My new leopard not eating

[auerdoan]

i' ve got a what ive been told 3 month old leopard turtle
IF you cut a racket ball in half he is about that size

i havnt seen him eat and i havnts seen his crap anywere

i squish up some cactus and roman lettece to give me some juice and put it in a dropper and put it around his mouth so eventully he opens his mouth im assuming some is going in there i figure some water is better than nothing at all .

The prev owner says his loves roman lettece

can anyone suggest something that a young turtle wouldnt turn down

i keep him in a warm envirment its been 85 - 90 f here in southern cali
i made him a pen in the dirt with opportunity for shade
on dont think the are gets hotter than 90

ive planted alot of turtle friendly foods
and i bring him in at night and put him and a plain box

is this all good for him?

the prev owner says he keeps his indoors & 85
and says his like roman lettece

this is the off spring from his own from what he said

thanks for any help in advance.

-Kurt

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi Kurt:

Do you offer anything besides romaine lettuce and cactus? Being outside is the very best place for your little tortoise, but he's in a new environment and is probably pretty scared. Be patient. But in the meantime, nix on the romaine lettuce. Buy a bag of Spring Mix. You can find it in the prepared packaged lettuces in the produce section of the grocery store. To make him feel more secure, be sure there are plenty of hiding places for him in his outdoor pen. Soak him about 3 times a week, then place him in front of the food. He'll come around, but don't wait too long. A baby can go downhill pretty fast.

Yvonne

 

[Greg T]

That is good information from Yvonne - try some spring mix. Tear it up into small pieces and just put it in front of him in a pile, then walk away. Sooner or later he will eat it, so keep trying. Mine come running when I put it out now. Try feeding on a little plate also, in about the same place every day, early morning and then try again in the evening. Once he gets a bit bigger, throw in some mazuri that has been soaked to soften it up some.

 

[tortoisenerd]

Hi there! Welcome to the forum and congrats on the new tort.

How long since you got him? Has he been to the vet yet? They are attracted to bright colors. Try some radicchio (commonly found in spring mix).

Is there a shallow pan of water in the enclosure he can get in and out of to completely soak?

 

[auerdoan]

Yvonne,

I went out and bought some spring mix like you suggested

he looks at it like hes interiested but i havnt seen him eat yet

by browsing through some websites it seems that these turtles should be rather easy to care for. I see that they can eat a wide variety of natural growing foods wich can make it easy caring for a larger turtle
im crossing my fingers!

 

[Flametorch]

lol when I first got my tort, I panicked constantly. Well, I guess if he's not eating for his first day he's just a little stressed. Also they're not stupid(hopefully) so if they get hungry enough they will eat. Mine ate on it's first day, but only when he got comfortable (...8 hours after arrival). he probably will refuse grass from you, but overall he'll probably learn to eat other foods you give him. I guess you could say don't panic but keep an eye on him, also they walk over they're food sometimes and spread it all over the place. Sometimes mine doesn't eat until I leave the room

 

[tortoisenerd]

I would never refer to any tort as easy to take care of, personally. I do hope however your tort settles in and starts eating, and that its nothing serious. How long since you got him? I would not worry until close to a week or if he has any other symptoms such as not moving around, eyes closed, soft shell, etc.

 

[auerdoan]

it will be a week this sunday
he seems really lively, he walks fast
after i put im down he puts his head out looks at the food he smells it
than trucks off

ive ground up some spring mix with a little water
and put it in a plastic syringe at this point its more of a puree
than i place it all around his lips
he gets annoyed and cant help but to crack his mouth open
it looks like he is getting some in
i figure some liquid is better than nothing

 

[Yvonne G]

Just make sure he has plenty of hiding places. Little tortoises are prey and hide quite a bit. The fast walking is one indication that he is afraid. Try placing his food dish close to the mouth of his cave. Then step out of sight. To him, you look like the looming monster that's going to eat him up.

