Cherry Head not eating.

[Randi]

On Saturday morning, I moved my Cherry Head to a 75 gallon long tank. She ate very well the day that she was put into that tank. She has not wanted to eat since.

She has a t5 HO fixture and light. Her basking spot is 30 degrees Celsius. The cool side is 28 degrees Celsius. At night time, both temperatures drop by 2 degrees. Her humidity is 99%. Her diet consists of: dandelion greens, endive, escarole, green + red leaf lettuce, herb salad mix (arugula, baby lettuce, chard, dill, parsley, etc), radicchio, a little romaine, etc. I sprinkle a herbal hay on top as well as oputunia powder and rose of Sharon powder. She will not eat if I sprinkle calcium on her food and she will not touch her cuttlebone. She currently has petunias in the tank that she can eat freely. For fruit, I like to use apples, bananas, blueberries, canteloupe, honeydew, mangos, pears, etc. For protein, cat food, chicken, prawn, tuna, etc. I just put some cat food in a container and put her in it.. she's eating that.

Is she stressed out about the tank change and could that be why she's on a hunger strike? Thank you for any advice.

 

[ZEROPILOT]

As you probably know already, it is VERY common for a tortoise to not eat for a while after getting a new place to live and I'm told that a healthy tortoise can go weeks....even months (With an adult) without food.
If all of your other parameters are correct, he'll eat.
My sick female wont eat, either. Except for mango. That she eats. Try some. They're in season.

 

[Randi]

Thank you for your reply. This tank is a lot larger then the old one. It's also now in an area where s/he sees me a lot - s/he's leery of me. If I'm around, s/he will stop what s/he's doing and walk away. Today she found a new place to sleep.. and she poked her lil head out and was watching me. Haahahah.

I will put things in that I know she can't resist. Mine loves mangos, too.

Yours still won't eat? How's the deworming going? Ill be watching for an update that says she's eating like a pig, and I'll do a happy dance for you. Hahaha.

 

[stojanovski92113]

I'm thinking it's the same thing, new environment change and much bigger, your torts probably wondering if there's any predators around!. So your tort will adjust overtime to its new home, What kind of substrate are you using? Overall looks nice

 

[crimson_lotus]

Looking good! I like your selection of hides. Mine loves to sleep in the one hide where I can never see her.

One thing I see, could be wrong - is your food in a dish? You don't want the little guy eating the mulch by accident.

 

[Randi]

Looking good! I like your selection of hides. Mine loves to sleep in the one hide where I can never see her.

One thing I see, could be wrong - is your food in a dish? You don't want the little guy eating the mulch by accident.

Thank you for the reply. It's on a piece of tile. It's deceiving because it's level with the mulch. I'm going to cover that area in coco coir.

 

[Randi]

I'm thinking it's the same thing, new environment change and much bigger, your torts probably wondering if there's any predators around!. So your tort will adjust overtime to its new home, What kind of substrate are you using? Overall looks nice

Thank you for your reply. I guess I'll just have wait it out. Hopefully it's not a long time.

Thank you! I use Forest Floor cypress mulch and Eco Earth coco coir. I still have some plants to put in. And I'll probably add more mulch to the ramps leading on top of the logs.

 

[Randi]

I forgot to mention that I soak her twice a day. Once in the morning and then around 5 at night. She also gets fed after her soaks.

 

[BobbyJ]

I wouldn't worry right away , like everyone said it's probably just because he's in a new place

 

[ZEROPILOT]

Thank you for your reply. This tank is a lot larger then the old one. It's also now in an area where s/he sees me a lot - s/he's leery of me. If I'm around, s/he will stop what s/he's doing and walk away. Today she found a new place to sleep.. and she poked her lil head out and was watching me. Haahahah.

I will put things in that I know she can't resist. Mine loves mangos, too.

Yours still won't eat? How's the deworming going? Ill be watching for an update that says she's eating like a pig, and I'll do a happy dance for you. Hahaha.

Only almost rotting fruit. And not much of it. First round of the worming is over. It starts again this Saturday.
Almost every RF I've ever had has gone off of eating for a brief period. Unless it becomes chronic like with my Bertha, don't stress about it. keep offering the food.

 

[Randi]

I have an update - I prepared the food this morning, mixed some pear in it. S/he's currently sitting on her pile of food, munching away.

I covered most of the mulch with coco coir, especially around her tile for feeding. S/he seems to like it better.

Thank you for all your advice!!

 

[Randi]

Only almost rotting fruit. And not much of it. First round of the worming is over. It starts again this Saturday.
Almost every RF I've ever had has gone off of eating for a brief period. Unless it becomes chronic like with my Bertha, don't stress about it. keep offering the food.

Hopefully once the worms clear out, she'll get her appetite back. Have you tried offering pieces of pear? Mine goes nuts for mangos and pears.

 

[Randi]

I decided to head to a nursery on the other side of town today. The drive is worth it as none of their plants are treated and are fertilizer free. I bought two beautiful big bromeliads and a nice big succulent (jade). I have finished putting them in the tank. It fills up the tank so the tortoise feels more secure.

 

[ZEROPILOT]

Hopefully once the worms clear out, she'll get her appetite back. Have you tried offering pieces of pear? Mine goes nuts for mangos and pears.

Funny because both mango and pear worked. Just once.

 

[Randi]

How is she doing? Any change? Hope all is well. Have you tried a strawberry or raspberry? Mine seems to really like the colour red so I wonder if yours would too.

Mine is sort of on a hunger strike. Only has a few nibbles of food then walks away.

 

[christinaland128]

Randi I hope you got the Bromeliads on sale! LOL I spent $18 on one and my Redfoot plowed through it and broke the blossom off (which in this plant species never regrows! ). Haha, I just thought "oh boy, he's gonna trash that pretty flower!"

 

[Randi]

I got these two Bromeliads for $9.99 each. I got a succulent (Jade) for $12.99. I bought a tillandsia for $21.99. I just need to decide what to attach it to.

Haha, I'm sure it wasn't so funny at the time! How large was yours? Mine is a little over 4". Mine is more then welcome to try but I think s/he's too small!