Eating

Milkman

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Cochrane, AB
Hello! Kiwi doesnt eat a lot anymore and all he does is sleep he only basks when i move him to the basking spot, is there anything i can do to get him to eat again?
 

KarenSoCal

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We need a lot more info to be able to help you with Kiwi.

First, what species is he? How big/old is he? How long have you had him, and where did you get him?

Please take some pictures of Kiwi and his enclosure. What types of lights and heating are you using? What have you fed him in the past, and what are you offering him now?

I know it's lots of questions, but we need to know so we can try to help.
 

saleena.lewis

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Could we have some pics of your tortoise? What kind of tortoise is he? Also how long has he not been eating for, this could be because of inproper setup. Could we see your enclosure?
 

Milkman

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Joined
Apr 21, 2020
Messages
20
Location (City and/or State)
Cochrane, AB
We need a lot more info to be able to help you with Kiwi.

First, what species is he? How big/old is he? How long have you had him, and where did you get him?

Please take some pictures of Kiwi and his enclosure. What types of lights and heating are you using? What have you fed him in the past, and what are you offering him now?

I know it's lots of questions, but we need to know so we can try to help.
Kiwi is a hermann’s tortoise not sure if eastern or western, he is 5 yrs old we’ve had him for a couple months and we got him from a guy who got him from pisces. The picture attached isnt that good i’ll see if i can get some more and i’ll also get pictures of the enclosure.
 

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Milkman

New Member
Joined
Apr 21, 2020
Messages
20
Location (City and/or State)
Cochrane, AB
Could we have some pics of your tortoise? What kind of tortoise is he? Also how long has he not been eating for, this could be because of inproper setup. Could we see your enclosure?
He hasnt been eating for a couple days, i’ll get a pic of the enclosure in a bit. He’s also a hermann’s.
 

Milkman

New Member
Joined
Apr 21, 2020
Messages
20
Location (City and/or State)
Cochrane, AB
We need a lot more info to be able to help you with Kiwi.

First, what species is he? How big/old is he? How long have you had him, and where did you get him?

Please take some pictures of Kiwi and his enclosure. What types of lights and heating are you using? What have you fed him in the past, and what are you offering him now?

I know it's lots of questions, but we need to know so we can try to help.
I feed this and lettuce
 

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Milkman

New Member
Joined
Apr 21, 2020
Messages
20
Location (City and/or State)
Cochrane, AB
We need a lot more info to be able to help you with Kiwi.

First, what species is he? How big/old is he? How long have you had him, and where did you get him?

Please take some pictures of Kiwi and his enclosure. What types of lights and heating are you using? What have you fed him in the past, and what are you offering him now?

I know it's lots of questions, but we need to know so we can try to help.
 

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saleena.lewis

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Apr 20, 2020
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232
Location (City and/or State)
Massachusetts
Ok so what should i feed him?
I would completely get rid of that food in the bag, it's not good for them. If you want to get pellet food you can get mazuri tortoise diet (but that cannot be fed as a staple) You should also be feeding him or her a variety of dark leafy greens such as collard greens, red leaf/green leaf lettuce, bok choy, etc. They can also have weeds from your backyard as long as it has not pesticides or fertilizer. You can download the app called The Tortoise Table to see what plants and weeds are safe for them if you are not sure. You can also buy things like hibiscus flowers from the hardware store and they can eat the flowers and the leaves off of the plant.
 

Milkman

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Joined
Apr 21, 2020
Messages
20
Location (City and/or State)
Cochrane, AB
I would completely get rid of that food in the bag, it's not good for them. If you want to get pellet food you can get mazuri tortoise diet (but that cannot be fed as a staple) You should also be feeding him or her a variety of dark leafy greens such as collard greens, red leaf/green leaf lettuce, bok choy, etc. They can also have weeds from your backyard as long as it has not pesticides or fertilizer. You can download the app called The Tortoise Table to see what plants and weeds are safe for them if you are not sure. You can also buy things like hibiscus flowers from the hardware store and they can eat the flowers and the leaves off of the plant.
Tysm i’ll fix this up asap
 

saleena.lewis

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Messages
232
Location (City and/or State)
Massachusetts
Tysm i’ll fix this up asap
No problem! If you have any other questions you can ask me or anyone else on here! And also your enclosure is OK but it would be more enjoyable for your tortoise if you had more live plants and foliage and enrichment.You can find a bunch of safe plants at your local plant nursery for cheap and you can add them into the enclosure.
 

KarenSoCal

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Tortoise Club
5 Year Member
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Location (City and/or State)
Low desert 50 mi SE of Palm Springs CA
I would also suggest making his enclosure brighter. Put an LED light at the dark end. His basking light and the LED light should be on a timer for 12 on/12 off.

I'm thinking he may be too cold. In the pic it looks like his enclosure is on, or very near, the floor. It's much colder on the floor, and if a tortoise is cold, he won't eat. Are you giving him any kind of nighttime heat?

What is the temp directly under his basking light?
 

Milkman

New Member
Joined
Apr 21, 2020
Messages
20
Location (City and/or State)
Cochrane, AB
We need a lot more info to be able to help you with Kiwi.

First, what species is he? How big/old is he? How long have you had him, and where did you get him?

Please take some pictures of Kiwi and his enclosure. What types of lights and heating are you using? What have you fed him in the past, and what are you offering him now?

I know it's lots of questions, but we need to know so we can try to help.
I would also suggest making his enclosure brighter. Put an LED light at the dark end. His basking light and the LED light should be on a timer for 12 on/12 off.

I'm thinking he may be too cold. In the pic it looks like his enclosure is on, or very near, the floor. It's much colder on the floor, and if a tortoise is cold, he won't eat. Are you giving him any kind of nighttime heat?

What is the temp directly under his basking light?
His heat at night is his basking bulb and idk what the heat is for basking i’ll check when i get home from school.
 

KarenSoCal

Well-Known Member
Tortoise Club
5 Year Member
Platinum Tortoise Club
Joined
Jul 8, 2017
Messages
5,749
Location (City and/or State)
Low desert 50 mi SE of Palm Springs CA
His heat at night is his basking bulb and idk what the heat is for basking i’ll check when i get home from school.

OK, please do.

Using his basking light at night is not good. The basking light is supposed to be the sun, and it doesn't stay up 24/7. Kiwi needs a day/night cycle just like we do. It needs to be dark at night.

This is the care sheet for Hermann's. Please read it carefully, especially noting temps. The care sheet is directed toward hatchlings, but covers adult care as well. Depending on how cold your house gets at night (especially in winter), you may need to have some night heat in there.

You need to put the basking light on a timer so it's on 12 hrs/off 12 hrs. Maybe 8 AM to 8 PM, or 9 to 9, whatever is best for you. At night, it should be dark.

I see that rectangular object laying across the cage...I am assuming that is a fluorescent tube UVB light? If so, what bulb are you using?

In the summer, if you take Kiwi outside and he has access to sun for an hour 2 or 3x/week, then you don't need indoor UVB. In the winter, if he's up and about, you will use the UV light. It only needs to be on 3-4 hrs/day, midday, like noon to 3:00, or 11:00 to 2:00.

At the dark end of the cage, you just need a light to brighten it up. You could use an LED light for that. What I've done is put a safe plant there, and I use an LED screw-in type plant "grow" light over it. It's bright, has a good color range, and puts out little heat. It can go on the same timer as your basking light 12 on/12 off.

 
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