Picky eater. What to do? Tomato addiction

[Kori5]

Hi! So I have a simillar problem like a member who posted about his russian. My male Hermann had a period of wrong diet while he was under parents supervision this summer for 2 weeks. They fed him tomato and lettuce. And now he only wants to eat tomato. Things worked well for previous 2 weeks, he ate dandelions plantain clover etc.and now we are at the beginning . He won't for days and when he eats it is too little. But of course if I give him tomato he will eat it. We were at the vet's on friday and done blood test, x ray and fecal test. Everything seems fine.He has parasites and was given panacur. Vet commented he has a good weight and a nice shell.But that doesn't
solve my problem. She said it is normal for them to slow down this time of year.

 

[AnimalLady]

I have a great idea, do not feed him tomato anymore, problem solved! BAM!
See, he cant get up and get his tomato, so he needs to get that fix from you, if you dont offer it, he cant eat it!
Just start offering good foods, dark leafy greens, weeds, you know, the good stuff, sooner or later your tort will eat it.

Good luck!

 

[Kori5]

Yes, I did stop giving him tomato and after a few days he ate dandelions plantain clover. But now after 2 weeks he's back refusing the good stuff and I don't know why. Thank you .

 

[SarahChelonoidis]

It may not be a matter of pickiness at this point but instead temperature. A lot of tortoises have waning appetites as temperatures get lower. Have your indoor enclosure temperatures changed much over these past two weeks?

 

[Kori5]

Temps haven't changed. They are 25 C room temperature and 32 C under heat lamp. At night it drops to 21 C. I will add a uv tube for additional light. Thank you .

 

[ZEROPILOT]

The Panacur might make your tortoise stop eating for a few days. (Mine didn't)
Try something else red in color. Tortoises will get spoiled if they find a food that they like and will walk right past other food. Sometimes for days.
They can make you very nervous and keep this up for quite a while, but he/she will eventually eat. Just keep placing the correct food in your enclosure and after a few days or more, it'll give in.
(As long as everything else is correct, as previously mentioned.)

 

[Kori5]

Nervious is an understatement . We did make a vet check twice and done all test just to rule out some illness. But she said everything is fine, blood test clear and x ray is perfect. He had an empty belly .But he pooped during our car ride so that is probably why. And fecal exam showed worms so was given panacur. I don't know...he looks healthy but spends days in his hide sleeping, not eating. He would eat tomato if I give him, and looks very happy when he sees some . He hibernated all these years and lives in the garden so maybe his instinct is too strong.

 

[Kori5]

We are buying a uv tube this week for some additional light. Vet is a reptile specialist and very devoted to her work. She even owns Hermanns herself and said that her animals act the same during winter if they don't hibernate. That you can try to mimic natural environment to some point but Sun is Sun and the pressure is different, fresh air etc.

 

[Gillian M]

It may not be a matter of pickiness at this point but instead temperature. A lot of tortoises have waning appetites as temperatures get lower. Have your indoor enclosure temperatures changed much over these past two weeks?

I've noticed that on Oli: he eats very well so long as it's nice and hot, or warm. Once temperature begins to drop, he loses appetite. I have also read that torts do lose appetite during Winter.

 

[ZEROPILOT]

Most tortoises have worms. Most live with them without issue as long as they are otherwise healthy.
About the not eating..I had a tortoise that ate nothing for over three months and then didn't eat solid food for another eight months and she is fine today.
Have you tried to "baby food in water" trick? It's some carrot baby food in a water soak. Most tortoises will drink while soaking.
most tortoises will also poo when placed in a box and taken for a car ride. So it all still seems O.K.
And YES. Anything cooler than 80 makes digesting food impossible and most tortoises will stop eating.

 

[W Shaw]

I'm the one with the russian obsessed with radicchio. I think I may have improved the situation by making his nighttime temps warmer. He's still obsessed with Radicchio, but after 2 nights of leaving one of his day lights on at night, yesterday he polished off most of his breakfast while I was at work (and therefore not available to be guilted into more radicchio). His daylight temps were fine before, but I think he was getting too cool at night. I can't say yet that it's the whole solution. If I find tonight that he's eaten his breakfast while I was away, I'm going to be pretty sure the nighttime temp was a large part of the problem. If he wasn't digesting thoroughly, he wouldn't be hungry. If I'm not particularly hungry, I'm happy to eat cheesecake but not brussels sprouts.

 

[Kori5]

Thanks everyone . I tried baby food soaks and do them every second day. He doesn't drink while soaking but I think he becomes more awake. @ZEROPILOT I read your whole story and was really touched with the love and persistance you gave. But I don't recall if I read what was the cause of her not eating? Yesterday I did an experiment and gave him tomato and apple and of course he went right to it, opening his little mouth and omomom . His temps are fine, room temperature is 25 and under heat lamp 32. Yesterday he even spent 2 hours under the lamp unlike previous days when he went straight to bed. His night temperatures are warm because his enclousure is in my heated bedroom .

 

[Kori5]

I read on several forums that people have these problems with hibernating tortoises, sometimes they won't eat for a month. He did hibernate previously so I think he is used to it. We're having a second dose of panacur on 26th November so he will be checked again.

 

[ZEROPILOT]

Thanks everyone . I tried baby food soaks and do them every second day. He doesn't drink while soaking but I think he becomes more awake. @ZEROPILOT I read your whole story and was really touched with the love and persistance you gave. But I don't recall if I read what was the cause of her not eating? Yesterday I did an experiment and gave him tomato and apple and of course he went right to it, opening his little mouth and omomom . His temps are fine, room temperature is 25 and under heat lamp 32. Yesterday he even spent 2 hours under the lamp unlike previous days when he went straight to bed. His night temperatures are warm because his enclousure is in my heated bedroom .

Thanks. I wish I could say, but it was never really determined what in fact caused her to get ill in the first place. She had a few different issues and i think that they worked together to badly weaken her.

 

[Kori5]

The most important thing is she is fine now . You did a great job!

 

[ZEROPILOT]

The most important thing is she is fine now . You did a great job!

Thanks