My new RT didn't seem interested in his mustard greens. Do your eat as soon as you put the food in? Maybe his new environment needs to settle in his mind before he will eat? All he has been doing is digging in the corner of the box.
eating
- Thread starter Lori J
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My Chaco tortoise won't touch mustard greens. She like curly endive though, and spring mix.
My Ernie sometimes will eat right away, other times he'll wander around a bit before he eats. I guess it all depends on how hungry he is at the moment =P
How long have you had the little guy? Where did you purchase him from?
Most Russians in the pet industry have been wild caught. He may be under a lot of stress, or if he is really acting like he i frantically trying to get out, something in or about the enclosure may be bothering him.
Can you post some details about how he is being kept? Size of enclosure, material it is made from, substrate, lighting, etc?
I have found that some cooked and cooled butternut squash (or Gerber baby food butternut) will usually tempt the most picky of critters.
Kristina
Most Russians in the pet industry have been wild caught. He may be under a lot of stress, or if he is really acting like he i frantically trying to get out, something in or about the enclosure may be bothering him.
Can you post some details about how he is being kept? Size of enclosure, material it is made from, substrate, lighting, etc?
I have found that some cooked and cooled butternut squash (or Gerber baby food butternut) will usually tempt the most picky of critters.
Kristina
i got him from petco yesterday. they had him for a few months. i asked where he came from..they said a breeder in louisieana. he is burrowed at the moment. he is prolly under stress. he was living in a c threw house there. i have him in a turtle table i made myself. there is a hide in there. water dish...some tortoise pellets if he wants to eat them. and there is timothy hay. the substrate is cocnut. the light is a powersun all in one. the temp under the light is 85-90. and the room is 70. i will feed some salad mix tomorrow with carrots. hopefully he will be more interested. i did take him outside for a bit today. he seemed to enjoy being outside.i cant keep him out there...to many predators here. so when he goes outside i have to be right there.
Congrats on your new friend. When I first got my Cherryhead he wasn't interested in anything but hiding from me. He now after a month and a half will wait for me to get up to feed him. He sits in his food dish just waiting. More than half the time the greens do not even fully hit the dish before his neck is stretched out and mouth wide open. I would just let him relax a few days or so just make sure that you put fresh food everyday just incase he comes out to feed. Even though it'll seem hopeless and really hard to just leave him alone (it was for me) its said that they come around faster. Goodluck
Instead of salad mix with carrots, I would feed him some spring mix. You can find it in the produce section of your grocery store. Most salad mixes that contain carrots are made mostly f iceburg, which has little to no nutritional value and just takes up valuable tummy space. Russians like weeds and grasses best. Carrots are not a premium food for tortoises but can be offered occasionally.
He probably won't eat the timothy unless you soak it first, and same with the pellets, soften them a little. Look at it if it was you - would you rather eat something tender, or one of those hard dry pellets?
Kristina
He probably won't eat the timothy unless you soak it first, and same with the pellets, soften them a little. Look at it if it was you - would you rather eat something tender, or one of those hard dry pellets?
Kristina
Congrats on the new tort! Keep in mind Petco is notorious for lying about where they get torts from. I'm 99% sure he is wild caught. Either way, best to get a vet check up with fecal test for parasites. Each tort has different food likes the dislikes. My little guy loves mustard greens but will avoid collard greens unless that is all that is available. Best to feed a varied diet. Avoid pellets unless they are Mazuri Tortoise Diet or Grassland Tortoise Food, and then only in small amounts. The rest are junk--especially anything with coloring, fruits, or high protein. Avoid the carrots. Feeding your tort organic stuff like weeds from the garden is best, but if you can't, buy organic from the store. If at all possible though, you can grow a mix seeds even in trays inside. Salad mix is ok. Spring mix is better (no spinach). Add in a rotation of other greens like collard/radish/dandelion/watercress/turnip (I buy 1-2 a week to add in, rotating through a list). You can feed either of those good tort pellets a bit, butternut squash or pumpkin for a treat once a week, and cactus pads as a treat once in awhile. You can build an outdoor enclosure using hardware cloth that can keep predators out but let UVB rays in. I suggest walls at least 18 inches above the dirt, and a couple feet under the dirt. If you have the weather for even a couple months out of the year, go for it! Torts thrive outdoors. That is great you built a table, and the substrate and temps sound good. Best wishes.
yes it is SPRING MIX....so spring is near in Upstate NY so there will be plenty of dandolions to pick! Is there a way to keep them fresh after picking them? Maybe put them in a baggies in the fridge? And what about yard grass...is that ok? I don't treat my grass at all. Where can I get cactus?
If your grass is chemical free, it is great, but Russians rarely like grass and will be much more interested in any safe weeds. What about having a section of your yard set up as graze? Buy some seeds such as those as carolinapetsupply.com to plant, and either take the tort out to graze, have the enclosure there, or pick the weeds & broadleaves. Dandelions don't do well after picked but can be kept in the fridge. Dry is best, so with any greens I will wash, dry, and package with paper towels in a Tupperware, replacing the paper towels as needed to keep the greens dry. I can get cactus pads in my area at Safeway or Winco. Others get them at hispanic grocery stores/stands. The dandelion greens are also awesome. Natural stores sell them for $2-4 a bunch, but if they are chemical free you will have them for free.
Here are some lists of safe weeds to feed as well:
http://www.russiantortoise.org/edible_plants.htm
http://tortoiseforum.org/thread-7510.html
http://www.africantortoise.com/edible_landscaping.htm
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/forum-54.html
Here are some lists of safe weeds to feed as well:
http://www.russiantortoise.org/edible_plants.htm
http://tortoiseforum.org/thread-7510.html
http://www.africantortoise.com/edible_landscaping.htm
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/forum-54.html
not sure how to tell bad weeds from good weeds. hhhmmmm..that is a challenge for me. i do live near a wegmans...they seem to have a lot of different things there. do they dandolin flowers. maybe i will order seeds and grow them myself. that would save some money..and be my own grown, are the seeds easy to grow inside? Im guessing organin soil to plant them in? thanks so much for your help.
Yes organic soil. There is a 'good' weed list on the forum. When I find it I'll post the link. Soon Lori you will become a weed expert too. You'll notice weeds and plants all over you can feed. I just go into my backyard, pick a few, wash them off before I feed them and wa la, dinner is served!
Carl has FINALLY eaten! I moved the foods onto a piece of slate..it was in a dish. Maybe he didn't see it before? I don't know....but whatever works. He ate spring mix. Yippy. And I did soak him for 20 minutes....he pooped and pooped. LOL
My sully did the same thing Lori. I had his food in a dish, he would only eat out of it when I put him in front of it. Sooo I put some slate in and now he sits there waiting for his food! Go figure, But I'm happy yours is eating well now!
Whenever I rearrange Ernie's house, I always place him right in front of his food the first couple times I feed him in the new setting, so he can figure out where his food has been moved to. Sometimes it just takes a little coaxing.
Lori J said:
All systems up and running, I guess.
Very cool.
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