Why doesn't he like pellets?

[cocoa]

My Russian Tortoise only eats lettuce and has almost completely stopped eating the pellets from Petco? What should I do?

 

[dmmj]

I say good, those fruity pebble looking pellets are not usually a good choice, now you should ween him to a diet of leaves flowers and weeds.

 

[Utah Lynn]

Spring mix from your grocer, dark, green leaf stuff high in fiber low in protein. Dandilions. Check out the plant list on TortoiseTable.com.

 

[Laura]

feed him more natural food.. its better for him... dark leafy greens.. not iceberg or romain....

 

[Yvonne G]

Wild caught tortoises don't recognize pellets as food. There's no reason on earth why they should eat them, either.

 

[Akronic]

yeah whatever pellets they sold you, usually contain to much protein and you have to moisten them prior, they say.

now my WC Russians DO recognize it as food, and they will eat it dry. this was when i first got them and didnt know any better. but they had been kept at Petco for so long and that was probably all they were being offered so they just dealt w/ it. i've been able to either buy bulk bags of spring mix or i just go look for dandelions and they love it. the only commercial food i feed them is the Grassland tortoise food by Zoo Med, i use it to add more fiber to their diet and i mix in their Ca/D3 powder in the hot water that is absorbed by the straw pellets then when it's a sticky mash i mix it in w/ the chopped up greens. i saw a greek tortoise at a Petsmart and all it had was those expanded grassland pellets in a dish, prob all it ever got offered. that i wouldnt ever do, so when i got my Russian home he was offered spring mix w/ some fruity pebbles in it and he would pick out the pebbles. he doesnt get that offered to him any more.