is to feed him lots of the food that he will eat, mixed small amounts of different types of food. Gradually increase the other types of food every few days. Keep the diet varied and you should never have a problem getting him to eat the better types of food.

Escarole, spring mix, endive, cactus and mulberry leaves are good items to include in a varied diet that most leopards seem to readily accept.

Neal said:

Many tortoises do not like to have their diet completely changed if they are only fed a couple of types of food for long periods of time. A good trick is to feed him lots of the food that he will eat, mixed small amounts of different types of food. Gradually increase the other types of food every few days. Keep the diet varied and you should never have a problem getting him to eat the better types of food.

Escarole, spring mix, endive, cactus and mulberry leaves are good items to include in a varied diet that most leopards seem to readily accept.

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Where do you get cactus and mulberry leaves? Do any places actually sell the grass variety, like dandelions and other weeds? I know it's best to grow your own but it's December.