I have only had my tort since December 2008, he is a 3 year old Herman. In the absence of readily available weeds and flowers he has been on a diet of various green leaf salads since we got him. I'm now trying to introduce him to the correct diet of healthy weeds and flowers however he is not even willing to try them and will go days without food until he is offered leaf salads again.

Has anybody got any advise on this as I'm keen to get him off the leaf salad and onto a healthier diet.

Should I be crawl to be kind and no longer offer him an option? I'm wondering if he ever been given anything other than leaf salad.

Stick with it:-)

They can be extremly stubborn

I had an adult female rehomer here 6 years or so ago and all she was fed on by her previous owner was green beans. She stuck it out for nearly two weeks before she came around. She now eats a wide variety of food and not a green bean in sight:-)

HTH
Darren

Thanks,

Should I offer a variety of weeds at once or just one type?

What would be a favorite to offer?

Mac

It's difficult to say, as tortoises do have preferences, just like people, but most torts love dandelion leaves, and especially the flowers. Most also like sowthistle and plantain (especially ribwort plantain, the long leaved variety). Flowers are always a favourite (pansies, hibiscus, lavatera). Forget-me-nots are still about in many gardens, so if you have any you could try that too. I don't think it hurts to offer a variety and then see what she likes (you usually can't go wrong with dandelions). One thing you could try is to cut the salad up into really tiny pieces (really tiny), and cut the dandelions or other weeds and flowers up really small too. Then wet them and mix them all up so they stick together, and if the tortoise goes for a bit of salad it will have some of the good food stuck to it. If it eats that, then you could gradually decrease the amount of salad in the mix and increase the amount of weeds until it is all weeds.

Let us know how you get on.

Nina

Hi Mac/Nina
Chopping the food up and mixing the weeds and Salad together,was what I done with Molly, plus I did put a very tiny piece of melon right in the middle of the food for a couple of times, just to entice her (naughty I know). This worked, and after about 2 weeks Molly was eating 100% weeds, and nothing to entice her. For me this was wonderful as I was trying to ween her off Advocado pear and pellets, which was what her previous owner had fed her on for the last 4 years. I do give her cucumber 2-3 times a week, I cut a plug out in the middle of it  and  fill it with Nutrobal, as she won't eat her food if I dust it.  Molly really loves her food now and it still makes me feel so good watching her eat.
Hope this gives you encouragement, that you can win the stubborn test..
Jane

Hi Nina,

Thanks for the advise, I forgot to mention that he very rarely goes to the toilet even when he was eating well on salad leafs, is this a sign of anything to worry about?

Mac

Also forgot to mention that I got Herbie from a internet site in December 2008. I wrongly assumed that he was UK breed but when I read the paper work carefully I realised that he was imported from Solvina, although he does appear to be healthy it's only his diet that is concerning me as he eats very little.

Thanks

Mac

Hi Mac,

If Herbie was imported from Slovenia then there is a good chance that he has worms and maybe other parasites like protozoa, and that could be affecting his appetite. You need to take a fresh poo sample (and you can keep one fresh in a sealed container overnight if necessary) to a vet and ask for it to be tested for worms and protozoa. Worms are relatively easy to eradicate -- panacur is the usual medicine. You can take a poo sample to any vet for analysis, but it might be a good idea for Herbie to be checked over by a good tortoise vet. Where do you live? If you click on Vets and Health Issues in the left-hand column, you will find a link to our list of recommended vets.

Are you bathing him regularly? You should be bathing him every other day, in warm water up to his chin (or the line where the top shell meets the bottom shell), and do it in a container that he can't see out of, like a washing up bowl or a high sided cat litter tray. This will keep him well hydrated, and he is also likely to poo and wee in the bath (which helps to keep your enclosure clean). He probably won't be pooing much if he isn't eating much.

How is the feeding going? Is he responding to having it cut up small and mixed with weeds?

Nina

Oops, sorry -- I meant to say that you should leave him in the bath for at least 15 minutes, and that you will need to do a partial change of the water to keep it nice and warm.

Nina

Hi Tina,

I live in Oxfordshire, I see that there is a vet listed on your site in Chipping Norton so I could take him there.

I have had another look at Herbie's paperwork and although he did originate from Slovenia he was registered in the UK in August 2007. The guy that I got him from did seem to have a very good tortoise knowledge and a genuine interested in thier health and welfare and Herbie was feeding well on Tesco's crispy French salad leafs he even gained a little weight. However I'm keen to get him off of this and on to the good stuff.

I have only been bathing him about twice a week and only for a few minutes each time, I have been using a washing up bowl.

I'm following yours and Jane's advise on the feeding but he's still holding out although it's only been a short time I'm sure he'll come around eventually.

Thanks again

Mac

Hi Mac,

I live in Oxford, but I've never tried the Chipping Norton vet (although they were recommended, so it should be OK). Just make sure that you get the vet who specialises in tortoises, and not just any vet in the practice. I use Bruce Maclean in Reading, who is a superb vet (but it is a hassle getting to Reading).

Make sure the bath water stays nice and warm throughout the bath. I think that if Herbie does have worms, you will see a vast improvement in him once he is wormed.

Nina

Hi,

I actually live in Banbury, but I would be quite happy to travel to Reading if it means getting the right treatment.

Never had to visit a vet before, do you have to make an appointment? the only problem with that is that I never know when I'm going to get a sample from Herbie.

Do you know how vets fees work, do you pay for thier time or the treatment?

Mac

I have sent you a private mail -- do let me know if you don't get it.

Nina

Hi all,

Still no progress with Herbies eating he still be really stubburn if that's what it is.

I'm mixing all types of weeds and flowers (all highly recommened) with the crispy salad and cropping it up as suggested but he's still not eating anything.

I took him to a good reptile vet (from your list) 2 weeks ago, he said Herbie seemed to be in good health apart from a slight sign of worms which he treated him for, although I have to say I don't think he actually got much of the medicine.

I'm bathing him daily and his out in his new enclosure now which also has a weed bed and some campanula, I've watch him for hours and he's not toughing any of that either.

His wieght has gone from 142g when I visited the vet to130g today and his SCL is 93mm, is this about right?

Any other suggestion on this? or is it still a case of toughing it out as I'm now getting a bit concern.

Thanks

Mac

Hi Mac,

That's seems very light to me, particularly for this time of year. May I check you have the correct measurement please? When you measure the scl, the best way to do it is to gently place the front of his shell against the wall and mark off at the rear of his shell, so it is the most direct route from front to back.

Hi Darren,

I've checked it out and it is all correct. I've spoken to the vet and he is concerned as well so we're going to see him tomorrow.

Thanks

Mac