Newbie Food Questions

[missmarilyn]

I have a hatchling Hermann, about three months old. This is my first tortoise. The only green he will eat so far is leaf lettuce. i've offered a wide variety of weeds from my garden but he shows no interest. He'll also eat Mazuri, no problem. i cut a pellet in half, put it in his dish and use an eye dropper to add water as he eats. I don't want to create food problems from the start. am i right in assuming his food habits will change as he grows?

 

[ascott]

Uh, the only thing that will change whilst the tort grows is, it will become much more stubborn and set it its routine.....lettuce is not a bad food item to offer (romaine, red leaf, green leaf---or;

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/06/25/lettuce-varieties_n_1626023.html


Iceberg lettuce is really only a valuable food if you are trying to pump alot of water into the tort.....also, tortoise are no better at pushing away from the table as humans are when they are gorging on goodies they like...and iceberg is a yummy food....

 

[wellington]

Try chopping up some of the other foods, along with the food he will eat. Take the Mazuri, wet it and rub it on all the greens. Spritz with water. He will have to eat the other stuff to get the stuff he really wants.

 

[missmarilyn]

Try chopping up some of the other foods, along with the food he will eat. Take the Mazuri, wet it and rub it on all the greens. Spritz with water. He will have to eat the other stuff to get the stuff he really wants.

Thank you. i'll try that.

 

[missmarilyn]

Uh, the only thing that will change whilst the tort grows is, it will become much more stubborn and set it its routine.....lettuce is not a bad food item to offer (romaine, red leaf, green leaf---or;

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/06/25/lettuce-varieties_n_1626023.html


Iceberg lettuce is really only a valuable food if you are trying to pump alot of water into the tort.....also, tortoise are no better at pushing away from the table as humans are when they are gorging on goodies they like...and iceberg is a yummy food....

It's not iceberg he's eating, it's red and green lettuce from my garden. So that's good at least.

 

[missmarilyn]

Try chopping up some of the other foods, along with the food he will eat. Take the Mazuri, wet it and rub it on all the greens. Spritz with water. He will have to eat the other stuff to get the stuff he really wants.

Wow--and this has worked already. He ate two tiny pieces of zucchini squash from the garden--i dampened them and rolled them in mazuri that i had crushed up. thanks again for this suggestion.

 

[Abdulla6169]

I put whatever greens i want in romaine lettuce, wrap them around (try not to make it obvious), then he tries it.... He usually likes whatever I feed him after that good luck!

 

[StaceyJ]

I have wondered this myself. Great answers above!!!

 

[Lady Thompson]

Hi, I have a 4 month old Hermann and he is very stubborn too. I have to mix all his greens together with squash and his mazuri and then he eats it up and cant' pick out the pieces. Although, let me tell you he does try! Little brat. teehee.

 

[missmarilyn]

Hi, I have a 4 month old Hermann and he is very stubborn too. I have to mix all his greens together with squash and his mazuri and then he eats it up and cant' pick out the pieces. Although, let me tell you he does try! Little brat. teehee.

Are you having any more success with your little hermann? My guy eats all the 'no-no' foods but won't touch the good stuff. I'm getting rather worried.

 

[Lady Thompson]

Hi there
well he is eating more due to mashing all his food together so he can't pick stuff out. But sometimes he is really stubborn and tries still to pick out stuff. haha. Basically he is eating: mazuri pellets, zucchini, butternut squash, dandelions leaves, clover, bok choy, squash flowers, and green leaf lettuce. He is a bit obsessed with the lettuce right now. sigh.... oh and he has a soak everyday in water and baby food carrots and has a nice big drink.

What is your guy eating now?

 

[missmarilyn]

wow--your guy is eating way more than mine. Mine will definitely eat mazuri but i've been told by many people that he has to eat greens. So yes, he'll eat lettuce, but again i've heard that's not the most nourishing. He will not touch any of the dandelion leaves, squash flowers, clover etc although i offer them fresh every day. i have all this growing in my garden. He took one bite of bok choy yesterday but no more. This morning i gave him romaine lettuce. He will eat that and leaf lettuce--that's about all. I do give him a warm soak every day now. I never thought of the baby food; maybe i'll try that.

It sounds like our little torts are about the same age. i still haven't decided on a name yet. Maybe that's why he won't eat. ha ha.
Thanks for your note. Maybe we can keep in touch. i'm in Ontario Canada. Where are you?

