She just wont eat

[grettas mom]

Gretta has officially ben home for one week today and she still hasn't eaten much at all. I give her fresh veggies every day and she just wont touch it. I am even growing veggies in the garden so they are fresh for her and she still won't touch them. I have offered her red and green leaf lettuce, kale, romaine, mustard greens, collourd greens, spring mix lettuces and cherry tomatoes, strawberries, and watermelon Out off all of that stuff, the only 2 things she will eat is the watermelon and strawberries, which of course, arent the best for her. I just dont understand what I am doing wrong. As you may or not know, I actually got her from my work so I know she had a good appetite before I brought her home.

 

[Yvonne G]

They do go through a period of adjustment as they get used to being in a new habitat. Try to feed her whatever the previous owner was feeding her. Then you can gradually start changing her diet by adding the good stuff a bit at a time. If she'll eat strawberries and watermelon, then cut up some veggies in very small pieces, mash some strawberries so they're real juicy, and stir in the veggies. She'll think she's eating strawberries. They can go for quite a while without eating, but you don't want to wait too long.

Yvonne

 

[Jacqui]

As I recall, you just got her from Petsmart where you work. Just think of all that has happened in her short life. She left a breeders, probally went to a main warehouse, then to your store, and now your home. You know she was eating at the store, which gives you a bit of relaxing room. I would guess her diet has been more toward the fruity side. What did she eat at your store?

Yvonne made some good suggestions and I am sure you have her set up with the correct temps, humidity levels, soaking area, low lighting, and hides correct? Start her out on what she likes and then work her toward a more balanced diet once she is eating.

 

[tortoisenerd]

Even strawberry or watermelon juice on the greens could be enticing (I wet greens anyways so they don't wilt so fast after I put them down). Great suggestions already. Besides the fruit and tomatoes sounds like you are offering healthy foods. Since she's eating a little, I tend to think either stress or being picky then an actual health issue (hopefully). That said, being from a pet store, I think you should get her checked out by a vet and have a fecal test. Is she captive bred or wild caught? I have never heard of a Russian tort from Petco or Petsmart that is captive bred... Even my captive bred tort had a parasite though. Something to rule out. You do have some time if she's eating at all. Picky little thing!

 

[grettas mom]

Even strawberry or watermelon juice on the greens could be enticing (I wet greens anyways so they don't wilt so fast after I put them down). Great suggestions already. Besides the fruit and tomatoes sounds like you are offering healthy foods. Since she's eating a little, I tend to think either stress or being picky then an actual health issue (hopefully). That said, being from a pet store, I think you should get her checked out by a vet and have a fecal test. Is she captive bred or wild caught? I have never heard of a Russian tort from Petco or Petsmart that is captive bred... Even my captive bred tort had a parasite though. Something to rule out. You do have some time if she's eating at all. Picky little thing!

Thanks for all the ideas everyone!! =) She was actually at Petsmart for 2 years (since before I started there) and she ate very well. She was actually taken to the vet, Petsmart took her and paid for everything because she had bad diarrhea. They found out that she actually had hookworms, which she was treated for. So I dont think it would be another parasite or at least I hope not.) I will just try to keep working with her and her eating habits and see what happens. I will post updates as she goes along.

Thanks again

 

[Candy]

It took Dale a while to start eating good too. Don't put to much pressure on yourself. I know one thing Dale loves and would never pass up that I didn't see on your list....mushrooms. Dale actually doesn't like spring mix it's hard to get him to eat it. He ate a little romaine last night, but doesn't seem to like eating too much of that either. Anyway good luck I'm sure she'll be fine once she settles in. One more thing Dale really likes to eat when it's 85 degrees in his enclosure.

 

[Redfoot NERD]

FWIW gang... my personal experience [ no need to research and get confused by those who don't have.. and rely on 2nd or 3rd party "knowledge????" ] has proven that WHEN the needed temps, humidity and lighting is in BALANCE they will eat most anything.. all of the time. So -

Concentrate on getting the 'creature-comforts' in order and they will eat for you....... promise!!!

Now there is no reason for anyone to get mad.. indignant.. embarrassed.. scared or beat themselves up by what I just said.. just do what is best for your tortoise. Too many times I've had and seen a "hopeless-case" turn around...... ask Crazy1 and or look at TerryO's Pio!

NERD

 

[grettas mom]

Well emysemys, I used your idea today with mashing the strawberries on her greems and guess what....it worked!! Thanks for the great idea!! =)

---

Oh...and are mushrooms safe? That is another one of those contradicting foods. I did a lot of redearch on safe foods for tortoises and I found that on more than one site, it said mushrooms are not safe for torts...

