Tortoises won't eat

[Freya Campbell]

I own two baby Herman tortoises and at the moment they won't eat much. I have seen them eat the inside of half a cherry tomato and a few bites of lettuce every time I give them it but they aren't eating nearly enough to grow up healthy. I have just put them in a baby food bath but I'm not sure if it's helping them in any way. Any advice?

 

[Souptugo]

Hello not eating could be a sign of other things besides appetite. How long have you had them? How are you keeping them? Lighting, heat, substrate, all these things can contribute to why they don't eat. Need more info if you could take some photos and post we can check it out.

 

[Freya Campbell]

Hello not eating could be a sign of other things besides appetite. How long have you had them? How are you keeping them? Lighting, heat, substrate, all these things can contribute to why they don't eat. Need more info if you could take some photos and post we can check it out.

well I have had them for two weeks now, they have a heat lamp in their table which stays about 60-80 degrees celsius. Does any of that help?

 

[polDurna]

if that is really celsius, and not fahrenheit, you might be baking them, you can fry eggs at 55*c in 20 minutes.

 

[Freya Campbell]

if that is really celsius, and not fahrenheit, you might be baking them, you can fry eggs at 55*c in 20 minutes.

Got it wrong, it's at about 20 degrees celsius.

 

[polDurna]

Got it wrong, it's at about 20 degrees celsius.

Ok, that seems to be on the low side or their happy zone. I have Red Foot torts, but what info I see on herman torts says 22-27*c is optimum. Keeping the temps on the low side slows the metabolism for every reptile I know of...

 

[Yvonne G]

Still need improvement, Freya. 20C is way too cool for baby tortoises. You need to get their habitat up in the high 20sC. they won't eat if they're not warm enough. Think about it: YOUR body temperature is 37C. If it gets down below that you're sick. Your tortoises can't get their body temperature up on their own like we can, they need us to give them the proper heat and lights so they can be warm enough to be healthy.

 

[Souptugo]

Freya, don't worry, tortoises are very resilient creatures. I would make the changes right away but do give them time to adjust. I would also advise on not keeping them together because they can be territorial. Have your parents help you with the set up.

This web site by Chris is almost as good as it gets in information. Please refer to it for advice and to get your habitat set up properly.

http://www.hermannihaven.com/care-sheet

As for food, lettuce and tomato is not good enough. You need to feed them a staple and enriched pellets like Mazuri or Grassland to supplement their fibre intake amongst other things. I find endives are great as a staple, so are dandelions if you can get them. Chop this staple up very fine and mix Mazuri and/or grassland tortoise pellets (hydrated to softened form). This would give your tortoises a nutritious meal.

My recipe is 1 part Belgian endives, 1 part dandelion, 1/4 part Mazuri and 1/4 part Grassland all finely chopped. I make enough to last 6 servings or 3 days. I use a twist seal round zip lock container and put it in the fridge. I just scoop it out every time he eats (usually 2 times a day). Give him about 1/2 his body size in food. It all gets devoured. The endives are very good hydrating source and good fiber. His poop is always solid.

There are a lot of things to learn regarding PROPER tortoise care. We can help you or your parents once we figure out what you already have/don't have.

It's important that heat is provided but also ultraviolet radiation as well so that they can metabolize calcium for their shell. I use a Mercury Vapor Bulb mounted on a ceramic socket (this will give you all the heat/UVB you need). At night, you might need to get help to maintain temp at around 17-19 C. They need to cool down at night but not freezing cold so on cold nights you can get a ceramic heat emitter for warmth. I will attach a photos of my enclosure for my Hermann Charlie. Make sure you mount everything SECURELY! Fire hazard if you don't.

If you can get their environment set up properly, they will eat!!! Trust me! Good luck.

James

 

[Jabuticaba]

Hello not eating could be a sign of other things besides appetite. How long have you had them? How are you keeping them? Lighting, heat, substrate, all these things can contribute to why they don't eat. Need more info if you could take some photos and post we can check it out.

Hiya! Photos of the torts and enclosure would be helpful. And info on age(s) would be helpful, as babies and adults have different requirements. The care sheet that James posted should be really helpful, too.

 

[Jabuticaba]

Freya, don't worry, tortoises are very resilient creatures. I would make the changes right away but do give them time to adjust. I would also advise on not keeping them together because they can be territorial. Have your parents help you with the set...
James

View attachment 204595

James, I have plant envy.