How long before i should worry?

[pwinkie03]

Originally Posted by littlestar

would try them on florette salad mix (the one with lambs lettuce in)and look at pre alpin baby to sprinkle on i this is what i use with my stars this time of year.

don't forget little torts do little do's.

my little swarley produced a massive poop on the way back from picking him up!

ill get some of that too, i have ordered the normal pre alpin and some baby stuff, still waiting for it to be delivered. thanks for the help appreciate it

[Alex]

Hi Louise

That is odd with them only really eating lettuce as lettuce was a very small part of their diet before, maybe once a week (apart from when weather was like it is now).

Things they would eat with no fuss:

Dandelions
cats ears
vetch
sow thistle
hedge mustard
forget me not
mallow
clover
ribwort plantain (though at this time of year my tortoises seem to go off it)
chickweed

campanula
viola
petunia
pansy

Hope this helps

[pwinkie03]

Thanks Alex, yea i tried for 7 days with just weeds and nothing. i added a bit of lettuce and they started eating, wont touch the dandelion or plantain that i offered! i think they are playing me haha, i'm on the search for the other weeds on the list. Swarley did eat some today, i mixed the weeds with lambs lettuce and red leaf lettuce and he seemed to eat a fair amount, but Sheldon wasn't interested.

they really are delightful, just wish i could find more weeds from the list to try, i have many of them growing from seeds but that will take a while... Louise

[EJ]

You do realize that tortoises don't like change. They can take up to a couple of weeks to settle in. The more you mess with them the odds are it will take longer to acclimate.

They can go months without food if they were well taken care of before you got them which I suspect they were.

Patients.

Originally Posted by pwinkie03

Thanks Alex, yea i tried for 7 days with just weeds and nothing. i added a bit of lettuce and they started eating, wont touch the dandelion or plantain that i offered! i think they are playing me haha, i'm on the search for the other weeds on the list. Swarley did eat some today, i mixed the weeds with lambs lettuce and red leaf lettuce and he seemed to eat a fair amount, but Sheldon wasn't interested.

they really are delightful, just wish i could find more weeds from the list to try, i have many of them growing from seeds but that will take a while... Louise

[pwinkie03]

sorry i don't understand, the more i mess with them? i thought they were meant to have variety and not the same food every day, all i'm doing is trying to add a bit of variety each day, especially as they cant have dandelion every day for example, and its one of the few edible weeds i have! i know it will take time, i'm just seeking advice now to make sure i'm on the right track! Louise

Originally Posted by EJ

You do realize that tortoises don't like change. They can take up to a couple of weeks to settle in. The more you mess with them the odds are it will take longer to acclimate.

They can go months without food if they were well taken care of before you got them which I suspect they were.

Patients.

[EJ]

I'm guessing you are so excited about getting them that you can't leave them alone.

You might want to get them eating and comfortable before you start changing things. Try and match what the breeder was feeding them. Once they are settled in you can gradually change things.

There is no one right track. There is only what you can provide for your specific situation that will allow the tortoises to thrive. Every situation is going to be different based on a multitude of factors.

I hate to say it but you shouldn't dismiss the complete pellets.

Originally Posted by pwinkie03

sorry i don't understand, the more i mess with them? i thought they were meant to have variety and not the same food every day, all i'm doing is trying to add a bit of variety each day, especially as they cant have dandelion every day for example, and its one of the few edible weeds i have! i know it will take time, i'm just seeking advice now to make sure i'm on the right track! Louise

[pwinkie03]

I only "mess with them" as it is necessary, i have to get them out for a bath each day, they seem to quite enjoy it and seem more than comfortable in my hands. Other than that, the only time i interfere is if they haven't come out to bask after about 3 hours of lights on, i remove the slab which was originally the basking spot because otherwise they would sit under it all day in the heat but not get any light. everything else they do themselves, they choose to go and eat or look at whats on offer, they come out to explore and spend some time in the other 3 hides. i sneak a look at what they are doing a few times a day but i don't disturb them.

