Picky Redfoot?

[linaizzie]

Hi all,
I'm wondering if one of my tortoises is being a picky brat. A couple weeks ago, when I first got the red foot babies, Ruin wouldn't eat for about a week (the breeder said he was acclimating). Last week I bought some watercress at the local market to vary greens (spring mix was fed previously with squash, carrots, Mazuri and mushrooms and other veg we had around the house). He enjoyed the water cress a lot - would dig through everything else to get to it. This week I'm back to spring mix and he's not really eaten the last 2 days or so. He'll take a bite of the Mazuri or maybe a strawberry and leave. He drinks and walks around, but isn't interested in the food again. Is he holding out for other food? Any strategies or suggestions here? Do I get him more water cress or try to get him to eat a variety by offering other things until he eats it?

Thanks,
Lina

 

[kathyth]

Personally, I would continue the variety. Sounds like a picky eater. I have had them and they git over it.
How old is this baby?
Glad he is walking around and drinking.

 

[Madkins007]

Watercress is pretty good diet option, so don't worry a lot about it. These guys are famous for suddenly getting picky or changing their minds about what they like to eat.

Some things I always look for here:
- Temps, and to some extent, humidity. Low or high puts them off their food.
- Amount. If they are getting enough food, they don't need more. Don't forget, their stomach is only about the size of their head and they only need half the calories of the same weight mammal.
- Light. They prefer low light levels or lots of shade/hiding places.
- Air quality/cleanliness. Stuffy, smelly air can put them off their food.
- Food quality. Color and scent are big triggers. While most 'old' foods are perfectly OK, if it looks or smells funny, they often avoid it.

You can try to either taper them off the watercress, or go cold turkey- there is not a 'one perfect' solution here.

 

[wellington]

I would try the taper off the watercress. Chop it up with other greens. Spritz with water. He will have to eat the others to be able to eat the cress, as it will all be chopped and sticking together with the water. As he takes to this, start putting less and less cress, until you have just the other greens. If this works, then any time you want to add the cress back in, you may want to feed it the same way, chopped and spritz, so you don't have to go through the whole thing again.

 

[linaizzie]

Thanks for the suggestions. The temps, humidity and light haven't really changed - it's about 70% humid, with 95 basking and 85 ambient. The table has ventilation to help with stinky air. I tried a mix of mazuri, watercress and mango today. Both torts LOVED it (though I know that fruit should be no more than once or twice a week). I have some live plants in the enclosure and I caught Ruin and Rake munching on the bromeliad leaves as a snack (I pull the food up after they eat so it doesn't get gross). I read that bromeliads are non-toxic to torts, has anyone had experience with this? I don't want them to eat too much of it if it's not entirely safe.