Baby Tortoise Won't Eat Grass

[lundumb]

Hello!
My nearly 1 year old Desert Sulcata tortoise won't eat any grass. He's always been this way, he only wants greens (kale, romaine, collards, etc) with the occasional tomato or bit of strawberry as a treat. I know he should have a mostly grass based diet but he refuses to touch it. I've tried store bought hay, fresh grown oat grass in his enclosure, even lawn clippings. I've tried powdering it and sprinkling it on his food but I feel like that's not enough. Is there a trick to this? Can I do herbal soaks to help him at least get the right vitamins, like if I put some hay in his bath, or other beneficial plants?
Any info or suggestions are greatly appreciated!

 

[Chubbs the tegu]

Most breeders dont start babies off the right way feed them wrong and give them “desert” environments) keeping baby sulcatas dry is a recipe for disaster. Spritz ur greens and sprinkle a little finely chopped young tender grass over the greens ( the wetness will make the grass stick to the greens) start with a small amount and up it as they start excepting it. Good luck! And read up on Toms sulcata care sheet

 

[Tom]

Hello and welcome.

First, and very importantly, sulcatas are NOT desert tortoises. They come from forest edge areas and and grassland areas. They hatch into the rain at the start of the hot rainy monsoon season in the wild. Dry conditions are really bad for them.

Most breeders don't take the time to introduce grasses and other good foods. They just do what is easy, romaine and spring box for example, and move the babies out the door ASAP. This leaves the burden of introducing the right foods to the new owner. The way to do this is starting small with very tiny quantities of the new stuff mixed in with the tortoise's old stuff. Most people try to mix in the new stuff too soon.

Don't worry too much about the grass when the baby is small. In time the tortoise will take to it. Don't bother with hay until the baby passes 12 inches or so.

Give this a read, and look for the sulcata care sheet near the bottom:

Info For New People. Please Read This First.

Hello and welcome to tortoiseforum.org! We are all glad you are here! There is no other forum like this anywhere. We have tens of thousands of members from all over the world ranging from kids with their first tortoise to people who have been breeding and keeping high end tortoises since the...

tortoiseforum.org

 

[lundumb]

Hello and welcome.

First, and very importantly, sulcatas are NOT desert tortoises. They come from forest edge areas and and grassland areas. They hatch into the rain at the start of the hot rainy monsoon season in the wild. Dry conditions are really bad for them.

Most breeders don't take the time to introduce grasses and other good foods. They just do what is easy, romaine and spring box for example, and move the babies out the door ASAP. This leaves the burden of introducing the right foods to the new owner. The way to do this is starting small with very tiny quantities of the new stuff mixed in with the tortoise's old stuff. Most people try to mix in the new stuff too soon.

Don't worry too much about the grass when the baby is small. In time the tortoise will take to it. Don't bother with hay until the baby passes 12 inches or so.

Give this a read, and look for the sulcata care sheet near the bottom:

Info For New People. Please Read This First.

Hello and welcome to tortoiseforum.org! We are all glad you are here! There is no other forum like this anywhere. We have tens of thousands of members from all over the world ranging from kids with their first tortoise to people who have been breeding and keeping high end tortoises since the...

tortoiseforum.org

Oh wow, he was sold to me as a desert tortoise, that's crazy! Thank you, I'll definitely try that and check out that link, thank you!

 

[lundumb]

Most breeders dont start babies off the right way feed them wrong and give them “desert” environments) keeping baby sulcatas dry is a recipe for disaster. Spritz ur greens and sprinkle a little finely chopped young tender grass over the greens ( the wetness will make the grass stick to the greens) start with a small amount and up it as they start excepting it. Good luck! And read up on Toms sulcata care sheet

I'll give that a shot, hopefully he'll just eat it without looking at it too hard haha, thank you!

 

[TammyJ]

Hi! Please keep us updated.

 

[zovick]

Oh wow, he was sold to me as a desert tortoise, that's crazy! Thank you, I'll definitely try that and check out that link, thank you!

American Desert Tortoises and African sulcata tortoises look quite similar. You probably should post a couple pix of your tortoise so that we may be sure exactly what it is in order to give you the best care info.

Be sure to show the front part of the upper shell directly above the neck area. The presence or absence of a nuchal scute there will be the determining factor.