New to forum!! Male Russian Tortious 3-4 years old

FireFlyLady

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Feb 25, 2020
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This is my first ever post!!

had my tortious first about 2 years now and is doing good.
However, he is a glutton. He bangs his shell against his enclosure if he feels like he would be fed, LOL!! His favorite food is radicchio. That is all the wants. I can put literally a pile of all sorts of things from the “good food list” and he digs for the radicchio!

Question is, if I calcium sprinkle it....and offer the pelletts soaked (I’ve never seen him eat that), can a torti live on radicchio? That’s all he’s wanting
 
L

LasTortugasNinja

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Cut the radicchio into small strips and mix it with weeds so he gets bites of healthier choices while trying to pick through the food. Chopped and mixed, he'll taste all the flavors and get used to it. Variety is the spice of life, and it's like tricking a kid to eat his veggies buy mixing them into food they like. Once he associates a scent with food, he'll eat all the different greens put before him.
 

Crush da Baum

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I doubt it. Tortoises tend to like what they are used to. I would usually gradually introduce new things to their diet but if they will not eat them at all and only go for the radicchio than I would just take the radicchio out. They WILL eat and would not starve themselves. Just put whatever it is that you want to feed him on his plate and leave it there, eventually, he will get hungry and eat it.
 

FireFlyLady

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He’s a stubborn boy, but I will try!! It’s the tank bonking that makes me feel like he’s starving!! He is quite demanding!

the more I look on here the more I am seeing tortious’s enjoying time with their humans. Don’t get me wrong! He knows who my family is, he will come out and see us when we’re by his tank but he generally does not want to held....or bothered by us. Any tips on playing with him?
 

Yvonne G

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If you bought him at a pet store, he's older than you think. By the time a Russian tortoise is big enough for pet stores to legally sell them (longer than 4" front to back) they're maybe five or six years old.

I think you may be misinterpreting his tank bonking. They usually do that when they want out because their enclosure is too small. Russian tortoises are hard wired to wander over great distances searching for food. And it doesn't matter than food is now readily available, the need to wander is built in to him. Any chance you can build him a nice, big, safe outdoor area for when the weather is warm?

To answer your radicchio question - if you have a blender, put the radicchio into the blender and process it until you have mush. Cut up some endive, escarole or edible weeds into tiny bites then pour the radicchio juice over the cut up greens and mix it up so all the greens are coated. You can eventually, over time, cut back on the radicchio until you're not using it at all, but don't be hasty. Take a while to do it.
 

Crush da Baum

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If you bought him at a pet store, he's older than you think. By the time a Russian tortoise is big enough for pet stores to legally sell them (longer than 4" front to back) they're maybe five or six years old.

I think you may be misinterpreting his tank bonking. They usually do that when they want out because their enclosure is too small. Russian tortoises are hard wired to wander over great distances searching for food. And it doesn't matter than food is now readily available, the need to wander is built in to him. Any chance you can build him a nice, big, safe outdoor area for when the weather is warm?

To answer your radicchio question - if you have a blender, put the radicchio into the blender and process it until you have mush. Cut up some endive, escarole or edible weeds into tiny bites then pour the radicchio juice over the cut up greens and mix it up so all the greens are coated. You can eventually, over time, cut back on the radicchio until you're not using it at all, but don't be hasty. Take a while to do it.
I have never heard of using a blender. I usually chop up things with and knife for introducing new foods. I did this with their zoomed grassland food because at first they never touched it. That is a great idea, I have to try that!
 

jUMPSu1t

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I'd just take the radicchio out and make him eat other stuff. For a while, we served our tortoises dandelion greens with a few pieces of sweet potato, but they got so used to the sight of the potato that I could lure them with an orange LEGO. We took the sweet potato out of their diet for a while, and they got used to just the normal greens. My torts will regularly dig at the sides of the enclosure for no reason (although usually, someone pooped and they're running away from the smell), and it's a pretty normal thing. I suggest making a ramp to a bowl filled with dirt, and that way your tort can burrow when he wants to. My male tort will sometimes stay down there for days!
 
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