New Mom of baby Red-Foot! PICKY EATER

[Lindsay Loforte]

I love my baby so much, but only problem is that he has become quite the picky eater. He favorite food is watermelon, and it feel like most of the time its the only thing i can get him to eat. I know red-foots need a lot of variety but he won't touch blueberries, grapes, most types of kale, apples, and so on. SO to make sure he eats enough I basically just need to offer him mushrooms, spinach, dandelion greens, bananas, and watermelon and wait for him to choose one. ANY TIPS?

 

[Lindsay Loforte]

My Red-foot is about 2 months old and I kinda spoil him rotten. His favorite food is watermelon, and it feel like most of the time its the only thing i can get him to eat.[Especially the only way i can get him to eat his calcium] I know red-foots need a lot of variety but he won't touch blueberries, grapes, most types of kale, apples, and so on. SO to make sure he eats enough I basically just need to offer him mushrooms, spinach, dandelion greens, bananas, and watermelon and wait for him to choose one. ANY TIPS?

 

[christinaland128]

A great website to read about Reds is https://sites.google.com/site/tortoiselibrary/nutrition/good-foods-list. You have to be a stubborn mommy just like with human children! You get what you get and you don't throw a fit! Lol

Watermelon can be diarrhetic, be careful how much you offer.

My reds enjoy butternut squash. I Buy a big one, cut it into cubes, cook it very slightly, and portion in Sandwich baggies and put in the freezer then use as needed.

 

[pfara]

Very cute baby! When I got mine, I really had to use some restraint and feed them the healthier foods instead of the sugary treats. I mean, they're so adorable, right? It's worse now that they love coming to me.. I feel like I should give them goodies for acting "affectionate." Instead, you really need to crack the whip on yourself to offer mostly weeds, flowers, leaves, and dark leafies. I don't really offer fruits much because even though they can tolerate fruits, it shouldn't be given too often. Try to follow a schedule.. make a daily food chart and stick to it. Your guy needs some tough love or you'll find yourself in trouble when watermelons are no longer in season. Your tort will also have super runny stools all the time, too. If you keep the variety going with the greens and get him eating them on a regular basis, I don't see a problem giving him fruits. However, if he only wants fruits, you might have to do some reprogramming with just greens for a while.

 

[littleginsu]

Try some mazuri (sp). Even my ridiculously picky box turtle loves it. I mix it with dried grass/weed mix I purchased from Arizona Tortoise Compound, let it soak in some water and sprinkle cuttlebone in the mix. They love it!!

 

[littleginsu]

Maybe, also try soak some good food in watermelon juice?

 

[Lindsay Loforte]

A great website to read about Reds is https://sites.google.com/site/tortoiselibrary/nutrition/good-foods-list. You have to be a stubborn mommy just like with human children! You get what you get and you don't throw a fit! Lol

Watermelon can be diarrhetic, be careful how much you offer.

My reds enjoy butternut squash. I Buy a big one, cut it into cubes, cook it very slightly, and portion in Sandwich baggies and put in the freezer then use as needed.

This explains a lot! Thank you so much! I'll try the butternut squash, i've also been meaning to try steamed sweet potato with him too. Anything is worth a shot, but diarrhea has been a bit of as issue too.

 

[ZEROPILOT]

Lindsay, where are you located? Do you have any Hibiscus? Hibiscus leaves are my R/F base food. It's free and it's irresistible.

 

[Lindsay Loforte]

Lindsay, where are you located? Do you have any Hibiscus? Hibiscus leaves are my R/F base food. It's free and it's irresistible.

I'd love to feed him hibiscus, but I live in upstate New York where it basically don't exist. On the upside though, my little baby has decided his new favorite food is dinosaur kale so I haven't had any problem feeding him greens for a few weeks now.

 

[Tyanna]

I'd love to feed him hibiscus, but I live in upstate New York where it basically don't exist. On the upside though, my little baby has decided his new favorite food is dinosaur kale so I haven't had any problem feeding him greens for a few weeks now.

Be careful with kale. Try mixing into that some collard greens, mustard greens, turnip greens etc. Not one food should be all of his diet. He needs variety!

 

[tortdad]

Yep kale is a every now and then food


0.0.1 Redfoot (Spike)
0.0.1 Cherryhead Redfoot (Bruce Wayne)
1.0 Sulcata (Hal Jordan)

 

[crimson_lotus]

My redfoot loves papaya, mango, banana, cactus fruit, brusselsprouts (I buy little baby ones and boil them so she can eat them in one bite), dandelion greens that you can purchase at the grocery store, any type of squash, pumpkin, mixed salad greens (i try to pick out the spinach, though), and she LOVES mazuri. I use them as treats. She gets a lot of them.

 

[Lindsay Loforte]

Oh I'm well aware of the variety needed. He gets mazuri 2-3 time a week, 1/2 of a hardboiled egg yolk once a week, fruit lightly dispersed throughout the week and for vegetables i try to get him to have a a bit of romaine lettuce, sweet baby broccoli buds, carrot shreds, mushroom, and lightly steamed squash or sweet potato so that he's not eating only kale.

 

[Lindsay Loforte]

My redfoot loves papaya, mango, banana, cactus fruit, brusselsprouts (I buy little baby ones and boil them so she can eat them in one bite), dandelion greens that you can purchase at the grocery store, any type of squash, pumpkin, mixed salad greens (i try to pick out the spinach, though), and she LOVES mazuri. I use them as treats. She gets a lot of them.

Oh i'll definitely have to try the steamed brusselsprouts with auggie! And I heard that the positives effects of spinach on a red foot's diet out way the negative