tortoise not eating...

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jackrat

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Man,I never realized what it took to keep hingebacks. Hats off to all of you that have them.
 

Redfoot NERD

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jackrat said:
Man,I never realized what it took to keep hingebacks. Hats off to all of you that have them.

Jeff these tortoises are from the swamp/jungles of west/central Africa. Who ever heard of a TORTOISE that lives in a swamp/jungle?

As a result.. few know how to care for them. Who knows what they went thru from Africa to here? They are stressed at best when we finally get them!

Then everybody tries to care for them like they would a forest tortoise.. because after all that's what they are called. So they blind them with all that UVB light.. raise the temps to 90F.. and feed them things they have never seen in their entire life!

In the dark jungle they see a lot of mushrooms and juicy slimy sqeeshy critters to munch on.. plus who knows what else that grows in there!!! I'm sure various grubs and larvae, etc.!

When I found out thru my peers that Kinixys erosa were going to be imported I contacted the importer. They came in on Thurs. and he shipped them to me on Mon.

I took them out of the box and placed them in a big pile of leaves [ water was available ] and forgot about them for 2-3 days. I offered them mushrooms and bananas and let them figure it out for themselves........ no overhead lights..... no handling.... mid-70's temps.

When the temps were in the mid-60's at night they went outside for the spring/summer. I can almost count on one hand the number of times I've seen them out in direct sun... most of the time in shade or their hide.

I feed them just before the sun goes down and often go out with a flashlight to see them munching on their mushrooms, melon, sweet-potatoes or bananas. They are most active in the cool of the night!

Now I'm trying to figure out how to get these eggs to hatch...:rolleyes:

NERD

SirSkinksAlot said:
Okay, thank you. What tpe of mushrooms should I buy. Any that they have at the grocery store?

Thanks,
Tanner

Tanner don't worry about what you have done ( you did what you thot best, etc. ).. just start all over and let them "chill" [ in the quiet dark ] for 2-3 days.. and then provide them with mushrooms and melon ONLY.. nothing else.. they will eat that - they will not starve themselves. The male will come around as long as you leave him alone... O.K.?

NERD
 

Tom

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Tanner, I know nothing about hingebacks, but I'd love to know more about your skinks. I've been around them for years, but just recently "discovered" them. I just got my first Northern BTS from a fantastic breeder here on our forum named Jeff G. Sorry to sidetrack your thread, but when you have time could you start a new thread in the "other pets/lizards" section? Thanks and welcome to the forum.
 

Jacqui

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jackrat said:
Man,I never realized what it took to keep hingebacks. Hats off to all of you that have them.

:D Actually over all, they are the easiest tortoises I have ever had. :D



Redfoot NERD said:
and then provide them with mushrooms and melon ONLY.. nothing else.. they will eat that - they will not starve themselves.

NERD

Why would you EVER limit any tortoise to just melons and mushrooms? Just makes no sense at all to me.

I have actually heard of a few hingebacks who refused to ever eat in captivity and did die...even with the folks doing everything they could for them and doing it the right way.
 

Redfoot NERD

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Jacqui said:
jackrat said:
Man,I never realized what it took to keep hingebacks. Hats off to all of you that have them.

:D Actually over all, they are the easiest tortoises I have ever had. :D



Redfoot NERD said:
and then provide them with mushrooms and melon ONLY.. nothing else.. they will eat that - they will not starve themselves.

NERD

Why would you EVER limit any tortoise to just melons and mushrooms? Just makes no sense at all to me.

I have actually heard of a few hingebacks who refused to ever eat in captivity and did die...even with the folks doing everything they could for them and doing it the right way.





Jacqui why would you say they are the easiest when Tanner is finding it so difficult.. that is about as insensitive as I've ever heard you be. Yeah I know... it would be best to be "honest" instead of trying to encourage someone!

AND I'm not saying to limit them.. I'm saying feed them only something we know for sure they will eat to make it easier on them and Tanner UNTIL they start eating on a regular basis.. let's go one step at a time for a new keeper. Again they are not eating for the two reasons I mentioned and you know it. How many times did I say let them chill out FIRST before overwhelming them ( both ) with all of these different things?

PLUS we all know that some just don't make it regardless what WE do because of the gut-load of parasites that overwhelms them ( again ) due to the incredible stress they are put under during the whole procedure of getting them here.

I have lost [ not only ] both homeona and erosa hingebacks after a month and after 2 years of doing fine for no apparent reason.. but every species of turtles and tortoise I've kept for well over 30+ YEARS I've kept them - who hasn't? [ is this where you put all these :rolleyes::shy::D:p to make it sound like you're saying this in love? ] May be accused of saying too much already. Nuff said...

Tanner you've heard the whole story now. Once you get the system right for hingebacks they will be easy.. they are difficult [ at first ] because they are so different than 'most'!

I wish you the best with them and keep us posted.
 

Jacqui

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Redfoot NERD said:
Jacqui said:
jackrat said:
Man,I never realized what it took to keep hingebacks. Hats off to all of you that have them.

