Pellets to Mixed Leaves & Beak Length

[GeorgeUK]

Hello
As a few of you will know, I'm new to the forum. I have kept exotic pets for 10 years, and work part time/cover at a reptile store.

My specialty has always been snakes, but I have kept Russian Tortoises.
Lady Dorothy is my first Leopard Tortoise & I want to learn as much as possible so I can provide her with the best care.

Question:
I suspect Lady Dorothy may have been fed on a pellet based diet prior to me owning her.

My suspicion may be unfounded, but the lady I got her from had owned a pet shop that had closed down, and Lady Dorothy was one of the animals which she had brought back home.
I've only owned LD for a couple of days, but she seems completely uninterested in food.

I've been giving her daily soaks, and afterwards she will have a few nibbles from a dandelion leaf, but other than that, she shows no interest. If she was a snake, I would know all the tricks, but as I am still a newby when it comes to these beautiful shelled animals, I appreciate and welcome any advise/tricks.

She is active, and is basking & walking around fine & looks to be in good overall health.
Yvonne mentioned in my introduction thread that for some reason she thought LD might be on the thin side & Lyn did mention that LD's beak may be a bit long. I've seen similar problems in birds, so I've provided a cuttlefish & piece of slate. It doesn't look uncomfortably long to me, but I'm hoping someone with more knowledge than I have will be kind enough to offer an opinion.

Fresh Food I have tried:
Chopped Grass
Dandelion Leaves
Basil
Parsley
Romaine Lettuce
Spinach Leaves
Dried Food I have tried:
Timothy Hay

Thank you for taking the time to read

 

[Yvonne G]

It is sometimes hard to get a tortoise that was kept by someone else to eat the food you offer, because what you're offering doesn't look like food to her. If at all possible, it would be a good idea to try to find out what the previous owner fed the tortoise. That way you can offer this old diet, slowly introducing the new food into the old diet and decreasing the amount of old diet. Slowly.

I feed my leopard tortoises endive, escarole, radicchio, green and red leaf lettuce, butter lettuce, edible weeds that grow here, mulberry leaves, grape leaves, clover, bermuda grass, berry vine leaves, turnip greens, mustard greens, collard greens, and more.

The beak is a little long, but if you start feeding her on a flat piece of rough cement, it should help to file it down. The long beak is another indicator the tortoise has been eating pellets. They need to bite off their food, as in grazing and browsing in order to keep it trimmed.

 

[GeorgeUK]

It is sometimes hard to get a tortoise that was kept by someone else to eat the food you offer, because what you're offering doesn't look like food to her. If at all possible, it would be a good idea to try to find out what the previous owner fed the tortoise. That way you can offer this old diet, slowly introducing the new food into the old diet and decreasing the amount of old diet. Slowly.

I feed my leopard tortoises endive, escarole, radicchio, green and red leaf lettuce, butter lettuce, edible weeds that grow here, mulberry leaves, grape leaves, clover, bermuda grass, berry vine leaves, turnip greens, mustard greens, collard greens, and more.

The beak is a little long, but if you start feeding her on a flat piece of rough cement, it should help to file it down. The long beak is another indicator the tortoise has been eating pellets. They need to bite off their food, as in grazing and browsing in order to keep it trimmed.

Thank you Yvonne

I have sent a message to her previous owner, so hopefully that will give me an insight.

I have added some slate stone for her to eat on. Hopefully that brings her beak down a bit & back to a healthier length.

 

[GeorgeUK]

Update:
She has just been basking, and randomly decided to start munching on the leaves I put down earlier. Yay