Repashy

[FigsServant]

Hey guys!
Whats your thoughts on Repashy? My 1 year old Hermanns will not touch any food that has calcium or multivitamin powder on it. I read some articles where someone gives her tortoise Repashy (not sure on what type since I found a lot of different ones) twice a week since hers doesn't eat the powder either.
I currently am feeding spring mix, romaine, escarole and Arugula (when he will eat it), bell peppers, carrots, a little cucumber - cause he loves it, every day and then I'll add soaked Mazuri pellets (only 3) 3x a week. He will normally only eat 2 pellets though.
Trying to find a way to make sure he's getting everything he needs since he is really picky. I have completely minced his food to ensure he's getting the stuff he doesn't like but then he will just refuse to eat lol. I know hungry tortoises won't starve themselves but I feel he actually will lol

 

[FigsServant]

Also I meant to put that I also sprinkle Flower Power (I think that's what it's called) on top of his food and calendula flowers. He does like those. I've bought and also grew dandelions and he won't touch them.

 

[RosemaryDW]

Not to be annoying first thing, but a Hermanns should not be eating bell peppers or carrots on more than occasional basis. Those are foods high in sugar and your tortoise's digestive system isn't designed for them. Sorry, but it's a big mistake common to new owners. Maybe the salesperson or breeder told you to feed it but it's not healthy on a regular basis.

I can't speak to the quality of Repashy but do know that newer owners tend to put too much supplemental powder on foods. More than a fairy pinch of calcium or mineral supplement can throw them off a food. If you are going heavy on those two you might try cutting back and see what happens before trying something else.

Hopefully another member can speak thoughtfully on Repashy itself.

 

[FigsServant]

Not to be annoying first thing, but a Hermanns should not be eating bell peppers or carrots on more than occasional basis. Those are foods high in sugar and your tortoise's digestive system isn't designed for them. Sorry, but it's a big mistake common to new owners. Maybe the salesperson or breeder told you to feed it but it's not healthy on a regular basis.

I can't speak to the quality of Repashy but do know that newer owners tend to put too much supplemental powder on foods. More than a fairy pinch of calcium or mineral supplement can throw them off a food. If you are going heavy on those two you might try cutting back and see what happens before trying something else.

Hopefully another member can speak thoughtfully on Repashy itself.

Hey, thanks for the response. While I am not new to owning animals, I am very new to reptiles so I try to research as much as I can before implementing anything. I only put calcium on his food twice a week and it is the smallest pinch.
What types of food can you suggest that I need to incorporate into his diet? I've tried so many different types of weeds and healthier veggies but he doesn't eat them. I've tried mincing it and adding stuff in over the course of several months and he never adjusted to it.
I do soak him 3 times a week (I used to do it every day, but was told after a year old, I can dial back a bit) and he will usually defecate one of two about the size of a milk dud. He doesn't have any issues with loose stool other than the normal urates which i know is more like their pee?

 

[RosemaryDW]

He's unlikely to eat weeds while you're feeding him carrots and bell peppers; it's broccoli vs. a candy bar.

As for new foods, there is no one or even a few plants that is/are the best, the goal is providing the most varied diet you can. It sounds like you are already working on that, you've just got a stubborn eater on your hands. This is very common for tortoises, especially if they've gotten fixated on just a few foods. If you aren't already scraping cucumber over the weeds, do that or do more of it. You can grate an increasingly small amount of carrot to start; the color may stimulate eating. If you've got any pesticide free red roses or hibiscus, or other red flowers, they can increase appetite as well. Tortoises are drawn to the color red.

Ultimately you may just have to stay strong enough to let your tortoise go a bit without eating; he will eat when he gets good and hungry. He's not a baby any longer and can go without for a few days. It's not like with a mammal, where feeding needs to be constant. I understand this sounds horrible! But he may never adjust without a little tough love. Mine wasn't used to sugars (that I know of), but it took several months to get her fully used to weeds and things other than romaine.

 

[RosemaryDW]

Edit: grate in some zucchini. That should be a sure winner and it's a good food to have on rotation.

