❓My 4 year old cherry head won’t eat her kibble anymore

[SMK]

For the 4 years I’ve had her, (got her as a 2 month hatchling) I’ve always given her soaked organic salmon cat kibble 2x per week, in addition to greens and fruits. She’s always devoured it hungrily.

For the past 2 weeks, she’s rejected the soaked kibble.

She’s alert, bright eyed, active, is not constipated at all, and is eating a bit of fruit and greens.

Is there any reason she would suddenly be rejecting an important staple of her diet?
Thanks for any insight anyone may have.

 

[Maggie3fan]

Hi and welcome...sorry...but cat food should NOT be a staple of her diet. Once in a while it's great...but not daily. She should eat a lot of fruit, some greens, mushrooms, hardboiled egg and shell...please read this care sheet...how about a photo of her?

Redfoot Tortoise Caresheet

REDFOOT TORTOISE CARESHEET ALL Tortoises on the planet require that 4 parameters be "IN BALANCE". How this is accomplished ( or required ) is as varied as there are regions and keepers on the planet. Temperature - Humidity - Lighting - Diet Redfoot tortoises require the same parameters -...

tortoiseforum.org

 

[ZEROPILOT]

Hi and welcome...sorry...but cat food should NOT be a staple of her diet. Once in a while it's great...but not daily. She should eat a lot of fruit, some greens, mushrooms, hardboiled egg and shell...please read this care sheet...how about a photo of her?

Redfoot Tortoise Caresheet

REDFOOT TORTOISE CARESHEET ALL Tortoises on the planet require that 4 parameters be "IN BALANCE". How this is accomplished ( or required ) is as varied as there are regions and keepers on the planet. Temperature - Humidity - Lighting - Diet Redfoot tortoises require the same parameters -...

tortoiseforum.org

Agreed
Protein is more of a treat food than a staple for a Redfoot. (10 percent?)
I also wouldn't stress too much about it if the little one is still eating other things and stays hydrated.
One day my entire group decided they no longer ate grape leaves. Go figure.
Take it off of the menu for a few weeks and re introduce a bit of it later and see if he changed his mind

 

[Maggie3fan]

Hi and welcome...sorry...but cat food should NOT be a staple of her diet. Once in a while it's great...but not daily. She should eat a lot of fruit, some greens, mushrooms, hardboiled egg and shell...please read this care sheet...how about a photo of her?

Redfoot Tortoise Caresheet

REDFOOT TORTOISE CARESHEET ALL Tortoises on the planet require that 4 parameters be "IN BALANCE". How this is accomplished ( or required ) is as varied as there are regions and keepers on the planet. Temperature - Humidity - Lighting - Diet Redfoot tortoises require the same parameters -...

tortoiseforum.org

this care sheet is kinda old...but it's got great advice to get you pointed in the right direction. Please stay and ask questions as it's good for your tortoise...lol...this is not a Redfoot...

 

[Tom]

For the 4 years I’ve had her, (got her as a 2 month hatchling) I’ve always given her soaked organic salmon cat kibble 2x per week, in addition to greens and fruits. She’s always devoured it hungrily.

For the past 2 weeks, she’s rejected the soaked kibble.

She’s alert, bright eyed, active, is not constipated at all, and is eating a bit of fruit and greens.

Is there any reason she would suddenly be rejecting an important staple of her diet?
Thanks for any insight anyone may have.

How is she being housed and heated? What heating elements? What is the overnight low temperature? Day time temperatures? Is the enclosure a closed chamber or open table? What substrate?

 

[SMK]

Something seems really off with the formatting— it took me forever to respond, the posts kept jumping and I couldn’t reply.

She doesn’t get cat kibble daily- never more that twice a week and only because she refuses Mazuri and all brands of tortoise feed, and all protein such as egg or tuna. From the beginning she was extremely picky, rejecting many, many foods such as mango, mushroom, cactus pads, Mazuri, egg….

She has a humid hide and CHE and is kept as close to 80T/80 H as is possible. I had to stop using moss and soil because she ate it and got impacted. I now use thick stacks of paper towels.