I am trying to match their previous diet, but its a bit hard when i don't have many edible weeds growing in my garden (not to mention its full of snow, and has been covered again last night by yet more snow) that's why i am looking for advice. I knew they has eaten lettuce before, and looked at other threads and so bulked out the few weeds i had with the crispy and dark lettuce varieties that i thought were ok. I've ordered pre alpin and its not arrived yet, when did i say i've dismissed pellets? i'm researching which ones to get then i need to wait till they are delivered. My mix weeds are growing from seeds but they wont be ready for ages yet. i've purchased aloe, optunia, spiderplants and grass pellets to soak and dried flower to try and supplement what little i can find.

i can only do what i can do, all i can hope for is that people will help me along the way, im trying my best. Please don't just make assumptions about what i'm doing, ask questions by all means and i answer them, i want the best for these little guys.

Louise

Originally Posted by EJ

I'm guessing you are so excited about getting them that you can't leave them alone.

You might want to get them eating and comfortable before you start changing things. Try and match what the breeder was feeding them. Once they are settled in you can gradually change things.

There is no one right track. There is only what you can provide for your specific situation that will allow the tortoises to thrive. Every situation is going to be different based on a multitude of factors.

I hate to say it but you shouldn't dismiss the complete pellets.

[EJ]

I mentioned complete diet tortoise pellets. The Pre Alpin is more of a fiber supplement which is not as nutritious as the other pellets.

Originally Posted by pwinkie03

I only "mess with them" as it is necessary, i have to get them out for a bath each day, they seem to quite enjoy it and seem more than comfortable in my hands. Other than that, the only time i interfere is if they haven't come out to bask after about 3 hours of lights on, i remove the slab which was originally the basking spot because otherwise they would sit under it all day in the heat but not get any light. everything else they do themselves, they choose to go and eat or look at whats on offer, they come out to explore and spend some time in the other 3 hides. i sneak a look at what they are doing a few times a day but i don't disturb them.

I am trying to match their previous diet, but its a bit hard when i don't have many edible weeds growing in my garden (not to mention its full of snow, and has been covered again last night by yet more snow) that's why i am looking for advice. I knew they has eaten lettuce before, and looked at other threads and so bulked out the few weeds i had with the crispy and dark lettuce varieties that i thought were ok. I've ordered pre alpin and its not arrived yet, when did i say i've dismissed pellets? i'm researching which ones to get then i need to wait till they are delivered. My mix weeds are growing from seeds but they wont be ready for ages yet. i've purchased aloe, optunia, spiderplants and grass pellets to soak and dried flower to try and supplement what little i can find.

i can only do what i can do, all i can hope for is that people will help me along the way, im trying my best. Please don't just make assumptions about what i'm doing, ask questions by all means and i answer them, i want the best for these little guys.

Louise

[Alan1]

not coming out for 3 hours is not a lot really, sometimes when settling in they wouldn't come out at all for days maybe

[pwinkie03]

Originally Posted by EJ

I mentioned complete diet tortoise pellets. The Pre Alpin is more of a fiber supplement which is not as nutritious as the other pellets.

yes i remember your adivce, and at the time i mentioned that i had already ordered the pre alpin and am currently looking into which pellet to buy. i haven't dismissed your advice, just want to research a bit to get the right one for my guys! appreciated the advice so thank you.

Originally Posted by caledonia

not coming out for 3 hours is not a lot really, sometimes when settling in they wouldn't come out at all for days maybe

no they didn't come out by choice for the first week, when i designed the setup though i spoke to the breeder who told me that i might need to change the way i had set up the basking area if they were not climbing up to bask. so i gave them 10 days before trying removing the platform, and like i said they seem much more active, they take themselves into the other hides, then wake up, bask, eat themselves, sit in the water themselves, and go back into the hides as and when they feel. i dont watch them constantly but the water bowl is all muddy by the afternoon and the food is all gone, when i go in the room i can see them basking and when i get them out for bath time i find them in different hides. They seem pretty happy and settled in that respect, but maybe i should leave it a bit longer before taking the platform away... tomorrow i will wait till 1, which gives them 5 hours to venture out alone and see how we go with that. Thanks for the advice!

Last night and today the have eaten most of the weeds i put down i mixed them with lambs lettuce/red lettuce (about 75% weeds to 25% lettuce). They seem happy with that for now, obviously the frilly lettuce that i had before was just too delicious! i just haven't found poop yet :/ weather they are eating it before i see i don't know, just have to keep an eye on them for a while longer. thanks again for the advice, appreciate all the help people are giving me, Louise