Tortoise Problems (doesn't eat well, sleeps a lot)

Tidgy's Dad

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But not regularly or as the main food?
I feed nothing as a main food, variety is key.
Regularly as a small part of a mixed diet is okay, I believe.
Look at the Oxalic Acid and Goitrogenic Compounds sections at the top of the following.
http://www.chelonia.org/Articles/nutrientanalysis.htm
My little personal experience and large amounts of reading, including on this forum, lends me to agree.
 

Lyn W

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I feed nothing as a main food, variety is key.
Regularly as a small part of a mixed diet is okay, I believe.
Look at the Oxalic Acid and Goitrogenic Compounds sections at the top of the following.
http://www.chelonia.org/Articles/nutrientanalysis.htm
My little personal experience and large amounts of reading, including on this forum, lends me to agree.
I agree, but as a young beginner I don't think Non0 can go far wrong using the caresheet and tort table as a guide.
 

Non0

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She's not eating it anywayz. Guys what do you think I should do if she hasn't eaten properly for five days? Like she's had a couple of pellets but no veg. Should I give her more pellets?
 

Lyn W

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She's not eating it anywayz. Guys what do you think I should do if she hasn't eaten properly for five days? Like she's had a couple of pellets but no veg. Should I give her more pellets?
Have you tried wetting the pellets to make them mushy, spreading them on leaves and offering them to her?
They all seem to love Romaine lettuce which is OK now and again and you can buy in Adli, Tesco and lots of other supermarkets too.
Maybe try that just to get her eating.
Is she drinking?
 

Tidgy's Dad

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Mix pellets and veg together and gradually reduce the percentage of pellets.
Personally, i'd wait it out.
She'll eat when she's hungry and they can go a long, long time with only a little food.
 

Non0

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I've tried mixing the pellets and veg together. I put the cabbage, parsley, lettuce and pellets all in a blender. She didn't eat this. The problem is she will go straight for the pellets that are coloured and have the cinlidar shape, but anything else she just ignores. I've never seen her drink from her drinking pot but I soak her every other day and I'm assuming she drinks then because otherwise I have no idea how she has survived a year without water. I'm gonna try wait it out but we do have another slight problem. I'm going away soon.... I'm planning on leaving her in my house with the neighbour coming around everyday to soak some pellets and put some fresh veg on her food slab. I'll also ask my neighbour to fill up her water pot. However, she probably won't drink from it.

I'm gonna see if I can say sort out her food problem by waiting it out but how long should I go before I should hand feed her some pellets. Like how long is the maximum amount of time I should try and wait it out?
Thanks
 

Nephelle

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I've had good luck with endive, escarole, watercress and dandelion. All can be found at the grocery store. I mix in different things to try and add variety to that list, but to date mine just picks through and finds what she wants. If I offer things she doesn't like, she simply won't eat it. If I offer something she REALLY doesn't like, she won't even go near the food, even if it's mixed in with her favs.

Also, I've been able to find some varieties of "live" plants that are packaged and sold with the root ball still attached, and that is always a successful dinner. Fresher tastes better, I'm guessing!

The majority of posters here, however, seem to solve the sleeping/not eating problems by regulating their temperatures and fixing any enclosure issues. It sounds like you are on the right track towards a healthier girl :) Best of luck!
 

Non0

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BIG NEWS GUYS, today she ate some Brussels sprouts on her own without any hand feeding! I've bought a pack of ready salad containing a range of salad leaves. I also bought the Brussels to go along with it and I mixed the peeled leaves amongst the salad. She seems to check out the salad a lot and goes for a bite a lot. But she will quickly give up when she can't tear it up.
 

Non0

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Ok, so we've solved the hand feeding problem but still can't get her to eat her greens. I am started to get really frustrated. I've done some research on pellets but I can't seem to find WHY they are bad and I was hoping maybe you guys knew why pellets are bad for tortoises. Or if they're really that bad?
 

