Concerned tortoise owner

[laurenmrm]

My tortoise barely eats at the moment and will mainly eat cucumber is this ok, he is a horsefield about 1 year old, is it trying to hibernate ? Also he keeps hissing at me when I go near him not all the time but most times ?? Advice please !!!!

 

[laurenmrm]

Hissing ????

My tortoise keep hissing at me ?? Is this normal ??

 

[mctlong]

RE: Hissing ????

Yes. Its the sound of him sucking his head into his shell. Perfectly normal.

 

[mctlong]

He needs to eat more variety than cucumber. How long have you had him? Sometimes their appetite decreases when they are adjusting to a new home.

 

[stinax182]

it may take him weeks to get use to you. the hissing noise is him sucking into his shell quickly. but you definitely need to feed him more than cucumber. here is a caresheet with a good list of foods http://www.tortoiseforum.org/thread-80698.html more greens, less vegetables.

 

[WillTort2]

When you approach you tortoise, call out his name softly and approach slowly to avoid startling the tort.

Try the leafy vegetables like turnip greens, kale, collards, romaine and red leaf lettuce, radicchio, endive, etc.

Good luck.