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New tortoise not eating
Posted: 03/04/2013 by Leontia

Hi, we bought a horsfield tortoise 3 days ago. We read all the information on this site for a couple of weeks beforehand so we would know what we were doing. We have constructed our own table with seperate basking light and uvb light. We have made a hide in the table and this has straw in it at the moment, is straw ok to use? My question is regarding his diet, he doesn't appear to have eaten anything so far, is this normal, can tortoises take a while to settle in and therefore not eat? He seems happy otherwise, he is active during the day and he likes to bask on the slate we have put under the basking light. He dug himself a hole next to the plant pot in his table the first night to sleep in and dug a hole in his hide last night to sleep in so he seems to be behaving normally that way. We gave him a bath yesterday and he drank while he was bathing. Can anybody give me any ideas to get him eating? We've fed him dandelion leaves and I got some pansies yesterday. Thanks, Leontia

Re: New tortoise not eating
Posted: 03/04/2013 by Tom

Hello, firstly this site strongly recommends that people buy from breeders ONLY. If you did, then I suggest you seek advice from the breeder. What is the temperature at the basking spot? He should be feeding after 3 days. Offer some lettuce, just to see if it eats it. Continue with long soaks in tepid water daily. Let us know what happens please, by tomorrow evening if possible. Regards, Tom.

Re: New tortoise not eating
Posted: 05/04/2013 by Leontia

Hi, sorry, I didn't realise I had this response. We didn't buy him from a breeder, we bought him from a local garden centre who estimated his age at around 2. We offered him some rocket on Wednesday and he ate some of that but he hasn't eaten any of that since. They were feeding him pellets as well as leaves in the place we bought him from so we've bought pellets and he's eaten them and the rocket. All the online sites say you shouldn't feed them pellets though so I assume we'll have to try and wean him off them? His basking spot is 32 degrees. Again, sorry for the late reply, I didn't see the response.

Re: New tortoise not eating
Posted: 06/04/2013 by Tom

Hello, no problem at all, I've only just seen your reply (00.20 Sat.. I'm sorry to hear of the position you're in, but it's all too common. Your basking temp is fine, I'm sure you've a temp gradient, but the tort is hooked on pellets, which you rightly state is wrong. This tortoise will have been grabbed from it's wild environment, making a profit for everyone on the way, - exporter, importer, (especially) & the final seller.
My strong advice to you is this (& it will take some courage on your part, so get some help) is to take it back to the supplier & demand a refund. If you paid by credit card, just cancel it. You will feel sorry for it, but steel yourself, or you will help to perpetuate this sickly trade. You deserve a chance to buy a tortoise from a British breeder. I would emphasise that this is my advice & I do not speak on behalf of the TPG. However I will endeavour to contact some one at TPG Admin over the weekend to discuss this matter. Do please get back to us & let us know what you think. Best wishes, Tom.

Re: New tortoise not eating
Posted: 06/04/2013 by TPGDarren

Morning Leontia,

Glad to hear he is eating now. As you have said he is too used to the pellets now and will require weaning off of them. Try offering him food after rubbing the tortoise pellets on the food and eventually he will come off of them. He certainly won't let himself starve and will eat eventually

It is a shame that, after so much obvious reading, you decided to get him from a garden centre as we have a genuine list of UK breeders on our website, as Tom said it is very likely he is wild-caught. May I lease ask which sections of our website you used as we may need to update it slightly to warn poeople off buying tortoises from dealers, as they have a much higher chance of having a disease or illness, I would advise you to take a stool sample to the vets to check for parasitic contamination just to be on the safe side

Glad to hear you have the correct set-up for him - please do let us know how you get on.

 

Kindest Regards

Darren

 

 

Re: New tortoise not eating
Posted: 06/04/2013 by Leontia

Hi, thank you for that, we will try rubbing his food with pellets and hope that it works. I can see what Tom is saying about taking him back but I would feel awful if I did that, I will do my utmost to ensure he has a happy and healthy life with us. I did a lot of reading on this website and the tortoise trust website but I was maybe just concentrating too much on his habitat and his food needs rather than where I should buy him from. The garden centre I bought him from is a well known and established one and I just assumed they would not be selling an animal that had not been reared in the correct way.

Thanks for all your help.

Leontia

Re: New tortoise not eating
Posted: 06/04/2013 by TPGDarren

You're very welcome Leontia:-)
We'll add something to the first page of each care sheet for the future:-)
I completely understand where you're coming from. Many people buy tortoises from pet shops/garden centres/tortoise centres because they feel sorry for the animal or they think they are going to get the best advice. The reality of it is that they buy another in to replace it and thw manner in which they are captured, stowed and transported leaves a lot to be desired. Many people assume that animals sold in the UK is done responsibly - in truth for a huge majority of animals, the worst place to get one from is a pet shop (or the likes) as they are a business and want to make as much money from the potential buyer as possible and are merely middle men and have no practical knowledge of how to keep the animal they sell:-(. Both Tom and I have seen the long term ill-effects of buying from the trade. Hat off to you for doing so much research in the first place to ensure your tortoise will have a home that will greatly benefit it.
I wish you the best of luck with him and please let us know how you get on

Kindest Regards
Darren

 

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