stubborn tortoise problems

[rest7773]

so guys hii....my 2 lil stars are addicted to bad food like french beans and okra...they refuse to eat anything else. I tried to starve them for a few days and try again but they guilt shammed me n my mom and we had to giff them what they want..

So i need help. how can i make them eat the good stuff like grass and hibiscus leaves...i want the best for them and giving veggies bad.

Their home has a dinension of 5ft by 3ft. The temp during day r basking 34°c and the warmer side is 30 and the cool side is 29. At night...as the basking bulb is off the temp is 26 to 27°c. i am posting thier pics and their enclosure. The humidity is around 75%.They r currently in the balcony and get a good sunlight for more than 5hrs. and my last question is they dont like to bask in natural sunlight...they always find shade and hide.

Thanking you in advance for helping me out of this situation.

their house

 

[rest7773]

He is Flash

he is pika

 

[rest7773]

This is where i have kept them.

 

[Tom]

One thing that would help would be separating them. Tortoises should not live as pairs and the stress they feel is an appetite suppressant. Understand that there does not need to be obvious pushing and attacking for this to happen. Just the presence of another tortoise across the enclosure is enough to do it.

Stars are a shy species. They are hiding outside because they don't feel secure walking around out in the open. Try adding more plants, more cover and give them time to get used to it all.

Another thing is that your temperatures are a bit on the cool side. Warm things up a bit and I bet appetite picks up. Ambient on my stars is 34 during the heat of the day. Basking is 37-38. I never let them drop below 27 at night.

Next thing is that tortoises are creatures of habit. They eat what they ate before and new foods don't look like food to them. You need to start by finely chopping a tiny amount of the new foods, like 1% of the daily pile, and thoroughly mixing that in with pre-wetted greens. Each day, add just a little more. If they balk and choose not to eat one day, use the same food and ratio until they do.

Sprinkling small amount of finely chopped new grass shoots usually works to add some fiber too. They sell sprouted wheat grass plots at many stores now.

Sometimes new foods can be added my mixing it with Mazuri or by coating it with something they like, like blended cucumber.

Don't give up. Your tortoises need to eat better. With their current diet, you should be soaking them every day too.

 

[Tom]

he is pika

What are the little white bits in the soil here in this picture?

 

[rest7773]

That is the cuttlebone...i just broke it into small peices and spread all over. they like to smell it and eat it...they nvr touch the cuttle bone bt when i give them like this they eat it all...

currently they r eating too much... 3 times a day..dat worries me a lil.

 

[Gillian M]

I believe that your cute torts need time to get used to a different diet - a diet that they may not like but is more healthy.

 

[Yvonne G]

Actually, okra isn't a bad food at all. Have you seen this thread?

http://www.tortoiseforum.org/thread...-residing-in-india.68875/page-20#post-1395003

 

[rest7773]

on ttt its feed in moderation...n i am feeding that quite often which is bad