 

[Tom]

Hey, thanks for the response. While I am not new to owning animals, I am very new to reptiles so I try to research as much as I can before implementing anything. I only put calcium on his food twice a week and it is the smallest pinch.
What types of food can you suggest that I need to incorporate into his diet? I've tried so many different types of weeds and healthier veggies but he doesn't eat them. I've tried mincing it and adding stuff in over the course of several months and he never adjusted to it.
I do soak him 3 times a week (I used to do it every day, but was told after a year old, I can dial back a bit) and he will usually defecate one of two about the size of a milk dud. He doesn't have any issues with loose stool other than the normal urates which i know is more like their pee?

You are trying to do too much too soon. The calcium should be all mixed in and not even detectable at first. It should take weeks to work up to a noticeable level. Same with any new food.

Imagine I wanted to give you calcium powder and I fed you spaghetti every day. If I dumped a tablespoon of calcium powder on your plate of spaghetti, you'd go "Ewe! I'm not eating THAT!" Now imagine I used a lab micro scoop and put 1 tenth of one gram on the plate and mixed it in. There would be so little that it would be undetectable. You would not be able to tell it was there. Next meal 2/10s of a single gram. Two weeks later, maybe I'm up to one gram. If your daily meal was one pound of spaghetti, that would be 453.6 grams in total. How many grams of calcium powder mixed in to 453.6 grams of food do you think it would take for you to finally be able to tell it was there? It would be a lot.

If the tortoise is rejecting these new food items, it is because you are using too much too soon.

Another technique that helps is to reduce the daily ration for a while. This won't do much on day one or two. But after a week or two of reduced rations, that tortoise will be physically more hungry, and psychologically more hungry. I hungry tortoise is not a picky tortoise. I'm not saying to starve him. I'm saying reduce the amount a bit to the point where there are no leftovers at all at the end of the day. Then cut back 10% more form that for a week or two. Watch how eager your tortoise is to eat whatever you put in front of it after that.

Mixing the new stuff in with favorites like the blended zucchini that Rosemary mentioned can help too.

Repashy shouldn't be used for tortoises. Its too high in vitamin A and they get A from most everything they eat.

 

[FigsServant]

Thank you all very much!! I will definitely scale back how much he can eat (he does normally have leftovers every day anyway) and I will use the teeniest tiniest bit of calcium thoroughly mixed in. Should I still only put calcium twice a week? I read on this forum to do calcium twice a week and a multivitamin powder once a week so that's what I was trying to go off of.

 

[Tom]

Thank you all very much!! I will definitely scale back how much he can eat (he does normally have leftovers every day anyway) and I will use the teeniest tiniest bit of calcium thoroughly mixed in. Should I still only put calcium twice a week? I read on this forum to do calcium twice a week and a multivitamin powder once a week so that's what I was trying to go off of.

Once a tortoise is acclimated to a "normal dose" of calcium in its food, then twice a week is plenty. When using such tiny "micro doses" to begin the intro process, you can use it every day for a while. The amount of calcium you are using to begin introducing it is not enough to give them what they need, so its okay to give it more often because of the tiny tiny amounts.

 

[RosemaryDW]

I would search for that question in the Hermann's thread if you haven't already. I'm not comfortable saying, as I've never had anything but an adult, but your calcium schedule of twice a week sounds right. I'd ask about a multivitamin in the Hermanns-specific forum.

I'd also throw a small bit of cuttlebone in there; you can get it cheap by looking for cuttlebone sold for birds. Anything labeled as for tortoises is way overpriced, they are the exact same product. If he's interested in the cuttlebone, the calcium powder becomes less important.

 

[FigsServant]

I would search for that question in the Hermann's thread if you haven't already. I'm not comfortable saying, as I've never had anything but an adult, but your calcium schedule of twice a week sounds right. I'd ask about a multivitamin in the Hermanns-specific forum.

I'd also throw a small bit of cuttlebone in there; you can get it cheap by looking for cuttlebone sold for birds. Anything labeled as for tortoises is way overpriced, they are the exact same product. If he's interested in the cuttlebone, the calcium powder becomes less important.

I do have cuttlebones that are in both his inside and outside enclosure but he never touches them
Thanks again for the advice. Always something to learn with these guys

 

[The_Four_Toed_Edward]

I do have cuttlebones that are in both his inside and outside enclosure but he never touches them
Thanks again for the advice. Always something to learn with these guys

I would trust the tortoises instincts on the cuttle bone, he will eat them when he needs that extra calcium.