I'm very new and definitely need help. This is absolutely the board for me!
Rosebud is a 9ish year old male with two issues:
1) He has always been a picky eater. He sticks to only Romaine and green leaf lettuces. When he first came to me last summer, I offered a wide variety of garden-grown, fresh organic greens right from our yard. I made a 'shredded salad' with several types a couple of times - he only ate the bits he liked and left the rest. Now, I sprinkle his lettuce with Miner-All and ground tortoise chow, and spray generously to make it stick. (Rosebud eats with gusto!) No problems with appetite if it's what he prefers.
2) I can't tell if he's dehydrated. He doesn't seem to show the typical symptoms - expelled urates look good, his feces aren't too firm/too soft, good energy. I started misting him along with his foods months ago, but I haven't noticed much difference. Soaking him initially stressed him out, but the last few times, Rosebud has taken the opportunity to relax (completely...) and tolerates it. The only reason I'm concerned is that he does appear a bit skinny and his skin condition doesn't look as smooth.
His substrate is 50% sand and 50% of the coir fiber with a clump hay for hiding (or ignoring, really). He is not a burrower in his terrarium (we will be updating his house this spring and building an outdoor enclosure) but loved hiding in the grass in our backyard. I mist and mix his substrate every couple of days, but I'm wondering if it's still just not right.
Rosebud is a 9ish year old male with two issues:
1) He has always been a picky eater. He sticks to only Romaine and green leaf lettuces. When he first came to me last summer, I offered a wide variety of garden-grown, fresh organic greens right from our yard. I made a 'shredded salad' with several types a couple of times - he only ate the bits he liked and left the rest. Now, I sprinkle his lettuce with Miner-All and ground tortoise chow, and spray generously to make it stick. (Rosebud eats with gusto!) No problems with appetite if it's what he prefers.
2) I can't tell if he's dehydrated. He doesn't seem to show the typical symptoms - expelled urates look good, his feces aren't too firm/too soft, good energy. I started misting him along with his foods months ago, but I haven't noticed much difference. Soaking him initially stressed him out, but the last few times, Rosebud has taken the opportunity to relax (completely...) and tolerates it. The only reason I'm concerned is that he does appear a bit skinny and his skin condition doesn't look as smooth.
His substrate is 50% sand and 50% of the coir fiber with a clump hay for hiding (or ignoring, really). He is not a burrower in his terrarium (we will be updating his house this spring and building an outdoor enclosure) but loved hiding in the grass in our backyard. I mist and mix his substrate every couple of days, but I'm wondering if it's still just not right.
