Help!!! My Tortoise only eats tomato

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Aditi

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Hi All,
Recently a ffriend of mine gifted me a star tortoise. He is 2 and a half inch in size. So I suppose he must a year or two old. The problem is that he only eats tomato, both time of the day. I have tried giving rose petals and grasses but he doesn't eat it. I have also tried mixing them with tomato peices, but he is quite clever, only eats tomato peices.

Please tell me what should I do???
Also he sleeps the whole day, only wakes for one hour.
And the only time I see him active is when I give him tomato to eat
 

Jacqui

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Have you tried taking a small amount of tomato and blending it into a liquid and then using that to coat the small peices of the things you want it to eat? With only being active for such a short period of time, it might be wise to tellus a bit about his habitat, as it may need some work.


Also, welcome! When you get a chance, perhaps you will go to the introduction section and tell us a bit about yourself, please.
 

KenS

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Stop feeding tomato. He is hooked on the sweet sugar that makes up the tomato. Does he have hot basking spot of about 90-95? Start cutting up Dandalion greens/chickory/red leaf/green leaf. Also wild greens as Plantain/grasses/dandalion. Tomatos should ONLY be feed occasionally as a treat. Tell us about how you have him set up? cage/substrate/ temps/light cycle ect.
 

Neal

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Jacqui said:
Have you tried taking a small amount of tomato and blending it into a liquid and then using that to coat the small peices of the things you want it to eat? With only being active for such a short period of time, it might be wise to tellus a bit about his habitat, as it may need some work.





Ditto this post.
 

Aditi

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Hi All,

Thank you for such a quick response.

About the habitat: I live in Delhi, India. Where room temprature is normally around 90 - 95 F so I guess temperature should not be a problem. I have made a small box for him, where he can sleep. And whenever he is awake I let him roam around on floor or bed. Also I av
oid taking him to parks because he is too small, I fear if any dog or rodent might eat him up.
About his food: Today in the dinner he finally ate green leaves. Let's hope for the best for tommorow.
But I m still not able to understand his sleeping habits. He sleeps a lot. Should I not let him sleep so much?????

Please advice

Thanks in advance
Aditi
 

Laura

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dont change too much too fast and let him get used to one place. dont let him roam your house.
if you dont feed him tomatoe, he cant eat it.. make sure he get plenty of water.
sounds like he ate well today...:)
 

shellysmom

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Hello Aditi!

Since you cannot take him to the park for fear of dogs, is there somewhere else he can get some exposure to sunlight several times a week? Do you have a secure courtyard where you are living, where he could roam around in the day without fear of being stolen or lost or bothered by rodents? How was your friend keeping him? If your friend fed him improper diet and did not give him access to sunlight, then he could be sick, which is why he is sleeping so much. Do his eyes open well? Can he walk and hold his body off the ground? Are there any bubbles or discharge coming out of his nose? Those are all signs he is not well. I think it is fine to let him roam around in your room as long as you are watching him. In addition to grasses, weeds, and flowers, he can eat pumpkin and other squashes, leafy greens like sarson, fresh fenugreek leaves and small amounts of spinach (palak). You can also try capsicum, and cooked sweet potato (not aloo, but yam). He might even like fresh fennel or curry leaves... He is probably a little stressed out from being in a new place. Make sure he has somewhere he can hide and feel secure. Make sure he is drinking enough water. Please keep us updated on his condition.
 

Aditi

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Hi Shelly

My friend bought him from a shopkeeper. That guy used to give him tomato and boiled potato for food, although I am not sure about his habitat he had there.
About my tortoise being sick, I don't think so. I kept him in sunlight today, and he was running like anything to find shade (so one thing which I learned is he doesn't like sunlight at all).
He opens his eyes well, I have never found bubble on his nose.
But one thing peculiar which I noticed yesterday was that he has brown patches over his plastron. So not quite sure about it. Does it mean that he is sick?
Also he doesn't drink water at all. To avoid dehydration I soak him for 20 in lukewarm water. He does passes urine.

I am still not able to understand why he sleeps so much. wherever I keep him, he just finds some shade and sleeps. Sleeps till the time I don't wake him up for food.
Can you please tell me how much does a one year old tortoise sleeps?

Thanks in Advance'
Aditi


shellysmom said:
Hello Aditi!

