Very Picky Eater

[pinkpirate]

I recently switched Petrie from spinach and collard greens to spring mix and he just loves it. He chows down as soon as I put it out.

Last week I tried a piece of strawberry with him and all he did was sit on it to get to the spring mix. I figured that isn't a big deal since it was just a treat.

Then I had seen a bunch of posts about feeling cactus pads so I ordered some and they came today. I removed the last few spines and cut it up for him since he is so small. I put it in his food dish and expected him to go right to it. Nope he turned the other way and left it. I know the cactus is good for him and most people have said that there Tort's love it. So am I doing something wrong? Should I have left it whole or maybe have pureed it?

Any suggestions would be great.

 

[Niki]

My RT doesn't touch the strawberry tops I give her as a treat. I also cut and prepared some cactus pads and she completely ignored them! But she loves spring mix and really loves romain hearts. For a special treat I will give her a slice of those Persian cucumbers. I guess she can be picky... I am still figuring her out.

 

[JoesMum]

Every tort has their own personal likes and dislikes... There won't be a keeper on here who hasn't picked or bought simething that 'all tortoises love' only to discover that their chum hates it.

As long as your tort is getting a varied diet, chalk it up to experience and forget it

 

[Tom]

Ay new food is likely to take time before it is accepted. Our tortoises are raised eating certain things their whole lives, so when they see something new, they don't even recognize it as food sometimes. Parrots sometimes do the same thing.

I would take your tortoises favorite foods and chop them up really fine. Then take a small amount of the new food and finely chop that too. Mix it all up, spray it with some water and offer it to your tortoise. If they don't like it at first don't worry. Keep offering it. They will eventually get hungry and eat anything you put in front of them. Over time, you can add more of the new food and less of the old food. Pretty soon they will eat the new food by itself.

 

[Dizisdalife]

I wrapped slices of cactus pad with radicchio and hand fed my sulcata. He went right for it because he loved the radicchio. He eats cactus pads and slices now, but I still offer him the "wraps" by hand. I also used thin shavings of carrot to do the same thing.

 

[GeoTerraTestudo]

It's not surprising to find that Eastern Hemisphere tortoises are not crazy about cacti, since these plants are native to the Western Hemisphere. They naturally occur in the range of Gopherus and Chelonoidis species, but that's all. Other tortoises may share a range with other succulent plants from other families, but not cacti, at least not until recently.

Cacti have been introduced elsewhere in the world, and some animals (including tortoises) may eat them. Depending on who you ask, that's fine. But if a sulcata or Russian tortoise does not recognize a cactus as edible at first, it could be because the cactus does not trigger their appetite as readily as plants similar to those from their native range.