New member and am needing help!

[Machin]

Hi there, My name is Claire and I live in the UK.
After many years of wanting a Tortoise I have just purchased a 14 month old Leopard who I have named "Sherman" I have had him now for 2 weeks, after the initial few days he spent not doing much he has perked up and started moving around a lot more, I soak him everyday and has started to get his appetite back. My problem is that prior to me buying Sherman he has been fed on a diet of just lettuce! I know that he should be eating up to 80% grass and weeds but I can't get him to eat them I have tried mixing small amounts into the the lettuce he likes but literally spits out anything that's not lettuce! I have also tried Kale, spinach, water cress, parsley, fresh and dried grass and dandelions from my garden. I obviously want to do the best I possibly can for him and get him on the correct diet to keep him healthy, I have now not given him his lettuce for 2 days in the hope that he will eventually eat some of the grass and weeds, I put fresh items in there every few hours to entice him but it's not working. I would be very grateful if anyone could give me some tips to get him eating.

 

[dmmj]

Welcome to the forum, I hope you enjoy your visits here.
You mentioned mixing it up with lettuce, you will have to think smaller, you will need to chop it up into fine little pieces wet it and them mix it together that way he has to eat the good stuff, and then over time slowly decrease the amount of lettuce. A little lettuce is fine but you do want his diet to be higher in weeds and stuff.

 

[wellington]

WELCOME . I can't add anything to the great advice already given you. Good luck

 

[Machin]

Thanks very much I will give it a try, fingers crossed I can get him to eat as he has not eaten now for 2 days

 

[tortadise]

Welcome!

 

[Machin]

Welcome!

Thanks very much

 

[Cadance]

Welcome!

 

[Machin]

Welcome!

Thank You, am hoping to pick up lots of hints and tips to keep my little fella happy and healthy

---

Welcome to the forum, I hope you enjoy your visits here.
You mentioned mixing it up with lettuce, you will have to think smaller, you will need to chop it up into fine little pieces wet it and them mix it together that way he has to eat the good stuff, and then over time slowly decrease the amount of lettuce. A little lettuce is fine but you do want his diet to be higher in weeds and stuff.

Thanks very much for your suggestion, I have been out weed picking and chopped it up into a fine mulch along with his favourite lettuce and he just turned away from it

 

[dmarcus]

Hello and welcome to the forum...

 

[pam]

Welcome

 

[Machin]

Welcome

Thanks very much

---

Hello and welcome to the forum...

Thanks very much

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi Claire:

Welcome to the Tortoise forum!!

 

[Machin]

Hi Claire:

Welcome to the Tortoise forum!!

Thanks very much, so far I've found it very informative!

 

[JoesMum]

Welcome to TFO

The mixture to start with needs to be about 95% lettuce to 5% something healthy all finely chopped. A tiny amount of something bright like finely chopped red pepper might help too.

Don't worry about your tort going without food for 2 days. All long as he remains hydrated, a healthy tort can go a couple of weeks or more without eating. Hunger will take over and he will give in... but it's painful for you and you have to be strong! Think fussy child refusing their dinner in the hope of getting sweeties and stand your ground! Tortoises are experts at manipulation... even now, Joe tries it on regularly!

Your tort is still a relative newcomer in his new home. It's not unusual for it to take up to 6 weeks or so for them to settle down properly, so make sure you feed and bathe as part of a routine so he knows what to expect and when. Something like lights on, heat on, soak, feed...

My soaking tips are:
1. Soak first thing before your tort has warmed up properly to reduce escape attempts.
2. Use a high sided bowl or box so your tort can't see out
3. Use enough warm (not hot) water to just come over your tort's plastron (undershell). Get the temperature right and your not-warmed-up tort is more likely to lounge and absorb the heat.
4. Soak for a good 20 minutes. Don't worry if you don't see him drink; torts can absorb water through the skin. The length of soak is important.
5. Your tort may wee and/or poop in the water - it's more likely to concern you than him. You can change the water if it's truly disgusting. Don't worry if your tort eats his poop; it's said to improve gut flora!
6. Feed straight after the soak. Joe is always hungriest straight after his.

