Picky Russian

[holo88]

8 months ago I was working at a large and widely known pet store that unfortunately really doesn't train their employees about all the small animals or reptiles and give out a lot of wrong information. Anyways, a family had purchased a Russian tortoise and owned him for over a year but decided to give it up and brought it back to the store. I decided to take it in since I had been looking to get one of my own anyways. Unfortunately I was not able to speak with the family that had owned him, so I wasn't able to see if they really took good care of him or not. He was living in a 20 gallon tank which was terribly small for him. I moved up to a 40 gallon at the time because I hadn't been able to do much research on them. I will be constructing a proper home for him within the next few weeks.

Anyways, he seems healthy enough, he's grown quite a bit since I adopted him but his eating habits are worrying me. It seems the only thing he will eat are carrots, romaine lettuce and sometimes Rep-Cal Tortoise food. I've tried giving him Kale, collard greens, dandelion, mustard greens, orchard hay but he ignores them until I finally break down and give him some carrots which he attacks.

This seems like his only problem, I soak him once a week and I know he drinks from his water in his tank, I've placed tape around the sides of the tank so he knows there is a barrier there so he doesn't continuously run into the wall. The tank temps are always perfect, humidity is fine. He's active, now that its warmer out I've been taking him outside for about an hour each day until I can get his outdoor pen fixed up. I'm really at a loss as to what to try next for food. Any suggestions?

 

[jaizei]

Welcome to the forum

It seems the only thing he will eat are carrots, romaine lettuce and sometimes Rep-Cal Tortoise food. I've tried giving him Kale, collard greens, dandelion, mustard greens, orchard hay but he ignores them until I finally break down and give him some carrots which he attacks.

How long is he ignoring the food before you give him what he wants?

 

[Lstrayer92]

My russian is pretty much the same way, he won't eat regular like iceberg lettuce he only eats romain, he ate dandelions once and won't touch them anymore, I've tried basil kale chives parsley carrots cucumber and he ignores it, he will literally eat around it because I try to mix it in with his romain but he picks it out and leaves it there, and he won't touch his dry tortoise food at all, never even tried it ad I've had him for almost 4 months

 

[Spn785]

If you chop up the food really small and mix it with something it likes, and then mist the food with water , you tortoise will usually start to eat it. Mine has decided she would rather starve than eat certain foods like cilantro and dandelion flowers (though she loves the leaves). Another idea is to try giving your tortoise the greens from the carrot and see if it will eat that, mine attacks that like it is the only food in the world. You might need to just be more stubborn than your tortoise and stop feeding "bad" foods and only give the "good" foods until it eats that.

 

[GeoTerraTestudo]

Well, part of it could be the difficulties of adjusting to a new environment, etc. The thing to do there is just give it time. Another part of it could be just trying to eat foods that he's used to from before. If he likes Rep-Cal pellets, which are just okay, you could try giving him other, even more complete pellet foods: Mazuri Tortoise Diet and ZooMed Grassland Tortoise Food. Another thing is he could have a dietary deficiency that is making him crave certain foods. The previous owners didn't take super care of him; his beak is overgrown, and it protrudes a bit, meaning he has (or had) a minor case of MBD. It's not too bad, though, so you can easily get him back on track. If he's craving carrots, he could have a beta-carotene/vitamin A deficiency, which is common in starved tortoises. You can sprinkle turtle drops and other vitamin/mineral powder on his food to supplement his diet with more nutrients. Carrots are also brightly colored near the red side of the spectrum, which is very attractive to tortoises and box turtles. They are also somewhat sweet, so he could be craving the calories for energy. You can offer him some not-too-sweet fruits like tomatoes or cucumbers. Keep the sweet fruits, like strawberries, raspberries, and grapes to a minimum (once a month).

Glad you're taking him outside. If your area is not sprayed with pesticides or herbicides, let him forage a bit for himself. He'll probably munch on weeds like dandelion and prickly lettuce, as well as plantago, spotted spurge, and maybe even some grass. As for what to offer him indoors, if he likes Romaine lettuce, you could offer him related greens like chicory, endive, escarole, and radicchio. Basically, all these things I'm recommending are providing him with nutrients he needs, as well as shaping his behavior, i.e. expanding his comfort zone by giving him other things that are similar to what he already likes. Eventually, you should be able to greatly expand the diversity of his diet.

BTW - Looks like your using fir bark as the substrate. That one doesn't hold moisture very well, and is hard to dig in. I suggest switching to coco coir (my favorite), which does a great job of providing a humid microclimate, and is also conducive to digging. A more comfortable substrate will help your tortoise stay hydrated, and could help improve his appetite.

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi holo88, and welcome to the Forum!

Your new Russian tortoise looks pretty good with the exception of his beak. His shell is very smooth and symmetrical. I wonder if he hasn't been allowed to bite off pieces of food, or if it has been cut up small and bite-sized. Get the beak trimmed by a vet, then don't cut up his food. Make him work for it.

You can buy the packaged lettuce called "Spring Mix". It is a nice variety of different greens and I'll bet he will eat that.

 

[holo88]

Thank you all for your suggestions! I usually wait 3 days before caving and giving him carrots and romaine lettuce. The carrots I leave fairly larger so he does have to work a bit to eat them. I have tried tomatoes in the past, but he ignored those as well.

 

[WillTort2]

Try giving radicchio, turnip greens, and red or green leaf lettuce. I'm surprised that he turned down the dandelions, my russians eat that like its candy. Did you try both the leaves and the flowers?

Also try mulberry leaves, grape leaves, and roses.

 

[junebugsmom]

Try giving him some spring mix (make sure theres no iceburg lettuce in it). Also try opuntina cactus--my russian practically runs when i bring it to her and gobbles it up like candy.

 

[Tyrtle]

I'm with junebugsmom, during the colder months, we feed spring mix mostly. I pick out and discard the spinach first. I often add extra radicchio or escarole or curly endive if the supermarket has it. Ours also likes the spineless optunia which you can order online.

In the Summer months, I feed him a lot from the outdoors. He loves hibiscus and mallow flowers. I grow the huge hardy hibiscus plants which produces very large flowers for him. He goes nuts for those. It's sad all winter when we have no flowers to feed.

 

[munchkin2983]

Thank you all for your suggestions! I usually wait 3 days before caving and giving him carrots and romaine lettuce. The carrots I leave fairly larger so he does have to work a bit to eat them. I have tried tomatoes in the past, but he ignored those as well.

My pet shop advised me horse fields are very picky and when introducing new food add a little of familiar food at the same time I'm going to try my baby tomorrow doing it x I did plant a lovely pansy in his home and he has nearly ate the lot lol xxxxx

 

[mattgrizzlybear]

try tough love. i've seen others use it. a variety of greens with some carrots mixed in might get him to eat the other greens to get to the carrots. also try hibiscus flowers. they are delicous and healthy for all torts!

 

[munchkin2983]

try tough love. i've seen others use it. a variety of greens with some carrots mixed in might get him to eat the other greens to get to the carrots. also try hibiscus flowers. they are delicous and healthy for all torts!

Where can I get the hibiscus flowers Hun? X

 

[mattgrizzlybear]

Ask family members if they have a hibiscus tree or bush. All my family relatives have them including myself. Then ask them if you could get a flower or a few leaves off their tree/bush. The leaves and flowers are both healthy and edible (for the tortoise). Then feed and watch them enjoy!

 

[munchkin2983]

Thank you hun xxxxxxxx

 

[lynnedit]

AKA 'Rose of Sharon'. They grow to a fairly large shub.The flowers are white/purple/pink mostly.