opening mouth

maddie.hawks

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hi guys,
its me again asking more questions? sorry for the bother! anyway, for the past 3 days, Titch hasn’t been eating much. he usually loves to eat dandelions, strawberries, clovers and lots of fruit and leafy greeens. he has all of them in his enclosure and he is moving around a lot and he’s just been outside wandering in the garden for about an hour which he does everyday. In the last 3-4 days he has eaten 1 dandelion, 1 clover and a tiny munch of a strawberry. Also, a moment ago i was watching him and he sort of yawned, i read a post in here saying it may be a lack of oxygen, however it was just this once. I am just really worried, my dad has had tortoises his whole life and thinks nothing is wrong and he’s just not hungry, but i’m worried it’s something more.
thankyuy if you can help and sorry for all of the inconveniences!
from Madeleine
 

Yvonne G

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It's probably nothing. He may be eating in the garden. They can go a long time without food. If it continues, give him something he loves that they're not s'posed to have - like iceburg lettuce. . . just to get him eating again.
 

Tom

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hi guys,
its me again asking more questions? sorry for the bother! anyway, for the past 3 days, Titch hasn’t been eating much. he usually loves to eat dandelions, strawberries, clovers and lots of fruit and leafy greeens. he has all of them in his enclosure and he is moving around a lot and he’s just been outside wandering in the garden for about an hour which he does everyday. In the last 3-4 days he has eaten 1 dandelion, 1 clover and a tiny munch of a strawberry. Also, a moment ago i was watching him and he sort of yawned, i read a post in here saying it may be a lack of oxygen, however it was just this once. I am just really worried, my dad has had tortoises his whole life and thinks nothing is wrong and he’s just not hungry, but i’m worried it’s something more.
thankyuy if you can help and sorry for all of the inconveniences!
from Madeleine
Strawberries and other fruit are not good for them. I would cut the fruit out. It can make them sick, which could be why he doesn't want to eat.
 

Duckster RT

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hi guys,
its me again asking more questions? sorry for the bother! anyway, for the past 3 days, Titch hasn’t been eating much. he usually loves to eat dandelions, strawberries, clovers and lots of fruit and leafy greeens. he has all of them in his enclosure and he is moving around a lot and he’s just been outside wandering in the garden for about an hour which he does everyday. In the last 3-4 days he has eaten 1 dandelion, 1 clover and a tiny munch of a strawberry. Also, a moment ago i was watching him and he sort of yawned, i read a post in here saying it may be a lack of oxygen, however it was just this once. I am just really worried, my dad has had tortoises his whole life and thinks nothing is wrong and he’s just not hungry, but i’m worried it’s something more.
thankyuy if you can help and sorry for all of the inconveniences!
from Madeleine
 

Duckster RT

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I saw Duckster do things like this and I found out that they get food stuck on the roof of the mouth. It can harden decay and irritate them. If so to remove the debris you soak in warm water and let it loosen then carefully remove with rubber pick. Baby toothbrush. Plastic toothpick anything but be soft and light. It may help. Maybe not. But they do get food lodged on occasion.
 

Tom

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I saw Duckster do things like this and I found out that they get food stuck on the roof of the mouth. It can harden decay and irritate them. If so to remove the debris you soak in warm water and let it loosen then carefully remove with rubber pick. Baby toothbrush. Plastic toothpick anything but be soft and light. It may help. Maybe not. But they do get food lodged on occasion.
Where did you find that out? In more than 30 years of keeping breeding and raising 100s of tortoises, I've never had this happen and never heard of it happening.
 

Duckster RT

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I’ll admit it is rare but on overgrown beaks the tongue can’t get the tip. Plus it mostly with moistened pellets. In which I’m not a fan of anymore. Duckster was wild caught and had the most overwhelming beak. I had the vet treat him because it was too much to lop off at once. Over the years he is now healthy and happy.
 

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