Marginated Tortoise won,t eat

[Marie2015]

Hi everyone. I am new to the forum. I have a nine month old Marginated Tortoise who is not interested in eating and sleeps most of the time. I have tried dandilions, clover and other weeds along with grassland tortoise food. He/she is kept in a tortoise table with a UVA/UVB heat bulb at and a basking temperature of around 33c. When i hold he/she and stroke its shell gently they are responsive and pop their head out and if put on the floor they move very quickly. I have checked for signs of a runny nose but nothing. I would be grateful for any advice you can give. Thanks

[GemJam]

Hi,

Welcome to the forum. While I don't know anything about Marginated Tortoises, I did have a hard time getting my Hermann's to eat when I first brought her home. Over the first couple of months I tried everything, all natural foods, kale, lambs lettuce and pellets. She would eat a pellet now and then after her bath, which I gave her every day. But I was still very worried. I even tried washing her food in bottled water, but it wasn't that.
It was the silliest thing, she didn't like eating out of a food bowl!! As soon as I put food on a bit of slate and removed the bowl she started eating. But it did take a long time for her to settle in. She was dormant for the first 3 weeks, only coming out when I got her up for a bath, these things do take time.
I hope someone with some more knowledge will come along and help.

[CherryBrandy]

thanks really interesting Gemma as its not something you would realise unless you had a little one not doing what we think she should do. Marie - your marginated is pretty young so I am not surprised she is sleeping lots - til they get older and out of baby months they are like human babies and sleep - eat - use up energy - sleep. Personally I think your temps are too high. Nothing wrong with 33 but if ambient is warm also that could be hitting more. my torts never go higher than 26 -29 and no heat cool end. Cool end is very important but the youngsters don't always know to go there which is why perhaps on the floor she is dashing around a bit. there is a balance between keeping smaller ones warm but not too warm they sleep all day (aestivate). Just try and see what suits. They are like humans, I can live in 22 degrees ok ish but I love the heat and thrive in hotter climes- others can't stand the heat. And so on. You will get to know her little character. good luck and pickies when reay ! and you Gemma weve not seen hettie for a while ! CB

[burnt toast]

Have you had this tort long? How big is their table? Has she got a temperature gradient?

[sandy]

Originally Posted by Marie2015

Hi everyone. I am new to the forum. I have a nine month old Marginated Tortoise who is not interested in eating and sleeps most of the time. I have tried dandilions, clover and other weeds along with grassland tortoise food. He/she is kept in a tortoise table with a UVA/UVB heat bulb at and a basking temperature of around 33c. When i hold he/she and stroke its shell gently they are responsive and pop their head out and if put on the floor they move very quickly. I have checked for signs of a runny nose but nothing. I would be grateful for any advice you can give. Thanks

Your tortoise is a baby so will eat sleep and drink, just like any baby:0)
Also your temps are to high when temps outside are quite high. H/she should be outside as much as possible with our sun at the moment. If you think about it, no tortoise has 33c all day long. Temps vary thoughout the day. And being outside in the sun or bright light and warmth is far better than any thing artificial we can give them.
The thing to worry about is keeping your tortoise is hydration. This is far more important than eating. As your tortoise will eat when they are ready:0)