Yvonne

 

[tortoisenerd]

At this point I would take him to the vet since it's been a week. I would keep trying different foods to see if something can catch his attention (radicchio is bright colored for example and may attract his attention). Keep him hydrated. You can even try something like squash baby food (no additives) to entice him...almost anything at this point . Once you get him eating you can switch to a "better" diet. The vet would probably be suggesting force feeding at this point (similar to what you are doing with the puree). There are pros and cons. There can be some dangers such as them aspirating on it. At this point if he doesn't get food, at his fragile state there could be dire consequences (a hatchling in a stressed surrounding in a new home not eating for a week vs. a healthy adult is different). That is great he is still lively! I hope you can get a vet's opinion, and that things turn around soon for the little guy.

I would think if he had been eating romaine before either the romaine or spring mix (some include baby romaine) would still look like food to him. Sometimes a baby tort being fed something different in a new home will not recognize it as food if it is different enough from what they are used to, but I don't think this is the case for you. Something else could be going on, such as an illness that is zapping his appetite. Sometimes torts will not show any symptoms until they are very sick, so the sooner you can get a handle on this the better.

Best wishes.

 

[baseballturtle48]

When I have hatchling tortoises, I try not to handle them too much, except to soak them regularly. Most recently in 2008-09 I've had a Leopard and Egyptians. At approx. 2 months old for all of them, they ate Mazuri (softened), dandelion greens & flowers, and forage mix that sprouted in their habitats. They learned quickly that when I opened the screen lid, food often appears somewhere near their hide.

If you have any Mazuri Tortoise food, try that; also, dandelion leaves & flowers from your yard might interest him. As long as you don't spray your weeds, it's ok to gather edible ones for him. They do like red things, as tortoisenerd said, and I bring hibiscus flowers home from work.

 

[auerdoan]

Just make sure he has plenty of hiding places. Little tortoises are prey and hide quite a bit. The fast walking is one indication that he is afraid. Try placing his food dish close to the mouth of his cave. Then step out of sight. To him, you look like the looming monster that's going to eat him up.

Yvonne

i havnt thought about it that i though because he was hached locally he would be more comfortable
im going to try moving my dish closer to his hideout

i have a question these uvb lights. they sure are bright do turtles like all that light. I understand the idea of vit d and the sun uv rays
im trying a power sun mercury 100w with uvb uva
but i seems tough on the eyes
what do you recomend.

 

[tortoisenerd]

Yes the desert torts do like high light (in contrast a rainforest tort like a Redfoot would not want a bright light). I think the Powersun MVB 100 watt is a great choice. For a large habitat some owners even use additional lighting besides that one bulb. You will likely be fine with just that until he gets bigger and needs a larger habitat (which may need more lighting). it would be great if he could be outside all the time when he's older (you can make a heated shed or similar).

A MVB should be hung/mounted with the bulb face parallel to the substrate. If it is at an angle it is both hard on the tort's and human's eyes, and the bulb wears worse as far as UVB degradation. They need to be replaced every 12 months unless you have access to a UVB meter and can check. From the time you first turn them on they are losing UVB output.

Besides the Powersun (new models), I would also recommend the Mega Ray or T-Rex MVBs. The one you have is fine though and the other two are just competing brands of basically the same thing. I think the two I listed have a slightly higher UVB output and reputation though.

If you wanted to go with a tube UVB you would need to also have a heat emitter and additional light bulb/s. That is a lot of bulbs and fixtures. The uvb tubes also have less UVB output. I worked out the cost and for me the MVB was cheaper even with the higher bulb cost (the tubes have to be replaced every 6 months).

Some people will say if your tort is out for several hours a day in the sun it doesn't even need UVB in the enclosure. I would agree with that myself as long as you see the tort out in the sun and not hiding the entire time outside. Then, you would just use the appropriate heating and lighting in the indoor enclosure. If you need to keep him inside in winter as a hatchling you'd need the UVB anyways though. Hopefully once he's bigger you can build him a safe outdoor enclosure with heat if needed and he can stay out full time. They really seem to thrive like that.

Does your tort squint his eyes, or are you just saying it feels bright to you?