Here she is having her morning soak while pen is cleaned:

 

[Yvonne G]

Yeah, we used to have an app for the Forum, but we don't anymore, and we lost quite a few of our regular members because of it. I get the best results on my computer, but I sometimes use my Kindle to access the 'net. It's not as user friendly as the computer is. Also, if you like us and decide to stay, you can go to the home page, scroll down to the bottom and "become a supporting member." This takes away the ads that clutter up a non supporter's viewing pleasure.

 

[Tom]

Something seems really off with the formatting— it took me forever to respond, the posts kept jumping and I couldn’t reply.

She doesn’t get cat kibble daily- never more that twice a week and only because she refuses Mazuri and all brands of tortoise feed, and all protein such as egg or tuna. From the beginning she was extremely picky, rejecting many, many foods such as mango, mushroom, cactus pads, Mazuri, egg….

She has a humid hide and CHE and is kept as close to 80T/80 H as is possible. I had to stop using moss and soil because she ate it and got impacted. I now use thick stacks of paper towels.

Here she is having her morning soak while pen is cleaned:

I think we are making progress!

80 is a minimum. The temps should really be closer to 82 over night and rise to 86ish during the day.

Soil and moss should never be used as tortoise substrate, and you learned why the hard way. Glad your tortoise survived that harsh lesson. Paper towels are also not suitable as they are much too dry and likely to be eaten. The best substrate for them is fine grade orchid bark. They don't eat it, it doesn't cause impaction if some is accidentally ingested, and it helps maintain the necessary humidity. If you use a 3-4 inch layer of it, the lower levels can be kept damp and the upper levels can be kept dry to prevent shell rot.

What size is the enclosure? Is it a closed chamber? What sort of lighting are you using? UV? Basking?

 

[SMK]

I think we are making progress!

80 is a minimum. The temps should really be closer to 82 over night and rise to 86ish during the day.

Soil and moss should never be used as tortoise substrate, and you learned why the hard way. Glad your tortoise survived that harsh lesson. Paper towels are also not suitable as they are much too dry and likely to be eaten. The best substrate for them is fine grade orchid bark. They don't eat it, it doesn't cause impaction if some is accidentally ingested, and it helps maintain the necessary humidity. If you use a 3-4 inch layer of it, the lower levels can be kept damp and the upper levels can be kept dry to prevent shell rot.

What size is the enclosure? Is it a closed chamber? What sort of lighting are you using? UV? Basking?

I use a CHE bulb, and sometimes change it to a UVA/B bulb for “sunlight”. In the summer she’s outside and does better with natural sunlight.

I will get the orchid bark substrate, thanks!

Her enclosure is covered with aluminum foil where her humid hide is. It’s about 3+ feet long and a couple of feet wide, but I need to get something larger because she’s grown quite a bit in the last 2 years.

Another thing: She’s recently begun making “meow” and “choo” sounds. Her nostrils are clear and no symptoms of respiratory issues. She’s alert and active. So just those sounds and refusing her kibble soak.
Thanks again.

 

[Tom]

I use a CHE bulb, and sometimes change it to a UVA/B bulb for “sunlight”. In the summer she’s outside and does better with natural sunlight.

I will get the orchid bark substrate, thanks!

Her enclosure is covered with aluminum foil where her humid hide is. It’s about 3+ feet long and a couple of feet wide, but I need to get something larger because she’s grown quite a bit in the last 2 years.

Another thing: She’s recently begun making “meow” and “choo” sounds. Her nostrils are clear and no symptoms of respiratory issues. She’s alert and active. So just those sounds and refusing her kibble soak.
Thanks again.

It sounds to me like she is too cool, in too small of an enclosure, and it can't be humid enough in there with a paper towel substrate. You need a large closed chamber. At least 4x8 feet.

 

[SMK]

It sounds to me like she is too cool, in too small of an enclosure, and it can't be humid enough in there with a paper towel substrate. You need a large closed chamber. At least 4x8 feet.

Thanks so much. Yes, she needs these changes. I’m on it.

 

[ZEROPILOT]

Your parameters are:
°Temperature between 80 and 86. With 82 to 84 being ideal
°Humidity over 70% 24/7
Also, discontinue the use of the MVB bulb that you use "occasionally". It's doing nothing helpful. And it's drying up the tortoise and all of the humidity