 

[Crazy1]

Yay, congratulations Grettas mom. Store bought mushrooms are safe for RFs. And most I know Love them.

 

[Jacqui]

Glad she is eating for you!

 

[grettas mom]

Today was the first day that Gretta actually ate her entire dish. In fact, this is the first day she has really eaten a large quantity of food. I think I will try adding mushrooms into her dish tomorrow and see what she does with that. I cant wait =)

 

[Chewbecca]

I'll be surprised if she doesn't like mushrooms.
My little guy LOVES them.

Well, there isn't much that Stagger won't eat when it comes to things like that.
He eats some things better than others, though.
And yours might be that way, too.

 

[Madkins007]

Its good to hear that she is eating well!

Terry/RedfootNERD made a good point also- a big reason Red-foots don't eat is that something is wrong in the habitat or cares. Even now that she is eating, I would still suggest double checking the temps, humidity, lighting, substrate, etc. It isn't that these things have to be absolutely perfect, but the further out of the 'good' range they are, the more stressful it is for the torts.

 

[grettas mom]

Its good to hear that she is eating well!

Terry/RedfootNERD made a good point also- a big reason Red-foots don't eat is that something is wrong in the habitat or cares. Even now that she is eating, I would still suggest double checking the temps, humidity, lighting, substrate, etc. It isn't that these things have to be absolutely perfect, but the further out of the 'good' range they are, the more stressful it is for the torts.

Well, I do know her humidity isnt perfect, but I am working on that, I promise. =) I am just working on figuring out a way to get hte humidity up.

 

[tortoisenerd]

Ask away on that too! Best wishes.

 

[Madkins007]

Do you wanna talk about the humidity here, or in a different forum? The things that would be nice to know would be:
- rough description of the housing- size, construction, hides, etc.
- interior- substrate type and depth, plants used if any and how, how the water bowl is set up
- systems- how is it heated and humidified, how is that monitored, what is the lighting and how long is the day, etc.
- roughly where are you and what is the climate like in your house?

 

[grettas mom]

I have discovered that Gretta loves eggs!! I will try to get a pic of her eating her eggs next time... does anyone know how much egg can i give her? I only gave her a piece this time because I didnt want her to get sick...

 

[grettas mom]

Do you wanna talk about the humidity here, or in a different forum? The things that would be nice to know would be:
- rough description of the housing- size, construction, hides, etc.
- interior- substrate type and depth, plants used if any and how, how the water bowl is set up
- systems- how is it heated and humidified, how is that monitored, what is the lighting and how long is the day, etc.
- roughly where are you and what is the climate like in your house?

*Gretta's current habitat is 2ft x 5ft, with a 2ft x 1ft wooden house to hide/sleep in
-I am using roughly 4 inches of bed-a-beast bedding (works well for moisture) as well as sphagnum moss covering the top of the bed-a-beast. I clean/soak the sphagnum moss daily. She uses a plastic paint pan that I am constantly changing (at least 3x per day
-I have a 100wt halogen bulb for basking (Gretta seems to like to bask, I know redfoots dont usually but thats what she is used to)
- I have a thermometer and a hydrometer in her habitat...the humidity is always around 75% (cant get it any higher) and temp hovers around 75-80 degrees.
-I live in Wisconsin and the temp of the house is usually around 65-70 degrees.

 

[Madkins007]

The first thoughts are...

1. I am wondering where the humidity gauge is. If it is in the warmer area, the humidity will read lower. Take the readings in a neutral place right at soil level.

2. 75-80 is a bit cool, which may be why she is hanging out in the basking area. I sorta wonder what the soil temps away from the heat source, and wonder if it might be even cooler there.

3. Is the bulb the only heat source for the large habitat? At 2x5, I would probably have a couple sources. Better heat may also move more moisture to vapor and increase the humidity.

4. A simple tent of clear plastic a few feet above the habitat, or a similar cover, can really help. A well-designed cover would allow constant but slow air exchange and keep the rising warm, moist air a little closer.

5. I have not had a lot of luck with Bed-A-Beast by itself, some sand mixed in seems to help it drain better and improves moisture flow.

A couple other ideas to improve the humidity:
- Focus on the humidity in the hide box. Try to get the hide up to about 85ish, and use mostly damp sphagnum moss in there that is kept lightly damp.

- Consider planting a broad-leafed plant, like hosta(?), in the habitat. (You can just bury a clay pot in the substrate instead of planting it in the substrate.)