My Horsefiled tortoise will not eat

jkl

I've a new horsefield tortoise and i have not seen any evidence of him eating in the last 4 days.

Originally housed in an aquarium on cork chip, with various lettuces on offer (exact advice of pet shop) he is now in a four foot by two foot table top on a mix of surfaces, rocks, playsand & cork chip.

He now has various weeds on offer, including dandelion and various others (all from internet advice) but still doesnt touch a thing.

He seems lethargic enough, but will occasionaly wander round dig in various places, and bask under the lamp for a while.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

kueef

how old is he?
they can take a while to get eating when in a new home.
i would just offer him "a bath" as this will usually get him to drink.
they sometimes eat after this.
its only been 4 days, i wouldnt wory too much.

Rancid

I agree with the baths, maybe twice a day for 15 or 20 mins in luke warm water.
You can hope that he'll drink some but you can be sure he'll urinate and perhaps pass some urates, too. This is normal, the water stimulates them to clear their systems so you can expect him to poop as well.

He may hold out on eating the weeds (which are the best and healthiest foods for him) because he's been used to eating lettuce (lettuce = tort-chocolate!)so you need to hold out longer and he WILL eventually eat the weeds.
A sow thistle might tempt him. But no need to worry as long as you're giving him lots of baths and he can't get dehydrated.

I'd recommend a sand/soil mix for substrate, I'm not familiar with cork chip and I'd worry that he'd ingest some of it.
It's not something he'd find in the wild!
The stones are good, they'll help keep his nails healthy, just make sure they're not small enough for him to eat.

jkl

I've been drying out a playsand clay mix since yesterday to replace the cork, the stones are a good size, minimum of 3" all fairly flat.

I'm not sure how old he is, the guy in the shop who at this point i trust less than anyone did say he was in the region of 7 weeks.

Cheers for the reassurance, and advice, i'll keep you updated.

jkl

One bath later and i am now the proud owner of one large tort-poo.

He didnt eat after and is now basking.

Rancid

jkl wrote: »

One bath later and i am now the proud owner of one large tort-poo.

He didnt eat after and is now basking.

Keep up the baths and he WILL eat!
Sounds like you've got everything right for him.:)

If you're picking weeds for him in any public places or even other gardens, check that the area hasn't been sprayed with weedkiller or pesticides.
That's why it's safer (and easier) to grow your own.

In the morning when he's been basking for a while and nice and warm, put him in the bath and keep the water topped up so it stays warm, then when you put him back in his tortoise table he might be more inclined to eat.
Even try tearing the top of a dandelion leaf and letting him smell it, that sometimes gets them started.

jkl

I'll give that a try, will bath him again now soon. fortunatly my garden consists of 1 15foot long veg patch and the rest is weeds where i plan to plant potatos.

can i grow dandelion, sow thistle etc indoors. if so i could pop em in with the herbs.

Rancid

jkl wrote: »

I'll give that a try, will bath him again now soon. fortunatly my garden consists of 1 15foot long veg patch and the rest is weeds where i plan to plant potatos.

can i grow dandelion, sow thistle etc indoors. if so i could pop em in with the herbs.

I've grown weeds inside in trays but as soon as they get to 3 inches high I put them out, then a month or so afterwards I transplant the entire tray-full into the garden. Then they begin to seed themselves.
If you can find some plantain or nipplewort, it might tempt him to eat.
There are pictures of some of the edible common weeds here:
http://www.tlady.clara.net/TortGuide/Diet.htm#plantlist

jkl

Plantain and sow thistle are in at the moment with dandelion, still not eating, but still active and seems faily content and comfortable.

Rancid

jkl wrote: »

Plantain and sow thistle are in at the moment with dandelion, still not eating, but still active and seems faily content and comfortable.

He should be settling down for the night by now. Are his heat and uv lights still on?

jkl

He dug himself a hole in the darkest part of his table (a cave made out of a wine box) and slept.

UV and heat were still on but i knock them off once he's alseep.

Hes seemed confortable and active all day is what i meant even though he's not eating, but i dont think i phrased it well.

Cheers again

Rancid

Horsfields do love to dig down, which is something you have to remember if you are creating a garden enclosure for them!
So... if he's sleeping a lot away from his basking spot, is he feeling too hot? Check the temperature under his lamp and either raise the lamp or lower it until it's right.
Otherwise, just keep up the baths twice a day and keep offering good food.
If he is still holding out in another few days we'll come up with a few tricks to get him started!

jkl

Strange day today,

I've raised the lamp, hes now digging under it, but i had him in the garden earlier for about an hour, while i was putting some potatos down, he ran about for most of the time in the sun.

I was keeping a good eye on him and n
oticed he tried to eat: 2 rocks the size of his head (granite) and dead grass (dead in the ground, not cut grass), ignored any weeds, grasses etc that were green, including my lettuce, leeks, peas, mint etc etc.

Rancid

jkl wrote: »

Strange day today,

I've raised the lamp, hes now digging under it, but i had him in the garden earlier for about an hour, while i was putting some potatos down, he ran about for most of the time in the sun.

I was keeping a good eye on him and n
oticed he tried to eat: 2 rocks the size of his head (granite) and dead grass (dead in the ground, not cut grass), ignored any weeds, grasses etc that were green, including my lettuce, leeks, peas, mint etc etc.

The sun is good for him.
If the rocks he tried to eat were bright or white coloured, try giving him a cuttle fish bone to chew on. It's a good source of calcium.
I can't come up with a reason why he liked the dead grass, though!

tallus

Rancid wrote: »

The sun is good for him.
If the rocks he tried to eat were bright or white coloured, try giving him a cuttle fish bone to chew on. It's a good source of calcium.
I can't come up with a reason why he liked the dead grass, though!

Slightly off topic, but he probably likes the grass because he's a horsefields tortoise

Rancid

tallus wrote: »

Slightly off topic, but he probably likes the grass because he's a horsefields tortoise

:rolleyes:

Rancid

Any updates on your little tortoise?