My little tortoise don't want to eat.

Chimera

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Heyaa, I'm a new member here. Hope to know a new information about tortoise.Currently, I'm taking a tortoise as a pet. Honestly, it was a good experiences since it was my first time having a tortoise as a pet. I have been petting it for almost a month now and I called it Bobby. However, lately Bobby seems to lost appetite. It doesn't want to eat cabbage like it always do. Instead, Bobby was more interested eating fried chicken. I wonder why this would happen. Plus, tortoise would only eat vegetables, right?
 

method89

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Please post pictures of your "tortoise"
 

Aloysius Taschse

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It looks healthy compared to other turtles - can you post of picture of the enclosure? I'm sure you are caring for it properly but there might be ingestion of something bad. I'm no expert, but when more experienced turtle professionals come along they will probably want to see the enclosure.
 

Yvonne G

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It's not a tortoise, but rather a type of Asian box turtle. Reprinted from Reptiles magazine:


The Asian box turtle ranges throughout southeast Asia, including Bangladesh, the Nicobar Islands, Myanmar, Assam, southern Vietnam, Sumatra, Java, Borneo, Sulawesi and the Philippines. All these areas are characterized by a tropical or subtropical climate, and they lack any type of actual winter. Within its range, C. amboinensis can be found in ponds, flooded rice plantations, swamps and other aquatic habitats with a slow current. It is primarily aquatic, although it may be found far from water, usually after rain and when humidity is high.

Description
The carapace of an adult Asian box turtle is highly domed, with a medial craniocaudal keel that tends to disappear with age. The oldest specimens, in fact, have a smooth carapace. The carapace color is not very variable, ranging from dark brown to black, and the plastron is pale yellow to light brown. The majority of specimens display a large blotch in the center of the plastron, and black or brown spots on each scute. Black stains are also present on the ventral surface of the marginal scutes.


The turtle’s head, with its prominent nose, exhibits an elegant livery; skin color ranges from dark brown or black on the upper surface to pale yellow or light gray on each side and on the inferior part of the neck. On each side of the head, there are three yellow stripes: the first superior line extends from the nose to the base of neck, passing above the eyes; the second, runs from the nostrils through the eyes and meets the third line on the tympanic membrane. The lower jaw is yellow, as is the rest of the inferior surface of the neck.

It’s simple to sex adult C. amboinensis. The male’s tail is rather thick and long, and the cloaca is situated more toward the tip, while the female’s is considerably shorter and the cloacal opening is near its base. Also, the plastron of the male shows a notable concavity to assist with copulation; the female’s plastron is absolutely flat. There are no major differences in form and size of the carapace between adult males and females.

Juvenile Asian box turtles are very similar in appearance to the adults, though they have a flattened carapace with three prominent keels. Sexual characteristics start to become evident when the turtles reach about 4 inches in length.

Outdoor and Indoor Enclosures
Where I live in Italy, I keep my Asian box turtles outside for about six months of the year and inside for the other six. During the warmest months they are kept in an outdoor enclosure with an aquatic section located between two land areas comprised of differing substrates. One is one part sphagnum peat to two parts river sand, while the other is a layer of soil covered by a fine bark layer about 1½ inches deep.


Indoor Asian box turtle enclosure must provide water and land section.
Plants on the land area include Indian shot (Canna indica) and different types of ferns. In the water, I keep watercress (Nasturtium officinalis), water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes), water lettuce (Pistia stratiotes), water lentil (Lemna minor), mosquito/water fern (Azolla caroliniana) and floating fern (Salvinia natans). All of these aquatic plants are regularly consumed by my turtles, so I replenish them often.

When outside temperatures drop below 62 degrees Fahrenheit I keep my Asian box turtles in an indoor tub that measures 4 feet long by three feet wide, with a water depth of 10 or 11 inches. Various aquatic plants are kept in the water, and for land I provide a plastic box measuring 20 by 12 inches, filled with a 1:2 ratio of fine gravel to river sand. This land area is used as a basking site by all the turtles, and an egg-laying site for females. In my experience, females spend more time on land, while males seldom emerge from the water. Juveniles are almost entirely aquatic.


Outdoor enclosure for Asian box turtles.
The indoor enclosure is illuminated by a fluorescent aquarium tube for about 11 hours a day, as well as a 35-watt Solar Raptor bulb placed over the land section to provide a basking spot. It is on for three hours a day, from 11:00 am to 2:00 pm, and the basking temperature beneath reaches about 95 degrees Fahrenheit.

This enclosure is kept in a room that houses other species of exotic turtles. The ambient air temperature ranges from 80 to 82 degrees during the day, down to 64 to 68 degrees at night. The water temperature in the enclosure is maintained within similar parameters.

For the first 15 days after hatching, I keep Asian box turtle hatchlings in small plastic boxes containing a few inches of water. Seven to 10 days after they hatch, I begin to offer them bloodworms (Chironomus) and small pieces of chicken. After the first month I move them to a small aquarium (about 12 by 12 inches) with about 2 inches of water. A rock is provided to help them emerge from the water, and water plants are included. The water in this juvenile enclosure is filtered by a small filter and pump.

Feeding Asian Box Turtles
Cuora amboinensis is strongly omnivorous in nature, feeding on a wide variety of vegetation and prey, including insects, aquatic invertebrates, small fishes, amphibians and other small prey that it is able to capture. I offer my Asian box turtles a variety of items, enriched with a reptile/turtle vitamin powder at least once a month.

I feed them land (Helyx spp.) and freshwater snails (Lymnea stagnalis); earthworms; wax worms; mealworms; superworms (Zoophobas morio); thawed pink mice; turkey, rabbit and quail meat; chopped chicken (mostly heart and liver); big-scale sand smelt (Atherina boyeri); fresh shrimps; high-quality pellets for aquatic turtles and koi; and a homemade blend of foods.

I also offer my Asian box turtles all kind of fruit, including banana, cherries, apricots, peaches, melon, figs, watermelon, pears, apples, mango and papaya, as well as vegetables, such as tomatoes, zucchini, pumpkin and cucumbers. Less frequently, I offer them tinned cat and dog food.

In the water, I also provide my Asian box turtles with chicory (Cichorium intybus), dandelion (Taraxacum officinale), common sowthistle (Sonchus oleraceus), watercress, water hyacinth, water lettuce and water lentil.

Cuttlebones are always present in both the outdoor and indoor enclosures. It is especially favored by females that are developing eggs.
 

Chimera

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Dec 8, 2020
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Malaysia
Thank you everyone for this amazing information. I'm surprised that It was actually a turtle!! Eventually, I learn something new about it especially the turtle's food and a good environment to keep it. Next time, I will add various foods for it. Thank you very much.
 

PJay

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Malayan box turtle (Cuora amboinensis). There are four subspecies, this one is probably C. a. kamaroma.
 

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