baby redfoot only eats chicken!!!!

[deer_tribe_gold]

My baby is about 4 months old and has been to the vet twice, once due to a respiratory infection and the other time he had pinworms. He is in the process of recovering and has never had a great appetite. However, yesterday I fed him chicken for the first time and he LOVES it. now i try to mix it in with some greens and of course he picks around the greens and solely eats the chicken. He wont eat anything else. what should I do???

 

[Yvonne G]

You might try buying a couple jars of Gerber strained chicken. Chop up your greens a little bit, not too much and pour about a half a jar of the chicken over them and mix it all up so the greens are coated. If he eats it, then you can slowly, over time, reduce the amount of chicken used until you're not using any.

Incidentally, what type of greens are you trying to feed. Maybe its not good stuff.

 

[deer_tribe_gold]

I give I'm spring mix and collard greens sometimes carrots great idea though! Is that a good diet with the food I am giving him so far?

 

[Michael in MO]

My baby is about 4 months old and has been to the vet twice, once due to a respiratory infection and the other time he had pinworms. He is in the process of recovering and has never had a great appetite. However, yesterday I fed him chicken for the first time and he LOVES it. now i try to mix it in with some greens and of course he picks around the greens and solely eats the chicken. He wont eat anything else. what should I do???

Something I'm confused about, have you owned the tort for 4 months or did it actually HATCH 4 months ago (actually 4 months old).Have you determined how it got pinworms? If you have a dog and that's how the pinworm was passed on, you will have to be careful b/c I believe the meds to kill pinworms in dogs will kill torts (torts eat dog poo in the yard). If you have a 4 month old tort, or heck even if it's still under a year, I wouldn't worry about what it's eating (keep offering other stuff mixed in) until you are 6months out of the woods regarding health issues. After that, keep the produce amount the same and SLOWLY reduce the chicken.. your torts appetite will trump his picky-pallet!!
PS have you tried banana? and this is the perfect time of the year around here for dandelions straight from my herbicide and pesticide free yard

 

[Yvonne G]

There is a pretty good list of foods shown in the Tortoise Library

 

[deer_tribe_gold]

I have had him for three months I am guessing he was a month when I got him... I tried putting baby food over the chicken but it didn't work I don't know what else to do he refuses to eat

 

[Madkins007]

Just leave the chicken out- they don't need much protein in captivity since the foods we offer are more rich in nutrients than most of what they get in the wild. It make take some time and experimentation to find greens they like- mine preferred turnip greens- most of the time- but would occasionally get really fussy.

A decently fed tortoise can easily go a few days with no food, so you are not starving them by not giving them something they really like- mostly they just get a little more bored.

 

[kanalomele]

Offer this type of food as a treat. Try offering a different type of protein next time. Snails perhaps, or mealworms. Especially for a youngster it is important to offer as wide a variety as possible. They wont love everything but will eat it when they are hungry and realize you are not going to offer their favorite when they pout.

 

[Watsonpartyof4]

Have you tried Mazuri? It is a dry pellet food you soak in water ...often called tortoise crack! You can order a small bag directly from Mazuri.com delivered to your door for under $15 it would probably last you a few months, since you have a baby. A pellet or two at a time soaked

 

[deer_tribe_gold]

So with that said what would be your recommendation?

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Sorry wrong topic I replied to

 

[Sulcata tortoise665]

I would try mixing some banana with chicken and cataloupe. My box turtles are a bit picky and they love eating that.

 

[deer_tribe_gold]

Shell rot?!?!

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[lkwagner]

Hmm kinda looks normal compared to the pics I googled but I'm not sure because I do not have a red foot. Hopefully someone with more experience will let you know soon!

 

[Michael in MO]

Shell rot?!?!

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hard to tell with the resolution, probably not but on that note is your substrate almost wet or dripping when you push your palm into it? The only shell problems I had was when the reptibark was too wet.. the tort needs a warm but dry (although humid) place to rest at times and if it's too wet it's almost like trench foot. Also look really really close in the substrafe/bedding to make sure there aren't any almost too small to see bugs in it. Happens sometimes with the right conditions.. make sure you have pictures of your tort on a regular basis, you'll be amazed when one day you need two hands and upper body strength to hold it the way you are now with two fingers!