tortsofsorts
New Member
Hi all,
I'm currently keeping a sub-adult male Hermann's tortoise. I've had him since last fall, and he's just great. However, I do have a few questions about his diet.
I was told by the previous owner he was fed fresh fruit daily (strawberries, mangos, etc). To my knowledge, his diet was far too high in sugar, so I started him off in my care with Fluker-brand tortoise pellets, along with sliced carrots, celery, and tomatoes. I kept him on this diet for a while, cutting veggies up every night for him.
Eventually, I decided I'd go half and half with the diet, having veggies every couple nights and moistened pellets for the remainder. He really did not like this, and almost refused to eat the pellets entirely. He literally would rather eat his own poop, and he actually did, lol.
After a while, I ran out of fresh veggies to feed him. I ended up going to the pet store and completely revamping his diet, substituting the hard Fluker pellets for soft grass pellets and buying freeze-dried peas, green beans, and carrots for him to enjoy along with them.
He's liked this.... however, I find that he just eats the carrots and peas and leaves everything else, including the grass.
What the heck do I do? Why is he such a picky eater? He doesn't seem underweight or unhealthy... he's very active, too, when he wants to be! Is this an appropriate diet for him? Am I doing something wrong?
Any help would be much appreciated!
I'm currently keeping a sub-adult male Hermann's tortoise. I've had him since last fall, and he's just great. However, I do have a few questions about his diet.
I was told by the previous owner he was fed fresh fruit daily (strawberries, mangos, etc). To my knowledge, his diet was far too high in sugar, so I started him off in my care with Fluker-brand tortoise pellets, along with sliced carrots, celery, and tomatoes. I kept him on this diet for a while, cutting veggies up every night for him.
Eventually, I decided I'd go half and half with the diet, having veggies every couple nights and moistened pellets for the remainder. He really did not like this, and almost refused to eat the pellets entirely. He literally would rather eat his own poop, and he actually did, lol.
After a while, I ran out of fresh veggies to feed him. I ended up going to the pet store and completely revamping his diet, substituting the hard Fluker pellets for soft grass pellets and buying freeze-dried peas, green beans, and carrots for him to enjoy along with them.
He's liked this.... however, I find that he just eats the carrots and peas and leaves everything else, including the grass.
What the heck do I do? Why is he such a picky eater? He doesn't seem underweight or unhealthy... he's very active, too, when he wants to be! Is this an appropriate diet for him? Am I doing something wrong?
Any help would be much appreciated!