Tidgy's Dad

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Ok, so we've solved the hand feeding problem but still can't get her to eat her greens. I am started to get really frustrated. I've done some research on pellets but I can't seem to find WHY they are bad and I was hoping maybe you guys knew why pellets are bad for tortoises. Or if they're really that bad?
What sort of pellets exactly ?
 

Lyn W

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Ok, so we've solved the hand feeding problem but still can't get her to eat her greens. I am started to get really frustrated. I've done some research on pellets but I can't seem to find WHY they are bad and I was hoping maybe you guys knew why pellets are bad for tortoises. Or if they're really that bad?
Pellets are better than nothing but in the wild torts wouldn't eat pellets, they would eat vegetation. So pellets are OK with greens. I would try different sorts of greens until you find the one she likes, they do get sick of the same sort - mine used to like lambs lettuce but has gone off that and will eat everything but it now.
If you look at the link I gave you the tortoise table you will see that cabbage is not recommended and it will tell you why, but some members think it is OK but only in moderation and as part of a varied diet.
Try some of these - Romaine lettuce is popular with torts, Bag of Florette Calssic, Crispy Salad (which has frisee, lambs lettuce and radicchio lettuce which they especially love) bags of Sainsburys mixed leaf salad also have a good leaf mix,, pak choi (leaves only not stems in moderation as part of a varied diet). Kale, spring greens and anything else that is listed on the caresheet.
Rather than mash everything together just mash the pellets and spread them on the leaves, the smell of the pellets may encourage her to eat them. Torts also love tomatoes but they aren't particularly good for them, so maybe squeeze some juice from a tomato onto leaves so the smell will attract. Is she pooping? Maybe she is constipated so grate some cucumber to a mush and put that on a leaf to see if that will help.
 

Lyn W

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BIG NEWS GUYS, today she ate some Brussels sprouts on her own without any hand feeding! I've bought a pack of ready salad containing a range of salad leaves. I also bought the Brussels to go along with it and I mixed the peeled leaves amongst the salad. She seems to check out the salad a lot and goes for a bite a lot. But she will quickly give up when she can't tear it up.
That's great! If she doesn't eat the food though don't forget to throw it away and provide fresh every day and feed her on a piece of slate or something that will help keep her beak trimmed.
Sometime torts have trouble eating if they have a problems with their beaks e.g. an underbite or overbite or just too long. Can you post a pic of her face and profile so, members can see if all is well.
 

Oxalis

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Sounds like your tortoise is slowly getting more adjusted to different foods? I've seen great interest in my male Russian from flowers, specifically roses (Rosa), Hibiscus, Aster, Geranium, bellflower (Campanula), mallow (Malva), monkey flower (Mimulus ringens). Flowers are served more as treats, but this might be of interest to your little one?

I wouldn't exactly recommend store-bought flowers since these can have fertilizers and chemicals in them. I grow all these in my backyard. Unfortunately, it's not the best time of year here in Michigan for wildflowers, but this spring should prove even better than last year when I first planted most of them. An outdoor enclosure might be something you'd like to try (provided you have the right weather conditions and space for it), as it will allow the tortoise to roam and browse through the plants on his own. I think this is how my Russian has felt safe trying lots of new foods.

When I first got my Russian from owners who hadn't seemed to do as much research as they could have, he was mostly interested in lettuce and store-bought items. It took a few years to transfer him on to a diet of more naturally grown wild greens and weeds. I do remember leaving him hungry a few times if he didn't want to eat what I had placed in his dish. Eventually, I think he learned that that was what he needed to eat and he was too hungry to argue anymore. ;)
 

Non0

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The pellets are no particular brand just called 'Dry Tortoise Food' and it says 'soak before use and add calcium supplement.
Protein 11%. Oil % fibre 4% ash 7%.

I'm leaving for holiday tommorow so I won't be in contact but I'm leaving Mani (tortoise) with the neighbours and I've briefed them on everything so it should be all cool. Hopefully started new year she would've made her New Years resolution to eat more greens! :mad:;)
 

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