Greek Tortoise Diet

[Kayleigh Smith]

I have a very picky little lady named Becca. She is a greek tortoise about 2 yrs old and i have had her since she was about 5 mo. She mostly eats lettuce and kale, and carrots (I watch how much I give her because she will not stop eating it she loves it so much) but not many other things. The first summer i had her she ate dandelions and some outdoor things, this year she has no interest in them even if she is hungry. She doesnt like to eat pellets and sometimes she wont even eat her food if i put calcium powder on it. Fruits are out of the question for her. She likes to eat things she's not supposed to like crackers and clothing lol. What I am wondering is how can I make her diet better. I want her to eat a larger variety esp since she's growing but I dont know how to get her to eat other things. I tried gently opening her mouth to give her vitamin drops and she is way too strong and i dont want to hurt her. I'm nervous about only offering her food she hates until she gets way too hungry and just eats it like i have seen some people suggest because she is so stubborn she might get sick from starving herself, and i cant mix the food with anything she enjoys because she considers it "contaminated" and wont touch it or maybe just pick some good stuff out. Any suggestions on ways to get her to eat more or foods she might like?

 

[RosemaryDW]

She isn't going to starve herself. I get that it's SO HARD for us humans to watch them not eat and think they will make themselves sick but they aren't mammals, they are reptiles and built very differently.

She probably stopped eating dandelions because store bought lettuce has been bred to have more sugar and tastes sweeter. Carrots are basically Mars bars to her. Of course she'd rather have candy bars for dinner but it's not good for her, just like it wouldn't be for a human baby. So you are going to have to gut this out to some extent; this is a situation where it really is harder on you than her.

You don't have to give her a bowl full of weeds only on day one. Type a bit of dandelion very fine, mist up her regular food a bit and mix it in. Over time she will get used the taste of the new food and you can increase it. This could take a looooong time; it took my Russian—who I am sure was eating mostly romaine before we found her—five months to switch over to a healthier diet. Now she'll eat just about anything.

I don't know that I would worry about pellets at this moment, get her used to fresh things and you can work on those later.

A pinch of calcium powder a couple of times a week is all she needs; more than that will make her turn her nose up.

Becca isn't buying the crackers herself! So that is on you to keep away from her, along with the carrots.

Because she is nipping at clothing I would go ask about that on the health thread, just to be sure someone doesn't identify that as a deficiency. Probably not but I'm not an expert in immature tortoises so you should ask people smarter about that.

 

[Kayleigh Smith]

She isn't going to starve herself. I get that it's SO HARD for us humans to watch them not eat and think they will make themselves sick but they aren't mammals, they are reptiles and built very differently.

She probably stopped eating dandelions because store bought lettuce has been bred to have more sugar and tastes sweeter. Carrots are basically Mars bars to her. Of course she'd rather have candy bars for dinner but it's not good for her, just like it wouldn't be for a human baby. So you are going to have to gut this out to some extent; this is a situation where it really is harder on you than her.

You don't have to give her a bowl full of weeds only on day one. Type a bit of dandelion very fine, mist up her regular food a bit and mix it in. Over time she will get used the taste of the new food and you can increase it. This could take a looooong time; it took my Russian—who I am sure was eating mostly romaine before we found her—five months to switch over to a healthier diet. Now she'll eat just about anything.

I don't know that I would worry about pellets at this moment, get her used to fresh things and you can work on those later.

A pinch of calcium powder a couple of times a week is all she needs; more than that will make her turn her nose up.

Becca isn't buying the crackers herself! So that is on you to keep away from her, along with the carrots.

Because she is nipping at clothing I would go ask about that on the health thread, just to be sure someone doesn't identify that as a deficiency. Probably not but I'm not an expert in immature tortoises so you should ask people smarter about that.

that is very helpful thankyou!!!

 

[RosemaryDW]

It's weird to think that lettuce is sweet but compared to a dandelion it is. They are actually very close relatives! Taste one and you will see what I mean. 😯

I post this photo pretty often; it's in spring, a few months after she first showed up. She's twice this size now.

Stay strong!