Picky cherry head

[abuabaral1]

I have a 4 month old cherry head and I’ve Had him for atleast 2 months. I have fed all types of greens from the beginnng and seems to be picky with what he eats. He would eat here and there but i would struggle to find foods he really enjoys. You name it I’ve tried every possible vegetable. Blacks berries and papaya for fruits he seems to enjoy and would prefer that than greens. Then i tried mazuri last week and loves it. But he wont even touch the greens now. So i mixed the mazuri in with the greens and made it mushy so maybe the scent would trick him into eating the greens and he spits greens out and just eats the mazuri. I dont know if there’s a vegetable out there that they cant resist. He comes out his hide in the morning with the intent to eat so i know hes hungry. I dont know if i should remove mazuri completely and force him to eat what i put him but I would think he would just not eat at all.

 

[jacksknight]

Kale, dandelion and bell pepper where all favorites when ours were little. You can try any of those. If he gets hungry enough he will eat what ever you put in front of him.

 

[daniellenc]

My red foot hates his food mixed. He got picky when spring came and I started using all weeds. I let him starve and only offered weeds and greens and he ate!! I offer fruit and weeds at night currently around 5. I soak him and put him in front of his food. He eats the fruit, mushroom, and peppers with some greens at night but by morning his left over greens are nearly gone. I then offer weeds and greens for day food and half is gone when I get home from work at 5. Rinse repeat over and over lol. I do feed Mazuri but only twice a week with one meal and only one nugget when he was little. Now he gets 3-4 nuggets and is over 240 grams at 1 year. I wouldn’t offer any until he’s crushing some greens because our species loves their sugar and if he’s eating fruit and flowers he doesn’t need extra until he eats some weeds!!

 

[daniellenc]

And try shrimp for protein bi-weekly. My guy can’t resist one boiled and cooled shrimp minced!!

 

[daniellenc]

Sorry to triple post but mine loves his weeds when chopped finely with grocery store junk like arugula, radicchio, endive, red leaf lettuce, and other lettuces. He’ll eat weeds and greens mixed but if I put fruit or flowers in it just picks them out to eat.

 

[abuabaral1]

My red foot hates his food mixed. He got picky when spring came and I started using all weeds. I let him starve and only offered weeds and greens and he ate!! I offer fruit and weeds at night currently around 5. I soak him and put him in front of his food. He eats the fruit, mushroom, and peppers with some greens at night but by morning his left over greens are nearly gone. I then offer weeds and greens for day food and half is gone when I get home from work at 5. Rinse repeat over and over lol. I do feed Mazuri but only twice a week with one meal and only one nugget when he was little. Now he gets 3-4 nuggets and is over 240 grams at 1 year. I wouldn’t offer any until he’s crushing some greens because our species loves their sugar and if he’s eating fruit and flowers he doesn’t need extra until he eats some weeds!!

Yes thank you! I have heard a lot are picky when there babies and im new to owning a tortoise so i get nervous when he just looks at the food and walks away and refuses to eat and then starts to chew on his substrate. But i will keep giving him a variety of greens and hopefully eventually start to eat them. Would you suggest for now stilling mixing the mazuri and see if hell start to eat the greens with them then slowly take it off his diet ?

 

[daniellenc]

You can try mixing it all up many like it. Mine just picked it out and it made his greens mushy and gross. If he’s eating substrate it could be a vitamin imbalance so I’d try adding calcium/vitamin powder. I just started using this https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00CFK4ZP4/?tag=exoticpetnetw-20

 

[abuabaral1]

You can try mixing it all up many like it. Mine just picked it out and it made his greens mushy and gross. If he’s eating substrate it could be a vitamin imbalance so I’d try adding calcium/vitamin powder. I just started using this https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00CFK4ZP4/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1529439995&sr=8-1&keywords=repashy+super+veggie&dpPl=1&dpID=516UNFDHd+L&ref=plSrch

Thankyou for that. He did a lot more when i first got him but added calcium supplement to his diet and he hasn’t been doing it as much