:D Actually over all, they are the easiest tortoises I have ever had. :D

Jacqui why would you say they are the easiest when Tanner is finding it so difficult.. that is about as insensitive as I've ever heard you be. Yeah I know... it would be best to be "honest" instead of trying to encourage someone!

IF being honest about MY personal experience is being insensitive, then yeah I guess I am. Would you want me to lie? Please note, I never said hingebacks are the easiest tortoises out there, what I said was FOR ME they have been the easiest. I don't see where being honest on my experience on a statement made by another poster, is in any way not encouraging Tanner.

Tanner, I certainly hope you did not take the statement I made saying hingebacks have been easy for me compared to other tortoises as discouraging. I think I have been encouraging and friendly from the start of this thread... and that was my plan. I love hingebacks and want them to do well for everybody and do go out of my way to try to welcome and help new owners. I also know, there is more then one way to get them going and to care for them based on my personal experience and the years of experience of other hingeback folks I work with also.



Redfoot NERD said:
AND I'm not saying to limit them.. I'm saying feed them only something we know for sure they will eat to make it easier on them and Tanner UNTIL they start eating on a regular basis.. let's go one step at a time for a new keeper.


Except as a new keeper, I want Tanner to know more then just two foods to try. In my years of experience with a large number of hingebacks and working with folks who have the "problem" hingebacks, I have found that there is not just two good foods to try. I have had several hingebacks myself who refused to even look at mushrooms for years. Yes, Terry, I did say years. So you really can't say "something we know for sure they will eat". Different foods will get different hingebacks started eating.

I want to get this male eating as quickly as possible, not only to lower it's stress, but to lower Tanner's stress as well. Tanner may be new, but I really think he can handle trying more then two types of foods and I really think it will be in the best interest of his animals. :cool:




PLUS we all know that some just don't make it regardless what WE do because of the gut-load of parasites that overwhelms them ( again ) due to the incredible stress they are put under during the whole procedure of getting them here. [/quote]


I think it's much more then parasite issues that cause major problems. If I had to say just one thing, I would go for the dehydration factor.
 

chairman

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Somewhere back in the neighborhood 2002/2003 I purchased my second Home's hingeback. From day one my first was active, eating, had a really great personality. The "new" tortoise was set up exactly as my other in a separate enclosure and wouldn't eat. I tried everything that my other Home's ate: melons, mangos, mushrooms, strawberry, banana, papaya, worms, squashes... he didn't even look at it. I tried annoying him. I tried ignoring him. I took him to the "exotic" vet... I don't need to rehash how useless that was. The only thing I did consistently is keep an electrolyte solution in his big-enough-to-soak-in water dish. I honestly can't remember what approach I was trying at the time, but he finally ate his first meal after going for about 4-5 months off feed. BUT, one thing I noticed years later when they finally got into their first outdoor enclosure, my non-eater immediately started chowing down on the grasses and weeds growing in the enclosure. My other tortoise has never shown an interest in foraging. (BTW, both tortoises are alive and well today. And the only feeding issue I have is when they chase after me during regularly scheduled feeding visits.)

So, two morals from me... echoing others with this one, with hingebacks mileage will vary. Two, try feeding greens. Fruits and bugs are a preferred food, but if your particular hingeback came from an environment where his principle diet was a little more leafy, he might be looking for more of the same. I often wonder if my non-eater would have accepted a salad day one.
 

Jacqui

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Good points!

I too, would start thinking strongly toward doing the baby food in the soaking water in a week or two with no eating improvement shown on the male. Glad he is of good weight, as that gives us a bit of breather room.

Along with trying a few greens, I would also think blooms. Several of mine which turn down greens, do enjoy their blooms from the hibiscus and Rose of Sharon.

My personal thoughts are just try everything and retry things again. With luck, someday something will just click and he will start eating. The clicking may come from the food, the getting his environment as he likes it, stress going down, seeing and hearing the female eat, who knows.

Just to clarify things again, even tho these guys (hingebacks) have been easy overall for me, does not mean I haven't had the frustration and hair pulling over getting a few odd ones to eat for me. Sometimes it takes months. Don't get discouraged. Just keep trying and when working with the noneater, take your rewards from the smallest of tastes or even just the thought from him of eating. Some of my best eaters today, are the ones whom I had to work the longest with.
 

Tortoise

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My Hinge back guys will eat outside-graze for themselves often. They will eat clover, dandelion, plantain etc whatever is in the grass.

Some tortoises eat better outside I believe so you can offer their meals whilst they are out too, maybe worth a try?

Fingers crossed they eat soon for you
 

SirSkinksAlot

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OK, so the temps are down to mid to high 80's everyday. So i moved my torts outside. I'm not quite sure if they've eaten much since the first time they ate. I'll post pics of their encloser so you guys can help me out. Oh, and i haven't gotten around to get the mushrooms, I've just been really busy. I'll get 'em soon.

Thanks,
Tanner
 
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