Such a picky eater! Is he healthy? Help!

[JSW]

Hello Happy Day!
I am new to the forum and really hope I get some feedback. I have a leopard tortoise, his name is Hermes and he is so picky. I hardly very his diet at all because every time I try something new he will go three days without eating until I give him what he wants so now I only give him what he wants. I always spray his food with a vitamin supplement and sprinkle it with calcium. He only eats:
strawberries
squash
zucchini
Red leaf lettuce
Romain lettuce
kale
Sunflower sprouts

and I really can't think of anything else, but he refuses to eat any sort of tortoise pellet food.
He is an indoor tortoise only because we live in Nebraska. This summer I will finally let him outside because I'm not worried that he will get stepped on. He is about two and half years old and his shell compared to the pictures I've seen is much more bumpy if that makes sense. He is very active, he loves to be held and eat from my hand and have baths and he has no problem with our Rhodesian Ridgeback, our Mainecoon or our hedgehog.
Since I've been reading these threads about variety in food and diet I'm concerned about his eating habits...
Does anyone have comments suggestions constructive criticism? I would love it and thank you so much in advance!
Jen

 

[Grandpa Turtle 144]

Hi Jen

 

[Robber]

Hello Happy Day!
I am new to the forum and really hope I get some feedback. I have a leopard tortoise, his name is Hermes and he is so picky. I hardly very his diet at all because every time I try something new he will go three days without eating until I give him what he wants so now I only give him what he wants. I always spray his food with a vitamin supplement and sprinkle it with calcium. He only eats:
strawberries
squash
zucchini
Red leaf lettuce
Romain lettuce
kale
Sunflower sprouts

and I really can't think of anything else, but he refuses to eat any sort of tortoise pellet food.
He is an indoor tortoise only because we live in Nebraska. This summer I will finally let him outside because I'm not worried that he will get stepped on. He is about two and half years old and his shell compared to the pictures I've seen is much more bumpy if that makes sense. He is very active, he loves to be held and eat from my hand and have baths and he has no problem with our Rhodesian Ridgeback, our Mainecoon or our hedgehog.
Since I've been reading these threads about variety in food and diet I'm concerned about his eating habits...
Does anyone have comments suggestions constructive criticism? I would love it and thank you so much in advance!
Jen

While some will be naturally pickier than others, you can get them to start eating a bigger variety through time and patience. You have to offer small amounts mixed in with currently accepted items and the hungrier they are, the better luck you will have(it's not a big deal if they go a few days without eating, especially once they are two years old). Many will be much less choosey even in the morning vs the afternoon. It's not uncommon for them to not take to pellet food right away, so don't panic.


There are quite a few old threads about this you can probably find that will contain more information.

Oh, and I would go VERY light on the strawberry...

 

[Neal]

The method described by Robber is what I would suggest, start offering small portions of the "better" types of food, then gradually increase the amounts offered.

If you haven't already, you should spend some time researching here about the better types types of food too offer. There are too many to make any detailed list, but some notable food items would be escarole, cactus pads, mulberry and grape leaves. These seem to be accepted even by the pickiest of eaters.