Not eating

[eduartonio]

I have a small leopard tortoise that I have been feeding bok choy, dandelions, arugula, and sometimes collard greens. I have seen that his shell seems to be pyramiding slightly so I read that its because I'm feeding him too rich food, and that his diet should consist primarily of pellets and hay. I've tried to change his diet and have been offering him wet pellets with plenty of both timothy and orchard hay. The problem now is that he does not want to even touch the hay nor the pellets. Anyone have any suggestions what I can do to teach him to eat his food?

 

[Toddrickfl1]

Whatever book you read that in throw it away. Pyramiding is caused by being kept too dry, not by diet. I'm not sure about hay with leopards but I've read on here it takes awhile to get them used to it. I think leopards diet is similar to Sulcatas. @Tom can probably give your some advice.

 

[Yvonne G]

That's a beautiful tortoise, however, the pyramiding problem isn't with your diet (but the diet needs changing), but rather with the dry enclosure.

 

[Tom]

Read these. Leopards aren't grass eaters, and they don't typically eat hay. There is a good food list for any tortoise in the one thread. Most of the care info found for tortoises is wrong.

He is the correct care info:

Beginner Mistakes

To comment on Tom's article, go here: http://www.tortoiseforum.org/Thread-split-Beginner-Mistakes#axzz1tG8s05M5 Over the years many of us, myself included, have made many of these mistakes, and we have certainly seen them made many times by others. With springtime upon us and many new...

tortoiseforum.org

How To Raise A Healthy Sulcata Or Leopard, Version 2.0

It's been three years since the original care sheet, http://www.tortoiseforum.org/thread-63788.html , and I think its time for a review and an update. A lot of new info has come to light over the last three years and new insight has been gained through numerous experiences. What follows is my...

tortoiseforum.org

For Those Who Have a Young Sulcata...

Over and over I type up and answer diet questions and try to get people feeding the right stuff, but I find that the "norm" is grocery store food. Grocery store food is expensive, a hassle to obtain, and very low on the list of what is best for sulcatas. These tortoises are GRASS eaters. From...

tortoiseforum.org