My new tortoise wont eat?

[miriana]

Hello everyone. I am new to this site and I don't know if i'm posting in the right section. I have just bought a new baby tortoise yesterday, it will be one year in june. It's a Sulcata tortoise and it won't eat anything. I gave her a bath yesterday and dried her up very well, I also made sure that the water was lukewarm water. She slept this night but she wont walk or eat this morning? Is this normal? I gave her lettuce as the previous owner said that she used to eat alot of it. Any suggestions? thanks

 

[Cowboy_Ken]

Have you gone to the sulcata section and read the important post/care sheets at the beginning of the section? There's a thread about care and another thread titled, "Beginners Mistakes" don't be embarrassed, it's just very important to read these. They provide needed, new information regarding the care of sulcata tortoises. Often pet stores provide the customer with bad, incorrect information.
Sounds to me that may your new buddy might be to cold. Compare your temps with the ones recommended and get things correct.

 

[Bee62]

Hello @miriana
Welcome to the forum.
As @Cowboy_Ken said, if a tortoise don`t eat and move it is mostly kept too cold.
Would you please tell us how do you keep your sulcata ? What enclosure, what light and heat and
UVB ?
How are the temps and the humidity in the enclosure of your tort ?
Pics would be helpful for us to see if there is something wrong.
We all want to help you but we need more informations.

 

[Big Charlie]

when you soak your tortoise, the water should be warmer than lukewarm. It should be a nice warm bath. Your tort's enclosure must be kept warm. Torts won't eat if they are too cold. They also take awhile to adapt to a new environment, and sometimes that is why they won't eat. Handling them when they aren't used to you adds stress.

Read the stickies at the top of the sulcata section to see what you should be feeding her.

 

[eric joranson]

you're in the best information source on the world web to help you take care of your new tortoise. Read their care sheets; set up a proper enclosure with lights; heat; and water sources; all on a proper substrate. Then read diet pages for hatch- ling. Throw out all the information your seller gave you; and listen to the people here; follow the care sheets; and you will have an active healthy tortoise . There is alot of old and incorrect information out there; but here you will find all the most current and updated information from some of the best around. Good luck and welcome.

 

[Tom]

Hello everyone. I am new to this site and I don't know if i'm posting in the right section. I have just bought a new baby tortoise yesterday, it will be one year in june. It's a Sulcata tortoise and it won't eat anything. I gave her a bath yesterday and dried her up very well, I also made sure that the water was lukewarm water. She slept this night but she wont walk or eat this morning? Is this normal? I gave her lettuce as the previous owner said that she used to eat alot of it. Any suggestions? thanks

Hello and welcome.

How are you housing this tortoise?
What are your four temperatures? Warm side, cool side, basking area and overnight low?
What equipment are you using to maintain those temps?
Got a UV bulb? Coil type?
Red bulb or infrared?

Most of the time when they won't eat its because people keep them too cool. This is a tropical species. They need warm temps 24/7. They also thrive in monsoon conditions both in captivity and in the wild, but most people keep them (incorrectly) in desert conditions.

Check these out:
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/beginner-mistakes.45180/
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/how-to-raise-a-healthy-sulcata-or-leopard-version-2-0.79895/
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/for-those-who-have-a-young-sulcata.76744/

 

[miriana]

Hello @miriana
Welcome to the forum.
As @Cowboy_Ken said, if a tortoise don`t eat and move it is mostly kept too cold.
Would you please tell us how do you keep your sulcata ? What enclosure, what light and heat and
UVB ?
How are the temps and the humidity in the enclosure of your tort ?
Pics would be helpful for us to see if there is something wrong.
We all want to help you but we need more informations.

Hey thanks for the reply. Yesterday I posted a photo of the tortoise on a facebook site and they told me that I was wrong and the tortoise is a 'Hermans' and not Sulcata. I also keep the tortoise in the cage like my profile picture, I haven't installed UVB as I keep it outside and there is alot of sun and bring her inside at night.. It's a bit humid where I live and the soil I keep part of it moist and part of it dry,

Hello @miriana
Welcome to the forum.
As @Cowboy_Ken said, if a tortoise don`t eat and move it is mostly kept too cold.
Would you please tell us how do you keep your sulcata ? What enclosure, what light and heat and
UVB ?
How are the temps and the humidity in the enclosure of your tort ?
Pics would be helpful for us to see if there is something wrong.
We all want to help you but we need more informations.

