Looking For Advice (on feeding a Greek)

[Aimie venchus]

Hello!

We rescued a Greek tort in pretty bad condition. I took him to the vet and he had pretty shell rot on his bottom and a respitory infection. We did weekly checks and antibiotic injections. Soaks until we got to fresh flash on the shell rot. She was also under weight so we have been watching that.

When we first got him we tried feeding him a spring mix and he went days without eating. I contacted the previous owners and they said he only eats finely chopped veggies. So to get him to eat I made him chopped veggies. He would eat it and I tried mixing mazuri in and lettuce but he would eat around it.nnow he is only weighing about 520 Grams about 5 grams down from when we got him. He has stopped eating now.

His box is 83 in the dark part of with a backup heat lamp if the box drops below 83. He is in a room that gets daylight but we also have the uv bulb that turns on from 8am until 8pm. He also gets soaks every other day for 20 minutes and explore time for at least an hour each day. He loves to explore all over the house!

So since he went a couple days with out eating I called the vet. She believes he might be trying to hibernate we are not letting him but I need to get him to eat so he does not continue to lose weight. I have been feeding him baby food via a syringe 2-3 times a day. I am doing only veggies and bananas. I know this is not ideal but I don't know what else to do to get him to eat. Have any of you run into this? What else can I be doing for him?

 

[daniellenc]

I wouldn’t force feed. Your tort is in a new home, recovering from being sick, and you’re offering new foods. All of this is a perfect storm to go off feed but your temps are also a bit low. Your Greek needs a basking spot 90-100 degrees to properly digest food and get hungry. Also if he’s in an open enclosure his heat is flying out making it cooler. Post pics of his home.

Second only feed appropriate food! He’s used to a poor diet and it’s a hard habit to break but they all eventually eat if kept warm and hydrated. Put your foot down and don’t worry.

 

[Aimie venchus]

I wouldn’t force feed. Your tort is in a new home, recovering from being sick, and you’re offering new foods. All of this is a perfect storm to go off feed but your temps are also a bit low. Your Greek needs a basking spot 90-100 degrees to properly digest food and get hungry. Also if he’s in an open enclosure his heat is flying out making it cooler. Post pics of his home.

Second only feed appropriate food! He’s used to a poor diet and it’s a hard habit to break but they all eventually eat if kept warm and hydrated. Put your foot down and don’t worry.

His basking spot is 100, it is 83 when not under the heat light. Here is a picture of his box.. He has been with us about 6 months when he stopped eating the food he was used to... thank you for your reply!

 

[Grandpa Turtle 144]

I think the problem isn’t the temps in his enclosure . It’s putting the tort tort on the floor ( I don’t know where you live ) What’s the temps on the floor ? It’s cooler then 86 ! It’s not wise to let a tort run around the floor not only is it too cool for it , but the tort will taste test things on the floor , carpet fuss dust crumbs Evan backs of earrings ! [emoji217]

 

[Yvonne G]

Don't give your tortoise fruit (banana baby food). Tortoises that eat broad-leaf weeds and plants are not accustomed to eating fruit and I've heard that this will cause a parasite bloom.

What veggies is he used to eating? There may be nothing wrong with giving him the veggies he likes. If he likes zucchini, put some in the blender then chop up some greens into small pieces and mix it with the zucchini 'mush' until its all coated. Maybe he'll eat his greens that way. Or use any of the veggies he's used to.

 

[Aimie venchus]

Our house is kept at 72 during the day and se have a basement so he is not on a cold concrete floor. I bring him out only because I feel bad because he will do laps around his enclosure so I let him out supervised

I have still been offering him food in his cage twice a day he just doesn't touch it i will continue to offer it and chop up some leafy greens with his vegetables. Mainly we were offering him peas, green beans, carrots. The vet said more orange in his diet to help his beak grow back.

What do I do if he continues to not eat? This is what scares me. How long can he live without eating?

Sorry very concerned about our little man!!

 

[Grandpa Turtle 144]

Your going to argue / not listen to free advice . But you’ll pay your vet to give you bad advice . Have a great day .[emoji2]

 

[daniellenc]

Our house is kept at 72 during the day and se have a basement so he is not on a cold concrete floor. I bring him out only because I feel bad because he will do laps around his enclosure so I let him out supervised

I have still been offering him food in his cage twice a day he just doesn't touch it i will continue to offer it and chop up some leafy greens with his vegetables. Mainly we were offering him peas, green beans, carrots. The vet said more orange in his diet to help his beak grow back.

What do I do if he continues to not eat? This is what scares me. How long can he live without eating?

Sorry very concerned about our little man!!

They can go months so double check your temps and be patient. Peas, green beans, and carrots are not ok tort foods but you can mush them in with his greens until he’s transitioned his diet. I know it’s scary but they will eat before starving to death.

 

[Aimie venchus]

I am not trying to be difficult I am still learning and took him in to hopefully give him a better life.

Thank you! I will get him some greens chop them and mix them with the baby food and slowly back it off to hopefully get him eating normal food.

 

[PomegranateTort]

@Aimie venchus
Basically what everyone said. Mix in the greens with the previous foods, and increase the amount of greens in the mix every few feedings.

Also, try not to use baby food and opt for some mashed veg instead, unless you can verify that the baby food is sugar-free. You don't want sugar in the diet of a Testudo tortoise (except as a rare treat), they don't handle it as well as, say, a red-footed tortoise.

Another tip: If your tort continues to be very picky, try dandelion greens rubbed or mixed with a small amount of pureed mushrooms. My greek loves the smell of mushrooms and will happily go for anything mushroom-scented, so try to use that to your advantage. (but don't overdo the mushrooms, too much protein)

I hope your tortoise feels better soon!