Picky Desert Tortoise

[star_and_phoebe]

Hello! I have a nearly 40-year-old desert tortoise named Star. My grandma raised him from a hatchling in Arizona (we still live in Arizona). My grandma almost exclusively fed him food not recommended for the full tortoise diet - iceberg lettuce, fruit, and veggies. Since my grandma passed, he has been under our care and we are trying to get him on a more native diet but he does not seem interested. He was eating collard greens for a while, but decided he is not into them this summer. He has no interest in the other greens we have tried to give him. He sometimes will treat himself to globe mallow flowers or prickly pear fruit, but otherwise eats no native plants. He also doesn't seem interested in grasses/hay. His favorite food is corn-on-the-cob which is given to him occasionally. He also enjoys bananas, strawberries, lettuce, squash and apples.

Any tips on introducing healthier food into his diet? He seems happy and healthy, but I want to ensure he stays that way.

 

[wellington]

First, stop with the corn and fruits.
You will have to trick him into eating the better stuff.
Chop up the better foods and squeeze a little water melon juice on it or some cucumber or dice up romaine and mix it in. As he gets used to eating this, use less and less of the bad stuff, giving more of the better foods.
After this, no more fruit.
You can also get mazuri, soak a few pellets and smear it on the good foods. Most tortoises love mazuri. Not the mazuri LS but the older style. You can always add the LS later, which is a little better than the regular.

 

[wellington]

You could also try some of the corn juice but not the whole kernels to get him to eat the better foods.

 

[YoungSheldon]

My little DT was feed nothing but iceberg for his first months of life so I’ve seen his first taste and reaction to everything else. Here’s some of what I’ve given him and how he has reacted:

The things he loved from the start? Dandelion, grape leaves, HIBISCUS and more HIBISCUS! Bok Choy, zucchini plant leaves, endive, kale, arugula.

Things he runs hot and cold on? Collard greens (although I have a video of him eating it as fast as he can for a straight 6 1/2 minutes), mallow, yellow bells, Mazuri LS, rose petals, radicchio, alfalfa.

Things he doesn’t like much that I disguise by chopping and mixing with other things or by thinly slicing and feeding with a leaf he does like? Mulberry leaves and cactus.

Things he won’t eat? Wheatgrass, Bermuda, parsley, store bought organic micro greens(!).

Things he tried to spit out or wipe off his tongue? Watercress, radish leaves and spurge.

He has eaten a small bit of a fig brought to him by a neighbor, which he liked and he has a small piece of watermelon every week or two, which he loves. I usually put calcium powder on his melon. Small amounts of melon seem pretty harmless, lol, mostly water and air. I don’t give him any other fruits, except a prickly pear, which he didn’t eat. Maybe he’ll grow into those.

I wish I had harvested extra dandelions when they were in season and tried to preserve some for the rest of the year. I know they are great tortoise food and when they were available I made them a large component of his meals.

Sheldon also gets a special treat from neighbors that grow micro greens. They bring him a small bag of sunflower sprouts every three or four weeks, the sprouts are a stem with two leaves. This is his second favorite item, right behind HIBISCUS!

I try to have six or seven different food items for the week and offer most of them at each meal. From week to week I have at least three that are different from the week before and after. This is just my own guideline to force myself to give him a variety, which I hope is giving him a healthy diet. I also vary how I serve them, sometimes whole leaves, sometimes chopped, sometimes spread out so he has to walk around to find them.

FYI, Smart & Final has packages of cactus pads in their produce department for a reasonable price, plus you can also get them from Amazon. If he won’t eat the pad, slice it thin and stick the slices to leaves that he likes. And if you don’t have HIBISCUS!, you probably have a neighbor that does and also does not spray. I am finding that people are very generous with what is in their yards when it is going to a tortoise.

 

[Tom]

My little DT was feed nothing but iceberg for his first months of life so I’ve seen his first taste and reaction to everything else. Here’s some of what I’ve given him and how he has reacted:

The things he loved from the start? Dandelion, grape leaves, HIBISCUS and more HIBISCUS! Bok Choy, zucchini plant leaves, endive, kale, arugula.

Things he runs hot and cold on? Collard greens (although I have a video of him eating it as fast as he can for a straight 6 1/2 minutes), mallow, yellow bells, Mazuri LS, rose petals, radicchio, alfalfa.

Things he doesn’t like much that I disguise by chopping and mixing with other things or by thinly slicing and feeding with a leaf he does like? Mulberry leaves and cactus.

Things he won’t eat? Wheatgrass, Bermuda, parsley, store bought organic micro greens(!).

Things he tried to spit out or wipe off his tongue? Watercress, radish leaves and spurge.

He has eaten a small bit of a fig brought to him by a neighbor, which he liked and he has a small piece of watermelon every week or two, which he loves. I usually put calcium powder on his melon. Small amounts of melon seem pretty harmless, lol, mostly water and air. I don’t give him any other fruits, except a prickly pear, which he didn’t eat. Maybe he’ll grow into those.

