how to get him to eat?

[countrygirl011]

well lastnight i he chowed down on tomato.
but still refuses greens (i even tried purple ones thinking he had a color attraction) and nogo .
so how do i get him to eat greens?

 

[Madkins007]

These guys have the nutritional wisdom of small kids. They don't need a lot of food, and get really used to waiting for 'good stuff'. Just give him some tasty greens (things you would actually eat, like 'spring mix' options) and wait him out. Sprinkling some chopped up 'good things', like strawberry or pineapple in it might help. (And there is nothing wrong with pineapple. It has a decent calcium load and fiber- better than a lot of other fruits!)

I stopped using food dishes and just folded up some newspaper as a 'plate'. It kept it low and easy to access, then clean up was just tossing the old paper.

If your guy is hanging in the warm area, you may want to think about boosting temps overall, just a little at a time. With the humidity and damp substrate, things are often cooler in there than the thermometers suggest.

 

[countrygirl011]

i can't make any heat adjustments until my new supplies come in.
should be tomarrow or friday .

but i will try hiding his greens in with the foods he likes and see if that will work.

 

[countrygirl011]

mealworms were not a hit .
he watched the worm wiggle for a few like he was going to eat it and then trotted off.

i did get him to eat a couple greens laastnight but mixing in tomatow and cantelope. so totaly accidental on his part. and he wasnt the happiest about it. but none the less he got down a few pieces.

 

[AZtortMom]

Hmm..maybe chomping up everything really fine and mixing it with Mazuri??

 

[mainey34]

Sometimes this can be an issue..I have been having this issue with my redfoot also. You just need to keep trying different things. Mix the greens in it. Ill mix steamed sweet potatoes, squash, prickly pear pad and greens one day. Next day ill mix melon, strawberries, blueberries, and greens. And get creative. This works for me. I also use mushrooms, pineapple, watermelon, and several others. If you go to tortoiselibrary.com there is a lot of good info there...

 

[countrygirl011]

Sometimes this can be an issue..I have been having this issue with my redfoot also. You just need to keep trying different things. Mix the greens in it. Ill mix steamed sweet potatoes, squash, prickly pear pad and greens one day. Next day ill mix melon, strawberries, blueberries, and greens. And get creative. This works for me. I also use mushrooms, pineapple, watermelon, and several others. If you go to tortoiselibrary.com there is a lot of good info there...

i don't want to keep buying more produce that he isn't going to eat. most of it my peafowl and ducks will eat before it can go to waste but some varities of veggies they don't like.
my guess would be he was never fed these kind of things and is being stuborn about trying them.
my fridge is already stocked with multiple kinds of greens (romaine, collards, and a spring mix (not sure wats in it, its from a resturant )
tomatoes.
cantelope
pineapple
mushrooms
apples
peas.
green beans
carrots.
corn
so until he decides to open up about eating, im not going to keep buying new things to try. i do plan to get baby food the next grocery trip to see if that will get him to eat his greens.

 

[pepsiandjac]

when i had my last tortoise he had been fed on cucumber for months so wouldn't eat anything else so in the end i liquidized the cucumber and sprinkled it over more healthier food,did the trick he's been cucumber free for months now

 

[countrygirl011]

when i had my last tortoise he had been fed on cucumber for months so wouldn't eat anything else so in the end i liquidized the cucumber and sprinkled it over more healthier food,did the trick he's been cucumber free for months now

sound like that could work. i will try it this weekend. thanks.

 

[countrygirl011]

Uvb bulb (reptisun jungle bulb) is now in place
And che is in place as well. Altho it hasnt brought my temps pasr 80.
I followed recomendations and got a 50w che. Hes in a 10 gallon tank until i get his new home.

And covering his greens in baby food. Did not work. He took one bite tasted the greens and was done

 

[countrygirl011]

Also today he pooped finally!

 

[AZtortMom]

Yay on the pooping any more eating?

 

[countrygirl011]

Nope still just melon carrots and tomto. And not very much of those even.

 

[Spn785]

Have ou tried red leaf lettuce or raddichio?

 

[countrygirl011]

Tried red leaf lettuce. It was a no go.
Im guessing hes going by smell not color. Bcuz the babyfood idea worked until he tasted the lettuce.
Tonight i am going to try peach. After than hes getting the tough love approach. No goodies until je eats his greens

 

[countrygirl011]

another milestone today .
im relaxing on the couch and look over and mr. turtle is walking around his enclosure for the first time since hes been here.
he checked out his food dish (which only has pellets and a cuttle bone in it) took a bite of the cuttle bone and maybe some pellets
and went on to explore the rest. not sure how long he will stay out and about.

---

he is still out and about and its atleast half an hour later.
when i seen he was out exploring i quickly (but calmly so as not to startle him) put fresh warm water in his bowl
and some bright leafy romaine in his bowl.
he has made numerous trips to his water bowl and soaked multiple times.
and currently as i type he was half out of the bowl munching away on romaine (and trying to take a few foolish bites of the fake plant as well)

 

[mhbgirl]

In order to get him to eat his food try giving him some fruit. Get some yummy fruit and some greens and mince it all together so the pieces are tiny. He may not like the size of the food, or like most babies he may just be picky. This is a great way to "wean" a tortoise onto a food that they are not fond of because they are unable to pick and choose.

 

[countrygirl011]

Henry's color is starting to look soo mucj better. Alot brighter. He loves being petted and love cucumber .
Refuses banana and peaches tho. Still a glutton for melon also. He is such a character

 

[AZtortMom]

That's good news

 

[countrygirl011]

lastnight new found favorite?
strawberries and mealworms (the little pig ate 4 of them) he had a blast chasing them across the floor them washed them down with a few bites of juicy strawberry