Tortoise wont eat

[Tuggle]

i was feeding my tort a majority of spring mix and changed it up here and there and the guy ate lots of food every day -- i was advised that spring mix didnt have enought calcium in it .... i have switched to dandilion (green kind from the grocery store) and now it seems he wont eat it ... when i take him out of his enclosure he tried to eat everything (fluff on the floor, dog hair, lint balls, chair bottoms etc) but still refuses to eat the dandielions ... i dont know what else to feed him.. i couldnt find grape leavers or any of the other suggested feeding things at the grocery store.. -- im in hamilton, ontario canada...any suggestions for fussy tort or somewhere else i could look to get a variety of good greens for the tort

or am i mistaken and he eats a very small amount and thats all he needs becasue the greens are more rich


also from what i can tell he has not gone doodie in quite a few days.

 

[ascott]

What type of tortoise do you have

---

hahaha...okay so I see you are in the red/yellow foot section

I have to say that when I pull dandelions fresh vs the health food store, my guys ALL will eat all of the fresh pulled vs when they have the health food store ones...while they are both dandelions...the fresh ones are a bit different....

My guys will not eat any produce from the grocery store (my theory is that is because they are not organic) but if I purchase greens from the health food store which is all 100% organic they will partake....

Now, I have only recently became host to two redfoot youngins ...in the last couple of days I have noticed that they really LOVE LOVE LOVE the fruit and mushroom parts of their salads (I have used so far: kiwi, plum, cantaloupe, watermelon, fresh pulled dandelion leaves, romaine, red leaf lettuce). I will eventually get them a nightcrawler or two to see what they think about them.... I have researched and found that they can not thrive on greens alone, as they require so many other things that are not available in a diet of solely greens.....maybe if you are concerned with the calcium you can get a supplement or a cuttlebone and see what happens???

Again, I have had CDTs for years and RESs, these cute little redfoots are new to me...but I am making for a quick study I hope....

 

[Madkins007]

Try other greens, like turnip greens, arugula/rocket, endive, escarole, etc. You can also add a fiber and calcium supplement to spring mix to 'beef it up', like the recipe in the Diet Plans section of the Library, linked below.

 

[kimber_lee_314]

I would go back to your spring mix and start adding a few dandelions at a time. Then you can increase it until he LOVES them - whcih he will. Follow Madkins advice by adding the other greens as well, but go slowly. I also supplement calcium just in case...

 

[DixieParadise]

Try to mix up the greens a little more and lessen the fruit. Just until you get them eating the right amount of all of the foods offered. I know mine get really picky.

 

[Tuggle]

sorry i have not been back for a bit -- thanks for all the interestes and posts.

things are good after about 3 days he starte to eat the greens ... stilll only eats the leaf and not the stock tho. and if he gets anyhting other than greens he SCARFS it down like hes starving lol.

 

[Jacqui]

Sounding good! A lot of tortoises, mainly young ones really do not like the tougher stems and that's okay. Main thing is he is eating and eating a wider variety. Eating the stems will no doubt come along in time, too.

 

[Jessadawn]

There are lots of different greens to feed them. We switch back and forth between spring mix, dandelion greens, arugula, mustard, collard and turnip greens and romaine mix. Waggers also loves the stuff that we grow for him in the indoor Aero garden that we have. Walmart has a plastic container of lettuce. I cant think of the name of it but it has four bundles of the purple and green lettuces in it. He loves that too. Another good trick is to sprinkle bits of their favorite fruit on top of the greens. Sometimes the juices from the fruit will get on the greens and make it taste a little better to the picky little guys! Just some suggestions for you! Good luck!