how to encourage an appetite

[dixon shells]

Any Ideas how to encourage my 6 year ols Hermann to eat...she has MBD but apart from that is active, well hydrated, bright and healthy but will only eat a couple of mouthfuls of greenery a day.....she likes apple but could do with getting her on to weeds

 

[Laura]

make sure she is warm enough and has enough lite during the day. Also some colors help them to eat.. Purple lettuce, mixed with the green.
dotn feed apple, if it isnt there she cant eat it. . or mash it up and mix it with the greens. She will smell it and try to eat it, but hopefully get greens instead.

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi Julie:

Chances are pretty good that because of the MBD, this tortoise was being fed only one or two types of foods, more than likely lettuce. Try to find out what the animal was being fed, then feed that. For instance if it was used to eating romaine lettuce, then put down some romaine lettuce with the good foods chopped up finely on top of the romaine. He will eventually get used to the smell and taste of the good foods and start eating them.

Another trick is to chop up the food he's used to...using romaine again, really small...quite a bit of it. Then chop real small some other (good) type of greens, but not too much. Every time you feed, add more good greens and less romaine. If he stops eating, go back to more romaine and less good greens. I used this system on a large Manouria that I got from New York many years ago. She was only used to eating Pretty Pets Tortoise Food. It took me a year to wean her off the Pretty Pets and onto a more balanced veggie/fruit diet.

 

[dixon shells]

Cut a piece of apple up this afternoon, rubber it on some dandelion....now the sneaky bit, offered her the apple and when she went to bit swapped it for the green....she then went on and ate three leaves and a little thistle...the most she has eaten in one go since I have had here....and I am over the moon.
Yvonne....she had been kept in a vivarium all her 6 years diet of tomato and apple grapes and lettuces. The lighting wasnt correct either just a normal spot light for basking and a low (10%) strip light.....apart from the spikes on her shell she seems fine shell clear of any further problems and she is mobile and bright.

 

[Claireabbo]

id love to see some pics! but i am also having the same problem with my guy. he will only eat lettuce and some raddicio. and a couple other things but not a huge diet. and i dont know i have been trying to do what you guys have said but none of it works. maybe the weather changing... i dont know!

 

[dixon shells]

I manage to get about 3 dandelion leaves down her of something similar like clover. Her favorite is apple so i tempt her to open her mouth and quickly swap it 9sneeky I know) but she then seems to enjoy eating it. My vet advised me not to let here hibernate if she is not eating well.
Will get some photoes...spike looks much better after her beak trim.

 

[paver1960]

Hi all,

Couple of things. Firstly, need to ensure of course that lighting, housing, food are correct. That's just general husbandry 101 which we all know. Secondly, if there's a health issue then of course a visit to the vet. Anyways to boose appetite, injections of B complex vitamins are usually helpful.

I've used this for years from time to time on tortoises that go off feed when all else seems ok. Vitamin B complex can help stimulate appetite. Dosing amount depends on the size of the tort but generally injections every 5 days for a few weeks often helps.

I've had most problems with my torts going off feed when there's a change in seasons. However, it's also common for a tort that's recuperating from an illness to have little appetite and that's when using Vitamin B is really helpful.

Good luck,
Craig

 

[dixon shells]

thanks all for your input...
spike loves apple so I rub the weeds with apple to get here to open her mouth and she will then eat quite happily...not much but a little. Vet checked last week beak trimmed and he said she had good general health and was well hydrated (i do bath her each day)She is more active now and looks bright....
Housing heat and lighting sorted so will keep persevering.
The vet did advise me not to allow her to hibernate unless she ate better but the previous owners allowed her to hibernate HERSELF in the vivarium. Perhaps this is what she is wanting to do now??????

 

[dixon shells]

Just a quick update on Spike...
had her wormed last week as the vet found a small number of eggs in her poo sample. i now have a established routine with bathing each day and picking a good selection of weeds while across the fields with the dogs. She seems to love the red clover above all and seems keener to eat later in the afternoon. Her are a couple of pictures of all 3 of them....