Hello thanks for the reply. Yesterday I found out that the tortoise isn't actually a Sulcata as the man who selled me it was misinformed and it's actually a Haremans. The other owner used to feed it only lettuce and now it doesn't want to eat anything apart of lettuce. Also, I don't have light for her as I keep her outside in the sun in a well protected cage (The one in my profile picture) and at night I bring her inside. The temperatures here aren't that low and it's a bit humid, I also keep the soil partly moist and partly dry to have both. This is him/her:

 

[miriana]

when you soak your tortoise, the water should be warmer than lukewarm. It should be a nice warm bath. Your tort's enclosure must be kept warm. Torts won't eat if they are too cold. They also take awhile to adapt to a new environment, and sometimes that is why they won't eat. Handling them when they aren't used to you adds stress.

Read the stickies at the top of the sulcata section to see what you should be feeding her.

Hello thanks for your reply. I have found yesterday that she/ he isn't a sulcata but a Hermans, I searched online what to feed Hermans but all she want's to eat is lettuce. And thanks for your bathing tip! ^.^

 

[Bee62]

Hello miriana,

yes your tortoise is no sulcata but a beautiful hermanns baby. Congrats !
Where do you live and what are your actual outdoor temps ?

 

[miriana]

Thanks ^.^ I live in Malta it's quite sunny here but the temp is 18/19°

 

[Yvonne G]

Here's what to do:

Take a whole head of the kind of lettuce he's addicted to and run it through a food processor so all you're left with is mushy lettuce juice. In the meantime, chop up some healthy greens, like escarole, endive, turnip greens, edible weeds, etc. Chop these up into small pieces. Mix it all together with the lettuce mush until all the greens are coated. he should eat it. Over time you can decrease the amount of lettuce, but take a long time. Don't get in a hurry. It may even take 6 months to a year to get him turned around.

He's awfully pretty. It doesn't look like his lettuce only diet has harmed his outside appearance at all.

 

[miriana]

Thats a great idea! Thanks very much ^.^ I can let the paste sit in the fridge right?

 

[Yvonne G]

Yup.

 

[miriana]

Thanks

 

[GBtortoises]

Hello thanks for your reply. I have found yesterday that she/ he isn't a sulcata but a Hermans, I searched online what to feed Hermans but all she want's to eat is lettuce. And thanks for your bathing tip! ^.^

The tortoise in the photo is actually a Greek subspecies, Testudo graeca, not a Hermann's.

 

[GBtortoises]

Hello everyone. I am new to this site and I don't know if i'm posting in the right section. I have just bought a new baby tortoise yesterday, it will be one year in june. It's a Sulcata tortoise and it won't eat anything. I gave her a bath yesterday and dried her up very well, I also made sure that the water was lukewarm water. She slept this night but she wont walk or eat this morning? Is this normal? I gave her lettuce as the previous owner said that she used to eat alot of it. Any suggestions? thanks

What you're experiencing is very normal for a tortoise placed into a new environment.
You're tortoise is in a completely new environment with new surroundings compared to what it was a day to two ago. It is confused and it's instinct to protect itself are strong. So rather than bombarding it with excessive handling and constant change, set it's enclosure up with the basic items that it needs; shelter (hide area), UV and basking light, semi-moist substrate, a shallow easily accessible bowl of water and a small pile of greens. Then leave it alone. By leave it alone I mean continue to observe it and what it does but do not handle it or constantly move or change it's enclosure. It may take anywhere from a couple of days to a couple of weeks for your tortoise to begin to acclimate to it's new surroundings and feel secure enough to come out and begin exploring and establish a daily routine. But the more often that you handle it and make changes to it's environment the longer the tortoise is going to feel insecure and what to stay hidden. I would not be concerned if the tortoise doesn't eat for a few days or even a week. It is not going to starve, especially if it's hidden and inactive most of the time. It's very common for tortoises, when put into new surroundings, to hide and to not eat for a period of time. Once they become secure in their new environment they will begin to establish a routine of eating, basking and exploring. Just ensure that it has access to fresh water 24/7 and place food in the enclosure daily. Eventually, probably when no one is around during the daytime, you will begin to see food missing and tracks everywhere throughout the enclosure.