Ernie is protesting?

[sammi]

I don't know what to make of this. Yesterday and the day before, Ernie wouldn't eat. So far he won't eat today either. I can't count how many times I places him in front of his food, only for him to run the other direction.

-His eyes are bright, wide open, and not swollen.
-His breathing is normal, no discharge, or funny sounds.
-I upped his temps (closer to about 100 degrees under his light), and his light is still on for 12 hours a day.
-I upped his normal bath count (4-5 times a week instead of 2)
-He is active, runs around, and is not lethargic.
-When I pick him up, his legs still go crazy, and he pushes them against my hand with good force.
-I changed his food plate multiple times.
-He goes to the bathroom normally (poops everyday, and urates every day or so) and neither has changed funny colors.

So far I've seen him go up to his food, and sniff in a couple different spots, and then turn and walk the other way. I've been washing very thoroughly, and skipped on adding supplements to see if he would eat, but still nothing.

The only thing he will eat is his dandelions. I have to go out hunting for them, which isn't a chore, but I really would like him to eat something other than that.

Also, if you remember, Ernie had a funny looking spot on his bottom carapace a while back, but has since hardened, (thanks to advice from Yvonne, Maggie, and Danny). Now, if he had somehow gotten an infection from that spot, he wouldn't be acting normal right? I'm pretty sure there's no way he could've gotten an infection, but I am considering everything here.

What would you suggest? I'm out of ideas here! Thanks!

 

[Isa]

hmmmmI really do not know, did you give Ernie something new to et before that? I ask you that because Hermy does that when I give him Mazuri or Cactus pear, but when I leave his room, he will eat, he just wont eat in front of me and look at me with his big eyes to show me that he is starving and that the greens are not good for him lol.
Have you tried feeding him his favorite food?

 

[sammi]

Normally when trying something new, he'll dive right in. He tends to take a bite first before if he decides he likes it. Plus the changes to his food plate were all foods he'd eaten before..dandelion greens, radicchio...etc. Anyways, he used to chow down on radicchio, but he just walked over it. Like I said, he will only eat dandelions. He ate a big fat pile of them this morning, and I left his other greens in there just in case..

 

[Isa]

Did he eat the other greens today?

 

[sammi]

Nope. Still will only eat his dandelions! =/

 

[-ryan-]

You may be micromanaging your tortoise. Try just leaving him be for a while (no bathes, no touching, etc.) and see if that does it. I know some of my tortoises will get too nervous to eat after a bath or when I am interrupting their normal habits too much. Also, if he is otherwise healthy, he may just be holding out for 'the goods'. I have a red footed tortoise who does that all the time, and usually if I just leave him be and give him only his other food he will eat it.

 

[motero]

Your giving him a pile of dandelions and expect him to eat other greens too? He is just holding out for the goods.

 

[ehopkins12]

I've actually been having a little trouble getting mine to eat as well...ever since i introduced dandelion flower a couple weeks ago that seems to be all they want (especially my male). They've been eating, but volume has decreased, I would recommend cutting of dandelions all together for a while, and then only offer them as a treat occasionally.

 

[sammi]

I've actually been having a little trouble getting mine to eat as well...ever since i introduced dandelion flower a couple weeks ago that seems to be all they want. They've been eating, but volume has decreased, I would recommend cutting of dandelions all together for a while, and then only offer them as a treat occasionally.

Thats normally what I do. Typically, (before he stopped eating his greens), he would only get dandelions about once every week or two. It was kind of sudden that he "remembered" the tasty little yellow flowers that he oh so loves. Should I still put his regular plate of greens in everyday, and leave them even if he doesn't eat them? I figure he will eat eventually, but I don't want him to go as far to starve himself..he won't, right?

 

[Stephanie Logan]

Poor Ernie! He is trying to manipulate his human and she is refusing to play along! Give him his dandelions already, and then he will love you again.

That's how it works!

 

[ehopkins12]

As far as I'm concerned the dandelions contain all the nutrients needed for a healthy tortoise, not sure about the protein content, that might be a little high but calcium levels are great. So if thats all he's eating then thats not terrible. Yea maybe you should just give him a mixture everyday then maybe he'll get tired of dandelions and eat something else. Kind of a waste of greens though...

 

[GBtortoises]

I agree with Ryan and ehopkins. I would not be so concerned about a change in routine, especially diet preferences, as long as the tortoise is still eating something that is nutritional (which dandelions are) and is healthy.
Russians and Northern Mediterranean species will sometimes show a preference for certain plants or minerals at different times of the year based on their needs or what they may be lacking in. Dandelions are not only a great source of calcium but also very high in vitamin A which is imperative to their digestive system. Maybe he's just lacking one of those or one of the many other vitamins and minerals that dandelions contain so is showing a preference for dandelion at the moment.