 

[Machin]

Welcome to TFO

The mixture to start with needs to be about 95% lettuce to 5% something healthy all finely chopped. A tiny amount of something bright like finely chopped red pepper might help too.

Don't worry about your tort going without food for 2 days. All long as he remains hydrated, a healthy tort can go a couple of weeks or more without eating. Hunger will take over and he will give in... but it's painful for you and you have to be strong! Think fussy child refusing their dinner in the hope of getting sweeties and stand your ground! Tortoises are experts at manipulation... even now, Joe tries it on regularly!

Your tort is still a relative newcomer in his new home. It's not unusual for it to take up to 6 weeks or so for them to settle down properly, so make sure you feed and bathe as part of a routine so he knows what to expect and when. Something like lights on, heat on, soak, feed...

My soaking tips are:
1. Soak first thing before your tort has warmed up properly to reduce escape attempts.
2. Use a high sided bowl or box so your tort can't see out
3. Use enough warm (not hot) water to just come over your tort's plastron (undershell). Get the temperature right and your not-warmed-up tort is more likely to lounge and absorb the heat.
4. Soak for a good 20 minutes. Don't worry if you don't see him drink; torts can absorb water through the skin. The length of soak is important.
5. Your tort may wee and/or poop in the water - it's more likely to concern you than him. You can change the water if it's truly disgusting. Don't worry if your tort eats his poop; it's said to improve gut flora!
6. Feed straight after the soak. Joe is always hungriest straight after his.

Thanks very much for this info I will give it a try tonight. I am currently leaving his 60w heat lamp on 24/7 as I was told to do, is this correct? I have his UV bulb on for about 14 hours a day, he is kept in an indoor enclosure as I was told it was better than in a viv because of air circulation, but after reading lots of threads on here I am not sure whether I am providing enough humidity as a lot seem to keep damp substrates and mine is kept dry

 

[JoesMum]

You need to get yourself a digital thermometer and use it to measure the temps in 4 places: Under the basking lamp, cool end, warm end, and general overnight temp.

Your lighting should go off overnight (UVB and basking) as it only needs to be on 12-14 hours a day. You only need overnight heat if the temperature dips below 15C.

Have a look at Tom's Beginner Mistakes thread as you may find it helpful.

I have a cheapy min/max thermometer I got from eBay that does the job.

It is a good idea to moisten the substrate... it keeps the dust down for one thing. Leopards may be dessert tortoises, but they burrow and use the humidity underground to protect themselves as I understand it. I have never kept them, so cannot give more specific advice.

 

[Machin]

You need to get yourself a digital thermometer and use it to measure the temps in 4 places: Under the basking lamp, cool end, warm end, and general overnight temp.

Your lighting should go off overnight (UVB and basking) as it only needs to be on 12-14 hours a day. You only need overnight heat if the temperature dips below 15C.

Have a look at Tom's Beginner Mistakes thread as you may find it helpful.

I have a cheapy min/max thermometer I got from eBay that does the job.

It is a good idea to moisten the substrate... it keeps the dust down for one thing. Leopards may be dessert tortoises, but they burrow and use the humidity underground to protect themselves as I understand it. I have never kept them, so cannot give more specific advice.

Thanks very much for your advice, I left his light on worried that he would get cold through the night but I will switch his light off this evening then warm him up with a soak in the morning then hopefully he will be up for eating!

 

[JoesMum]

Leaving the lights on is a common mistake, but torts need warmth for energy... but they need dark for sleeping, just like us. You can put the lights on a timer... one from B&Q or Homebase will do the job nicely.

If he gets too cold overnight, he'll be slow to get going in the morning... so do record those temperatures so that you know where you are. Also remember that temperatures vary from season to season, even indoors, so keep an eye on them.

 

[Machin]

Leaving the lights on is a common mistake, but torts need warmth for energy... but they need dark for sleeping, just like us. You can put the lights on a timer... one from B&Q or Homebase will do the job nicely.

If he gets too cold overnight, he'll be slow to get going in the morning... so do record those temperatures so that you know where you are. Also remember that temperatures vary from season to season, even indoors, so keep an eye on them.

I will do thanks very much X

 

[ALDABRAMAN]

Welcome.