I hope moving the food and hide closer together works for you. My hatchling's appetite picked up significantly once he was warm enough to digest the food, and felt safe to go eat it (having the hide near it). When I first got him I didn't realize I needed a hide in the warm area in addition to the cool area, and my entire enclosure was too cold as well. He now has multiple hides all over and he really motors around!

Are you able to get us a picture of his indoor and outdoor enclosures?

Best wishes.

 

[auerdoan]

My tortoise finally ate!!
i placed the food near his hideout.
i went away for a few hours, came back and the food looks all scattered.
i had to do a sanity check and see if some other creature got in the aquarium and ate the food (i have no other creatures except koi)
than i had to think if it was possible heat bulb could of made his food dehydrated and smaller.
but there was nothing left but stalk from the roman lettace.

what a relief...
i understand roman lettace is not the preferred food, i will ween him of and on to the recommened food in the near future.
Thats what he chose to eat, between roman, spring mix, and the little hay balls they sell for tortoise were u add water.

i want to say thanks for everyones advice. i am very much apreciative( i wish this thing had spell check!)
im a beliver in books. but the internet and finding this forum had some good tricks and great advice that would be difficult to find in one book.

im really looking forward gaining some knowledge over time and sharing my experiences and insight
with you. have a great 4th of july this 2009 and apreciate freedom!(again i wish i could find the spell check in this)

 

[Yvonne G]

i want to say thanks for everyones advice. i am very much apreciative( i wish this thing had spell check!)
i

If a word has a red under-line, you just right click on that word and it will come up with several suggestions for you.

Yvonne

 

[tortoisenerd]

Congrats! So good to hear. I also had this problem with my little hatchling when I first got him.

 

[auerdoan]

either my spelling is ok(doubtful)
or something may be disabled
no red lines yet
thanks.

---

[\quote]
Does your tort squint his eyes, or are you just saying it feels bright to you?
[/quote]

i havnt noticed the tort squint but it irritates mine
I work for a toxic gas flame detection manufacture
and we use uv light to test our flame units
my eyes may have gotten sensitive.

im still ajusting his indoor(night) and outdoor (day) when i get comfortable with it i will post some photos
i will attempt to describe them
the indoor is 30 x 22 inch fish tank remember he is half a raquet ball

with alfalfa substrate, ( i may change it)
with ceramic heater
and hide out
humidity 45
temp 85


outdoor is a wood pen 18 x 22 in the dirt tunnel under shade going into moist dirt that drys out every two days if i dont water
with a different types of succulent plants ice plant cacti i dont know all the names but im choosing them from tortoise websites

has a water dish that he goes into since he started eating, i saw him open his mouth in there.

this gets about 4 hour of sun need to time this not sure

ive got a new place in escrow he will get a much larger area lots more sun- hopefully in one month

both places are ok for short term
i definatly need s larger area outside in a few months if not a pen than roaming loose

 

[tortoisenerd]

That's great you are working on improvements. I think most of us here would actually say that--out tort pens are in constant states of improvement (I added more plants recently for example in response to my little guy's behavior). One pointer I do have is that you want more of a temperature gradient that one constant temperature in the indoor enclosure.

I'm not sure if you only measured in one spot though. For example, you may have temperatures that vary from the 70s to the 90s, with a basking spot of 95 deg. This is one of the reasons many of us do not use aquariums, as they have more difficulty getting a temperature range. In the outdoor enclosure you also simulate this by having sun and shade, and then hides in both sun and shade.

Is the outdoor enclosure wired in for birds? This is something I would do for my little guy unless there was absolutely no threat of predators.

That's great he's getting water and eating. Both very good signs.

As far as I know, the spell check is not built into this forum, but the web browser. Mozilla Firefox has spell check but I don't think Internet Explorer does (I use Firefox).

 

[auerdoan]

now time to go to the enclosure section
build me a tortoise house

oh by the way my tort is accepting the spring mix. i sprinkle calcium and some of the hay pellets (after they are soaked in water)

 

[Crazy1]

Hi auerdoan, may I suggest you change the alfalfa substrate. Torts have a tendancy to eat it and it is far to high in protein. Looks like you are doing a good job working towards a wonderful home for your little leo. Glad he/she is eating.