My tortoise is hopelessly addicted to this

[reptire]

So, it contains a LOT of vitamins and other supplements that are perfect for my Hermann's, but he won't eat fresh greens for the life of me. I tried starving him for 3 days, only offering him fresh greens with NO result. He would rather try to pick off the smaller colored plastic rocks of the background of the viv.

That being said, waiting and time is not a solution. Anything I could do? Some additional information about the food below:

The loop-shaped food contains a herbal mix of more than 20 carefully selected herbs, all of which form part of a tortoise's natural habitat. The herbs are supplemented with herbal proteins and fats and the core of the loop contains essential vitamins which have been carefully prepared in a special low temperature process. It also contains mineral substances as well as algae which help to improve resistance against disease. The optimal ratio of calcium and phosphorus is a great basis for healthy bone and shell growth.


Ingredients
Corn starch, wheat meal, wheat gluten, spirulina, herbs, brewer's yeast, nettles, alfalfa, powdered egg, seaweed, gammarus, spinach, peppers, parsley, fish oil, carrots, green lipped mussel meal
Additives pro kg
Vitamins and provitamins: Vitamin A 37000 IU, vitamin B1 3.5 mg, vitamin B2 90 mg, vitamin C 55 mg, vitamin D3 200 IU, vitamin E 12 mg.

Feeding recommendation:
Supplementary food for herbivorous reptiles. Feed sparingly several times a day. Sera Reptil Professional Herbivor Reptile Food can be fed on its own, softened with a little water or mixed with fresh vegetables.

 

[Beck]

Can you moisten that food and mix in finely chopped fresh greens with it? Maybe that way you can slowly wean him off that stuff.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using TortForum mobile app

 

[reptire]

I did many times, but he picks out the brown stuff only and leaves the fresh greens alone.

 

[Levi the Leopard]

3 days isn't a long wait.

You say tough love isn't an option or mixing it in isn't an option..... ?
But that's what you need to do.

Heather
Sent from my Android TFO app

 

[JoesMum]

Your tort is behaving like a child that only wants to eat candy. It will not starve itself. A healthy tort can go a couple of weeks easily without food, but not without water.

I suggest a back to basics, tough love, "I'm in charge and this is the routine so you will have to get used to it" approach:

1. Make sure your tort stays hydrated by soaking every morning before he has warmed up properly for a good 20 minutes in warm, not hot, water in a high sided bowl that he can't see out of.

2. While your tort is soaking rinse and prepare the healthy greens that are his food and place them on a flat stone, tile or slate in his enclosure.

3. Replace your tort in the enclosure and walk away and leave him to get on with it. Don't stand watching or agonising... you will crack. It doesn't matter if the leaves start to wilt, some torts prefer them that way.

4. Leave them there until next morning when you repeat the routine.

5. Do not offer even a whiff of the desired pellets... and don't return them to the diet until the greens re firmly established which might take a few weeks.

Generally a tort will give in after 4 or 5 days because it's hungry. Some hard cases will go longer. That's why you have TFO... it's for your support

 

[jaizei]

Instead of finely chopping the greens, have you tried pureeing everything? Adding cactus to the mix helps make every thing one gooey mess and almost impossible to pick any one thing out. Canned 100% pumpkin (no spices) can also be added to entice him. I'm not a fan of using starvation as a means of forcing the animal to change it's diet. I think weaning him off is better than cold turkey.

 

[JoesMum]

It's only starvation if the tort does not eat for a long period of time. In the wild, they will go without if food is thin on the ground and tough love is only sensible for about a week. It rarely takes that long.

It usually doesn't work because the owner caves in and gives "just a little bit" and thus the process drags on too long.

Chopping foods finely and serving wet can work well, but I understood from earlier that this had been tried.

 

[Jd3]

Try mixing it with chopped good food. Then day by day lessen te mix of the commercial food and move to the other.

They will give in.

 

[jaizei]

It's only starvation if the tort does not eat for a long period of time. In the wild, they will go without if food is thin on the ground and tough love is only sensible for about a week. It rarely takes that long.

It usually doesn't work because the owner caves in and gives "just a little bit" and thus the process drags on too long.

Chopping foods finely and serving wet can work well, but I understood from earlier that this had been tried.

Chopping foods finely has been tried, as has starvation. We were both offering alterations to tactics that have already been tried. I suggested pureeing the food and making it so that the animal can not pick out one thing.

There was nothing from your post indicating that starvation is only sensible for a week. In fact, it almost seems to be the opposite.

... It will not starve itself. A healthy tort can go a couple of weeks easily without food...

...Do not offer even a whiff of the desired pellets... and don't return them to the diet until the greens re firmly established which might take a few weeks.

Generally a tort will give in after 4 or 5 days because it's hungry. Some hard cases will go longer. That's why you have TFO... it's for your support

 

[lkwagner]

Soften it and put it in the food processor with fresh greens and give it to him, that way he's still getting greens in him. Slowly add less and less of this and more greens

 

[SBeanie]

When I first brought Sky home she was hooked to the nasty pellet diet that the pet store fed her. She refused to eat anything but the pellets. It took a good 10 days for her to start eating the fresh veggies and mazuri. I went the sticky route and mixed the nasty pellets fresh veggies and cactus and day by day I used less and less pellets. She was very pissed off and tried to just eat the pellets but would always get more of everything else in her bite. I know it sucks to not let your little one eat what they want and it's hard when you feel like your starving them but its like a battle between you two. They will push you until you feel bad and give in. so you just gotta push back and know your doing it for the best.

 

[reptire]

I will try to reply to most things.

- Adding greens doesn't work, he leaves them out.
- 3 days is long I think, because he is just a year old and not healthy (see my other topics about squishy shells - currently dealing with that too)
- I gave in yesterday and gave him the commercial food, he went crazy and ate 8 out of 12.
- I will try the 5 day method JoesMom suggested.

Apart from this, what do you think about the commercial food based on the info? Is it decent?

---

Oh, two additional things:

First of all, thank you for the replies!

Second, the reason I'm asking about the commercial food's quality based on the info is because I bought a bunch of it, God forbid my tort decides he will only eat this for years!

 

[ascott]

Corn starch, wheat meal, wheat gluten,

These are the items that would worry me on a daily basis....however, if you are dealing with an ailing tort and that tort will devour this supplement---then by all means, let your tort have his way for now, however---I would be sure to soak him no less than once a day....

Later, when you have a tort that has recovered and gained his strength---then you can kick butt on the diet change...

 

[JoesMum]

I too had not realised how sick this tort was... a squishy shell is bad news. I would get that fixed first and then get tough

 

[reptire]

A half hour warm soak a day is a thing I do everyday. Then I will feed him this food he readily eats until he gets better, after that we can talk about the freshies.