Fussy Eater!!!

[captainjack]

Just wondering if anyone else has a fussy eater for a Russian, my tort Adrian is very fussy when it comes to food....he won't eat any of the following...rosemary,thyme,basil,mint,coriander,bay leaf,red lettuce,peppers,cherry tomatoes,granny smith apples,red grapes,kale,carrots,chress,watercress,cos lettuce,wild rocket...you name it he won't eat it...i have tried everything right down to even trying to hide the food inside foods he likes but he won't have any of it. So does anyone have any helpful hints...it's just that i'm worried that the diet he's on now...well he will eventually tire of it and then won't get any form of nutrition at all.

 

[Maggie Cummings]

Well...jeez, look at the stuff you're offering. I wouldn't eat it either...Most of that is spices. He wants to eat broad leaf weeds not spices. I'm just joking with you...but seriously here's something for you to read...

GREENS
Most grocery stores have a decent selection of greens that Russians readily eat. Ideally the greens should be organic and pesticide free. However this is the real world and not all tortoise keepers have access to "ideal" food. So, I have this section as a starting point for a varied diet. The following greens are easily found in my local stores:
Romaine lettuce
Red and green leaf lettuce
Endive
Escarole
Radicchio
Chicory
Turnip greens
Mustard greens
Kale
Collards
Spring Mix (mixed salad greens)
cabbage (on occasion)



With the above veggies one can develop a good diet. Once again (and I can't stress this enough) variety is the key!
Don't feed the same food day in and day out. Mix varieties and choose a different green as the basis every few days.

OTHER GOOD CHOICES
Some other favorites of my tortoises that are available:
Hibiscus (flowers and leaves)
Hosta
Sedum
Mulberry leaves
Hen and Chicks
Ice Plants
Prickly pear flowers, fruit and pads (burn the spines off)
Dandelion
Plantain (not the banana type fruit....the weed plantago major)
Mallow (flowers and leaves)
Henbit
Rose (flowers and leaves....make sure no systemic pesticides were used)
Chrysanthemum flowers
Cornflowers Plagiobothrys ssp
Forsythia (flowers and leaves)
Dayflower Commelina diffusa (flowers and leaves)
Californian Poppy escholzia

Make sure all are pesticide and herbicide free.

I copied that as it is hard for me to type, but look at that list compared to what you are trying to feed. So change this around a bit and let me know how well he eats then...

 

[Jacqui]

I agree spice plants are as a general rule pretty much ignored by most torts.

How about we start with what are you currently feeding that your Russian does eat?

 

[captainjack]

See now i got told by his vet to offer him the herbs...in a light form...not strong in flavour but it dont work...he only ever had those once anyhows.

Nice list going there and it was helpful so thanks but there's only one thing on it he will eat and thats the green letuce...red is a big no no...he wont touch that....he ignores flowers too...in fact he has free roam of a graden full of wild weeds and wild flowers rfrom roses to pansies and do you know what he perfers to try eating....mud and wild animal poo which i have to catch him before he does so......but mud is his main thing...oh and he'll try eating stones too if you don't stop him....mud is the big issue though....he will eat and eat and eat at it and i can't make him stop...even if hes in a run he will dig up the grass to get at the mud.

He's currently on and this changes everyday and some are only once a week or month but this is a list of what he does eat without a problem...

baby sweetcorn
beef tomatoes...yes he's fussy about the types
lambs lettuce
dandelion leaves but only small ones
cucumber
romaine lettuce
little gem lettuce
green grapes
brocoli
zucchini
think grass blades
peas
asparagus
dandelion flower heads but only if soaked in water
blossom
daisy flower heads but only if soaked in water

Aside from that when i try and introduce new foods he won't touch them, it's a miracle he's even eating what's in the list because that took a year to get him to do...he spent 4 years of his life being fed nothing but tomatoes and iceberg lettuce with pellets before i rescued him.

 

[Torts]

I also wanted to mention that at times the tortoises stop eating for several days and this is normal. It is usually due to temperature changes. Variety in their food is key.

My Russians absolutely love...
-small cubes of zuchini
-frisse
-carrot shreds
-mixed greens of course

Also, if you go on to the Carolina Pet Supply website they sell dandelion seeds and Russian Tortoise seed mixture. I grow the seeds in the spring/summertime and my tortoises will go through their "buffet" daily. They love it!

 

[Jacqui]

Have you tried chopping up the new food fine, then place a small percentage of it, in with a larger pe4rcentage of what he does like? Then after a few days increase the amount of the food your trying to get him to eat.

Or are you trying to get him to eat something new by just offering the new item by itself? Or just laid on top of his usual?

If he won't eat the mixture with the new item, do you immediately give up on it or try repeating the mixture for a few days?

 

[captainjack]

Oh yes i have tried offering the new foods repeatedly and in different forms...everyting from large chunks to thin strips...skins off to skins on and sliced, diced and quartered but to no avail...i have tried for 6 months to get him to try carrots but he just puts his neck out...sniffs it and then actually tried to bury it...he even removes it from his food dish.....and when the food is offered on it's own in the dish with nothing else he attacks the dish....when the foods taken away...he backs off and leaves it alone....he really is bizarre.

 

[Jentortmom]

Keep trying the food, chop everything up small and mix it, give it at every feeding- Not having a healthy diet before has made him picky, but keep offering the foods i'm sure he will eventually try and eat it. Mine did you have to be persistent. Also avoid fruits, they are not good for them, so if you want to do fruits give them very rarely every couple months maybe. I give pumpkin in October but thats all my russians see. Try running everything through a food processor, mix it up and serve, you could also try a little soaked mazuri in the mixture as well.

 

[Laura]

My russian likes color.. purple lettuce or the red stuff inthe mixes. Also Butternut squash.. i buy it frozen in cubes and thaw it out. fresh is best, but ...