Since you cannot take him to the park for fear of dogs, is there somewhere else he can get some exposure to sunlight several times a week? Do you have a secure courtyard where you are living, where he could roam around in the day without fear of being stolen or lost or bothered by rodents? How was your friend keeping him? If your friend fed him improper diet and did not give him access to sunlight, then he could be sick, which is why he is sleeping so much. Do his eyes open well? Can he walk and hold his body off the ground? Are there any bubbles or discharge coming out of his nose? Those are all signs he is not well. I think it is fine to let him roam around in your room as long as you are watching him. In addition to grasses, weeds, and flowers, he can eat pumpkin and other squashes, leafy greens like sarson, fresh fenugreek leaves and small amounts of spinach (palak). You can also try capsicum, and cooked sweet potato (not aloo, but yam). He might even like fresh fennel or curry leaves... He is probably a little stressed out from being in a new place. Make sure he has somewhere he can hide and feel secure. Make sure he is drinking enough water. Please keep us updated on his condition.
 

shellysmom

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Aditi,

If there's any way you can post pictures, that would be helpful, but if not---Here is a picture of shell rot. Does it look anything like the photo I've posted below? If so, he'll need to be treated with some medication, although I don't know what is readily available in India that would work. Let me ask my husband, he's from Bangalore. He'll know what you can get for it.

Also, your tortoise needs some exposure to the UV rays in sunlight in order to digest his food properly, and for his bones to grow healthy. But, that doesn't mean he has to be exposed to direct sunlight. Even if he's somewhere a little shady, that is okay, as long as it's at least a couple hours a week, or so. He's probably running away to hide because he's uncomfortable being out in the open, and that's fine and normal. Baby tortoises do sleep and hide much more than adults, so that's normal, too. As long as he is eating well, and staying hydrated, and not showing any signs of leg weakness or respiratory infection, he should be fine, but the possible shell rot is a concern, and if he keeps eating only tomatoes, he'll become malnourished and sickly, so keep trying to get him to eat a variety of foods.

start3b.jpg
 
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Aditi

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Hi,

Thanks for such a quick response.

Please see the picture attached of his plastron. ForumRunnerImage.jpg
Hope he does not have shell rot.

I keep him 15- 20 minutes in sunlight and feed him twice a day. He urinates and excrete once or twice a day. Is this fine?

He does not drink water on his own, today I made him drink by a leaf. But on his own he doesn't drink from water dish. Could it be that he does not really know how to drink from water dish????

Also I am sorry I did not introduce him before, his name is Bajaj. I saw progress in him today, he was awake for 3-4 hours today. we played a lot together. I took him to a small park. Though I was standing over his head, but I hope he enjoyed. Please see few more pictures of him. He is really cute :) :tort: 2012-10-12 21.10.15.jpg

Thanks a ton,

Aditi
 

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Neal

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No signs of shell rot that I can see. The black marks are just the pattern of the plastron.

Urinating and pooping once or twice a day is good.

Some tortoises don't drink when forced soaking sometimes. I would recommend keeping a water dish in the enclosure where he can drink whenever he wants in addition to the soaking.

He is a good looking tortoise.
 

shellysmom

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I see the 2 little brown spots you are talking about, that are not part of the markings. It does look a little bit like shell rot, but I've only seen it in photos, not first-hand, so hopefully someone with more experience will offer their opinion. Maybe you can try putting some neem oil on it, since that has antifungal and antibacterial properties, and is harmless to the tortoise. Fungal infections sometimes take a long time to resolve, so you might have to put it on once or twice a day for a few weeks before it goes away. After 2 weeks, if doesn't seem to be getting any better, or it looks worse, you will probably have to try something else.
 

xiaobochu

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Aditi said:
Hi,

Thanks for such a quick response.

Please see the picture attached of his plastron.
Hope he does not have shell rot.

I keep him 15- 20 minutes in sunlight and feed him twice a day. He urinates and excrete once or twice a day. Is this fine?

He does not drink water on his own, today I made him drink by a leaf. But on his own he doesn't drink from water dish. Could it be that he does not really know how to drink from water dish????

Also I am sorry I did not introduce him before, his name is Bajaj. I saw progress in him today, he was awake for 3-4 hours today. we played a lot together. I took him to a small park. Though I was standing over his head, but I hope he enjoyed. Please see few more pictures of him. He is really cute :) :tort:

Thanks a ton,

Aditi

Do not worry, Your tortoise is fine and no Shell Rot! But please soak your tortoise once a day for about 15 mins under some heat bulb!
 
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