Picky eater

DoobyScoob

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Hey everyone, I’ve got a 3 or 4 month old Sulcata named Jeeves who is a picky eater. The only thing he/she will seem to eat is romaine lettuce. I bought all the stuff attached in the photo below but he/she doesn’t eat it. Any suggestions on how I can get Jeeves to branch out? Kapidolo farms gave me a how to help them get use to new food but I have no idea where I put it. Does anyone know who fast these little guys are supposed to grow? Thanks
 

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NorCal tortoise guy

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Try sprinkling those things on top of your Romain lettuce like salt and pepper the key to getting them not to be picky is slowly forcing them to eat other things that are mixed in so they can’t avoid them.
 

AZGirl

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Hey everyone, I’ve got a 3 or 4 month old Sulcata named Jeeves who is a picky eater. The only thing he/she will seem to eat is romaine lettuce. I bought all the stuff attached in the photo below but he/she doesn’t eat it. Any suggestions on how I can get Jeeves to branch out? Kapidolo farms gave me a how to help them get use to new food but I have no idea where I put it. Does anyone know who fast these little guys are supposed to grow? Thanks
That is what Parker did when I first got him. He is DT. Romaine. That’s it. I would sneak tiny things in and he would leave them. This year when he woke up in Spring, I was able to add diff greens and stayed away from Romaine. Hi likes dandelion greens from store, but not from yard.? can get him to eat kale but they say too much is not good. He likes bok choy and endive, some squash. Bought a jade plant, nope. He liked some leaves from a black eyed Susan vine a lot, but not much of my neighbors grape leaves. I was happy to Get him to eat somethinkpg other than Romaine. I think he forgot while sleeping that he was so picky. Don’t know if Sulcatas brumate, but that’s the trick I used. What I bought at Kalpeido Farms, he would not touch.
 

Liltortivert

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You can try chopping up the lettuce really small and mixing it with the other stuff. They are dexterous but they'll still manage to get a lil of everything that way.

I'd get the lettuce to soak after cutting then sprinkling the other stuff liberally and it should stick to the lettuce.
 

DoobyScoob

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So this is him turning his back to his food. I smashed up the pellets, mixed calcium in there along with Romaine lettuce and nettle from kipidolo farms and nothing. Also does his head look ok to you guys? Looks dry to me.
 

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DoobyScoob

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So this is him turning his back to his food. I smashed up the pellets, mixed calcium in there along with Romaine lettuce and nettle from kipidolo farms and nothing. Also does his head look ok to you guys? Looks dry to me.
@Tom
 

Maggie3fan

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This is just my personal opinion, but to me a captive tortoise can only eat what the keeper feeds it. It's not like a tortoise can order a kale salad from Burger King. I think that some newbies try so hard to feed their baby Sulcata that the tortoise ends up not recognizing what the keeper offers as food. And no I am NOT saying anything pointed at Kipidolo farms. But if you are trying to feed a hatchling Sulcata remember they are babies, for instance they won't eat hay. I would make a bed of Spring Mix and put Williams food sprinkled on top.
 

Tom

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Hey everyone, I’ve got a 3 or 4 month old Sulcata named Jeeves who is a picky eater. The only thing he/she will seem to eat is romaine lettuce. I bought all the stuff attached in the photo below but he/she doesn’t eat it. Any suggestions on how I can get Jeeves to branch out? Kapidolo farms gave me a how to help them get use to new food but I have no idea where I put it. Does anyone know who fast these little guys are supposed to grow? Thanks
Tortoises eat what they've eaten before. If the breeder just threw down romaine, then this becomes your problem as the new owner. It will take a long time to get your baby eating the correct foods when the breeder doesn't do it.

Mix in small amounts of the new stuff with the old favorites. It will take weeks or months. As the tortoise gets more and more favorites, this gets easier.

They all grow at different rates and for a wide variety of reasons. Again, when breeders don't start them correctly, it slows or stops their growth. Few breeders start them correctly.

A normal, healthy, well started baby should reach 300-400 grams by six months old. 800-1000 at 12 months. 60-70 grams after one month is normal, 100 grams should be achieved in the first 3 or 4 months. Very few babies achieve these numbers, because the vast majority of breeders start them too dry and don't feed them right.
 

DoobyScoob

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Thank you for your responses. I’ll keep working on mixing in healthier food for him. What do you think of the top of his head?
 

MenagerieGrl

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So this is him turning his back to his food. I smashed up the pellets, mixed calcium in there along with Romaine lettuce and nettle from kipidolo farms and nothing. Also does his head look ok to you guys? Looks dry to me.
Awe...She/He is a real cutie....
 

AZGirl

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So this is him turning his back to his food. I smashed up the pellets, mixed calcium in there along with Romaine lettuce and nettle from kipidolo farms and nothing. Also does his head look ok to you guys? Looks dry to me.


I can’t say about the top of his head. @socalkaren? I have DT and it took me some time-months-seasons-to get him to eat more than romaine. I explained in earlier post. Was just checking back in to see how the little bugger was doing?
 

DoobyScoob

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I can’t say about the top of his head. @socalkaren? I have DT and it took me some time-months-seasons-to get him to eat more than romaine. I explained in earlier post. Was just checking back in to see how the little bugger was doing?
He’s about the same I’d say, I’ve been sprinkling the healthier stuff on top which he seems to be eating. Probably by mistake haha
 

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