 

[Lady Thompson]

Hi there, awe they are so frustrating when you offer all this good food and they snub their noses at it. Ormond is being a brat tonight. He ate the Mazuri pellet and a bit of squash but was NOT impressed by the rose petals I gave him. Oh he did eat a bit of zucchini and earlier in the day he had green leaf. He is currently digging down into his bedding to go to bed. sigh... at least he had a poop in his carrot bath. LOL.

He decided he didn't want to eat the bok choy or aggrula today. Oh well, he'll probably eat more tomorrow.... I hope. I can't wait until he is a year old. How big is your tort? Mine is 2 inches long. He has grown since I got him 2 months ago.

I'm in BC Canada.

 

[missmarilyn]

ha ha. Yes--I will admit mine poops in his bath too. Sometimes I have to wipe his tiny bum. Today he ate some romaine in the a.m. I put out bok choi after his bath. He stopped and looked at it. I could almost hear him groan, "Not this again!" He's now tucked into bed. I'll measure him tomorrow--i think he's about the same. Despite the frustration i am enjoying this. i'm amazed at how responsive he is.
i had turtles for many years; they were wonderful but really grew too big to house appropriately. I shipped them by plane to a veterinarian in Winnipeg who was checking them medically and then re-homing red-ears to a sanctuary in the southern states. I know i'm going to enjoy having this little guy.
I've had my tort for about a month now. the guy i got him from also gave me a tortoise table which is amazing. i'm going to see if I can find out exactly when he hatched--then I can have a big birthday party next year.

 

[missmarilyn]

BTW, I also have two dogs (a golden/lab cross and a shih'tzu), two cats and i'm fostering 2 kittens at the moment.

 

[missmarilyn]

I measured him this morning. He's only 1.5 inches.

 

[Lady Thompson]

Awe that is funny about the bok choy! I have had to clean up Ormond's tail too at times. Once he got poop all over the underside of his shell. ewww. Hahahah. But usually he poops in the bath and it is so easy to clean.

I have a turtle as well. A red eared slider named Lady Thompson. She is currently living outside because it is summer. She has a 100 gal stock tank and we bring it inside during fall and winter. She usually goes out in June. She is now 11 years old and I have had her since she was a tiny hatchling. But she isn't friendly and hisses a lot and tries to bit. My tortoise is very calm and has never tried to bite me. He has tried to eat my pandora bracelet beads but that is all!

Wow your little guy is small, too! It is scary when they are so small. But yes, I am really enjoying having him, too. I find him fascinating.

I also have 4 guinea pigs, 2 rabbits, 4 fire bellied toads and one fire belly newt, and a few fish. But my husband takes care of the toads, newt and fish. I do the rest. well, he built most of the pet cages, so he does contribute

 

[missmarilyn]

Awe that is funny about the bok choy! I have had to clean up Ormond's tail too at times. Once he got poop all over the underside of his shell. ewww. Hahahah. But usually he poops in the bath and it is so easy to clean.

I have a turtle as well. A red eared slider named Lady Thompson. She is currently living outside because it is summer. She has a 100 gal stock tank and we bring it inside during fall and winter. She usually goes out in June. She is now 11 years old and I have had her since she was a tiny hatchling. But she isn't friendly and hisses a lot and tries to bit. My tortoise is very calm and has never tried to bite me. He has tried to eat my pandora bracelet beads but that is all!

Wow your little guy is small, too! It is scary when they are so small. But yes, I am really enjoying having him, too. I find him fascinating.

I also have 4 guinea pigs, 2 rabbits, 4 fire bellied toads and one fire belly newt, and a few fish. But my husband takes care of the toads, newt and fish. I do the rest. well, he built most of the pet cages, so he does contribute

We're really not doing well here. I'm doing the baby food soaks x2 every day and he does sort of wake up then. But the rest of the time he is totally not moving around, not eating, . I think i'm going to forget the tort table and try to find a little acquarium to use for a while to increase the humidity. i can't think of anything else to do. He hasn't eaten or pooped in3 - 4 days. I don't think i'd be so concerned if he wasn't so small. how are things with you.

 

[Lady Thompson]

Hi there, sorry I only got this now. I was in San Fran on holidays. My Mom took care of my tort. How is your little guy doing now??

 

[missmarilyn]

He died. Just seemed to shut down almost suddenly. Stopped eating. Stopped walking around. i tried lots of soaks, baby food, ...no good. He just pulled in his little head and stopped. i'm beginning to think that these tiny hatchlings are much harder to nuture than i was told. If i ever try again I won't get a tiny one.