I wish I had harvested extra dandelions when they were in season and tried to preserve some for the rest of the year. I know they are great tortoise food and when they were available I made them a large component of his meals.

Sheldon also gets a special treat from neighbors that grow micro greens. They bring him a small bag of sunflower sprouts every three or four weeks, the sprouts are a stem with two leaves. This is his second favorite item, right behind HIBISCUS!

I try to have six or seven different food items for the week and offer most of them at each meal. From week to week I have at least three that are different from the week before and after. This is just my own guideline to force myself to give him a variety, which I hope is giving him a healthy diet. I also vary how I serve them, sometimes whole leaves, sometimes chopped, sometimes spread out so he has to walk around to find them.

FYI, Smart & Final has packages of cactus pads in their produce department for a reasonable price, plus you can also get them from Amazon. If he won’t eat the pad, slice it thin and stick the slices to leaves that he likes. And if you don’t have HIBISCUS!, you probably have a neighbor that does and also does not spray. I am finding that people are very generous with what is in their yards when it is going to a tortoise.

This whole post is just awesome!

 

[The_Four_Toed_Edward]

This article helped me to introduce my Russian tortoise to some healthier weeds: https://www.thetortoisetable.org.uk/tortoise-diet/introducing-a-new-diet/

 

[CJSlowski]

Hello! We adopted a new (to us) desert tortoise and am working on introducing him to more native plants as well. This is his first week with us, so I have been using the recommended method of squeezing bits of his favorite treats onto the greens I'd like him to start eating. One question I have is how often are tortoises supposed to urinate and poop? He was very hungry on Monday, but didn't eat much yesterday and today seems to have his appetite back, so he ate up all of his food - dandelion, romaine, prickly pear cactus fruit with bits of watermelon and bananas (to encourage eating). Afterwards, he seemed to urinate more than I have seem him before, so not sure if this is normal or if I need to limit his diet because he is losing too much water. He has access to a shallow water dish and plenty of room to roam. His previous family indicated he is likely in his 90's. I have been trying to get him to graze on our lawn, but he doesn't seem interested yet. I imagine he is still trying to acclimate to his new surroundings.

 

[JoJosMom]

All great info provided by members above. I would just like to add that a large part of a tortoise being introduced to new foods and actually taking to them is consistency!! 100% consistency is a huge factor when trying to get them to eat better or different foods. You have to be patient and consistently offer these foods that you are trying to get them to eat. Nothing happens quickly with a tortoise. Repetitive introductions we find works by far the best in the transition. It may take a few days, it may take weeks, but eventually they will eat it. We have not had one tortoise yet out of 16 tortoises that refused transition. It was accomplished by being consistent and offering the foods over and over and over again. Patience is a virtue!

 

[Tom]

Hello! We adopted a new (to us) desert tortoise and am working on introducing him to more native plants as well. This is his first week with us, so I have been using the recommended method of squeezing bits of his favorite treats onto the greens I'd like him to start eating. One question I have is how often are tortoises supposed to urinate and poop? He was very hungry on Monday, but didn't eat much yesterday and today seems to have his appetite back, so he ate up all of his food - dandelion, romaine, prickly pear cactus fruit with bits of watermelon and bananas (to encourage eating). Afterwards, he seemed to urinate more than I have seem him before, so not sure if this is normal or if I need to limit his diet because he is losing too much water. He has access to a shallow water dish and plenty of room to roam. His previous family indicated he is likely in his 90's. I have been trying to get him to graze on our lawn, but he doesn't seem interested yet. I imagine he is still trying to acclimate to his new surroundings.

That is a beautiful young man there!

Most of what you have been told or read is going to be old, outdated, wrong care info. Most DTs in captivity die due to dehydration related issues. Keep your tortoise well hydrated to prevent this.

The other big DT killer is brumation errors. They cannot just be left outside above ground, which is what most people do.

Also be careful of dogs, all dogs, even sweet good natured dogs that have previously showed no interest in the tortoise.

No fruit. Its not good for them. He will eat when he's hungry. You don't have to beg him to eat.

Get him eating grass and other good stuff by mixing it in with old favorites.

All this and more is right here:

The Best Way To Raise Any Temperate Species Of Tortoise

I chose the title of this care sheet very carefully. Are there other ways to raise babies and care for adults? Yes. Yes there are, but those ways are not as good. What follows is the BEST way, according to 30 years of research and experimentation with hundreds of babies of many species. What is...

tortoiseforum.org

And much more helpful info here:

Info For New People. Please Read This First.

Hello and welcome to tortoiseforum.org! We are all glad you are here! There is no other forum like this anywhere. We have tens of thousands of members from all over the world ranging from kids with their first tortoise to people who have been breeding and keeping high end tortoises since the...

tortoiseforum.org

Questions are welcome! Soak that tortoise early and often!