URGENT! Rescue tortoise serious diet problem

[Southshore]

I have not read the several pages of responses, so take that for what it is. Here is how I get reluctant feeders to eat 'what they are supposed to eat'.

Start with what they are already eating. Often, not always, difficult feeding is from the tortoises history, what and how (presentation) has it been fed in the past. Often, what I come across are romaine addicts and 'only eats' cucumbers and strawberries, or something like that. Well you can't just one day switch that all up, it needs to be a progression of change.

Start with whatever they have been fed. If it's large pieces like whole leaves of romaine then still offer romaine (cucumber/strawberry) and cut it up into ever smaller pieces. I'll stick with the romaine leaf as I illuminate the concept, apply as it works for you situation.

First 'new' meal, cut the romaine in wide stripe across the leaf, then next meal narrower, progress until you are making a coleslaw level of cut up. Don't use a blender, mush doesnt seem to be ab effective transition preparation.

Now start pulling back from wohever much they have always eaten to what they can eat in about one sitting. A sitting is how much they eat before they walk away. So when they come back the food is all gone.

Now you introduce the new thing, and such a small amount it is perceivable by odor or maybe color, not so much visually. Then do that several times with different alternate foods. Then combinations. Increase the total amount of food again.

Start adding more of the alternate foods to the point they are about 5% of the total, then 10% etc.

This works with dry and fresh foods. At some point they will just eat whatever you offer.

This imitates what happens in the wild to a great extent. No baby tortoise ever walk past dew covered natural fresh food for dead/dry stuff. But they will habitaute to keep eating from the same clump of grass, then as water goes away (not rainy season anymore) they will still eat from that clump as it goes yellow, dries and is dead. Remember hay is dead grass.

Oh WOW! That really sounds super! Thank you sooo much. I will definitely start doing this. Let's hope it turns out as planned.

You are a life safer! ❤️