CDT- Food intake

[mariebaby21]

I just adopted a second desert tortoise today! I know it's way too early to know his eating habits, but when I fed him, he ate just a bit and then decided to go back in his den. My other guy, he's just a giant pig and will eat and eat and eat!
Do you all have CDT's that all have different eating habits? Are some pickier than others? Do some pig out and others it seems like they don't eat enough?

 

[thatrebecca]

Congrats on your new tort! Are they living in the same enclosure or are they separate? Are they both adults? Your new guy may be stressed by the move and need some time to settle in before he's ready to really chow down. If he's sharing an enclosure, there may also be a dynamic between the two torts to consider (and watch out for).

I have two CDTs and they have different eating habits. They're siblings, both juveniles (Gomez, age 5 and Morticia, age 3), and they share an outdoor enclosure. Gomez is sitting in his food dish waiting for me when I come out in the morning and he eats just about anything I put in front of him. Morticia sleeps at least an hour later, doesn't eat until mid-morning after basking and sometimes even turns her nose up at favored treats (today she was offered a red hibiscus blossom and responded with the tort equivalent of 'meh'). In the evening, Morticia stays up an hour or so later than Gomez and grazes on weeds and grass. I don't know if it has to do with age, temperament, sex (I'm not positive of their genders yet) or what, but they seem to have different appetites for different things at different times of day.

 

[mariebaby21]

They are both around 10yo and are both males. I know I have to watch them closely. If they don't get along, then I will be splitting their big enclosure down the middle. I love the names of yours So cute
Mine are Bert and Ernie. Bert is the pig, Ernie is the new kid on the block. I guess the best thing for me to do is just a lot of observing Sounds like Morticia is a typical female LOL my daughter does a lot of that "meh" stuff LOL

 

[thatrebecca]

They are both around 10yo and are both males. I know I have to watch them closely. If they don't get along, then I will be splitting their big enclosure down the middle. I love the names of yours So cute
Mine are Bert and Ernie. Bert is the pig, Ernie is the new kid on the block. I guess the best thing for me to do is just a lot of observing Sounds like Morticia is a typical female LOL my daughter does a lot of that "meh" stuff LOL

Yeah I would keep a close eye out. Love the names! Please share pix when you can.