 

[sammi]

I agree with Ryan and ehopkins. I would not be so concerned about a change in routine, especially diet preferences, as long as the tortoise is still eating something that is nutritional (which dandelions are) and is healthy.
Russians and Northern Mediterranean species will sometimes show a preference for certain plants or minerals at different times of the year based on their needs or what they may be lacking in. Dandelions are not only a great source of calcium but also very high in vitamin A which is imperative to their digestive system. Maybe he's just lacking one of those or one of the many other vitamins and minerals that dandelions contain so is showing a preference for dandelion at the moment.

Hmm..okay. On that note, I should mention he never eats cuttlebone on his own. I have to scrape it over his food. When I do that though, (he used to be) good about eating the food otherwise.

Yesterday I put in some greens for him and he proceeded to walk over and go to the bathroom on them. *Sigh*

 

[GBtortoises]

Many adult male Russian tortoises rarely do consume calcium other that what is contained within their foods. They probably need much less of it than developing young and females. But it should probably still be offered should they need extra. The problem I have with coating their foods with calcium and vitamins is that they are forced to eat large amounts of both whether they require it at the time or not. I have never seen my male Russian, Hermann's or Ibera consume calcium. But they always have it available seperately should they decide that they need it. My male Marginateds are the only males of the species that I have that will consume calcium on a regular basis.

 

[Yvonne G]

I totally agree with the separate dish for the calcium theory, so I'm not saying anything against that, I practice it myself, however I find it interesting to note that some folks think a tortoise will self regulate calcium, but they don't think the tortoise is smart enough to not eat a toxic plant.

 

[GBtortoises]

Yvonne,

I believe that tortoises are either smart enough to not eat a toxic plants or when they do consume part of a toxic plant it is in such small quantity that the toxin has little to no effect. In order to be affected by many of the plants that are deemed toxic more than a bushel basket full would have to be consumed to feel much of the toxin's affect!

I'm not suggesting that it doesn't hurt to be cautious and avoid feeding tortoises known toxic plants whenever possible. But some people are down right paranoid!

 

[sammi]

So it's been a little over a month now since I first posted this, and I'm still having an issue with Ernie. I've been trying to ease him off a diet of straight dandelions but it seems I've dug myself into a bit of a hole.

He will not eat straight greens anymore. He will only eat green if I mix dandelions in with them. I worry about feeding him so many dandelions because I read they are full of calcium.

He won't starve himself to death will he? I've been consistent at still feeding him greens, changing them everyday (whether he eats or not), and placing him in front of his food every time I walk by his house. Every couple of days if I notice he hasn't even so much as sniffed his greens, I'll throw in a couple dandelions, and it does the trick. I'm hoping he will eventually give in and eat his just greens..or will he? Any insight? Anyone with similar problems?

By the way, still the same behavior, no weird bubbles, or attitude from him. Just normal tortoise-y things.

 

[Stephanie Logan]

He is slowly and deliberately wearing you down.

 

[Seiryu]

He will not eat straight greens anymore. He will only eat green if I mix dandelions in with them. I worry about feeding him so many dandelions because I read they are full of calcium.

I wouldn't worry as much about the calcium in dandelions as I would the oxalic acid, but you'd have to really over do it for anything terribly bad to happen.

How long has he been basically just eating dandelions?

Have you tried feeding him something completely new? I have a leopard, so different species, but something similar happened recently with mine.

I had him give him the same 5 greens for 3-4 days straight (car broken down and nearest store is an hour walk). And on the 4th day, he ate a little and walked away, not like him.

I then got some radish greens. He didn't like them when he was younger, but I tried it and he loved them. I mixed them in with everything else and he ate EVERYTHING. Sometimes tortoises get bored of the same stuff, at least was the case with my leopard.

 

[sammi]

Yeah I've been trying a bunch of diff stuff that I havn't picked up in a while since I can't get it at my local farmers market.
I broke down and had to take a trip to the grocery store, and tried some zucchini, squash, raddichio, carrot, dandelion greens, romaine lettuce, but all of it doesn't entice him. Anyone have any other suggestions for another menu I could try?

By the way, I am also growing my own tort grazing mix from Carolina Pet Supply, but it still isn't quite enough to feed him an entire "meal".