Reptile & Amphibian Forums

about a week ago someone gave me a large male Texas Gopher tortoise. since then I haven't been getting it to eat, according to the last owner, it's favorite food was prickley-pairs, which it has not eaten (or at least enough that I know of). A friend of mine who used to do turtle/tortoise rescue said that i should try strawberry yogurt, and i tried giving that in a dish, and also using an eyedropper to put it on it's nose to make it lick it off; neither one has worked. it also hasn't drank a noticable amout, and will not drink when the water is put on the top of it's nose. does anyone know about how to care for them or what their natural diet is?

also, around half the scales are missing from his shell (all the way down to the smooth bone layer) so far what i found out to do seemed to be to keep it moist, and put antiseptic and gauze over the damaged part of his shell. Does anyone know anything better to care for it, or about making prosthetic shells?

thank you for any information!

Here's a general caresheet for the Texas tortoise:

www.chelonia.org/Articles/Gberlandiericare.htm

Common problem with tortoises that won't eat include other health problems and poor environment.. Since it sounds like it already has shell problems, it may be suffering from chronic dietary deficiencies or other health and environmentally related problems. I'd suggest finding a veterinarian that has experience with tortoises.

Until then, be sure the tort has a 90-100F hot spot during the day provide by an overhead heat lamp, and that the rest of its environment stays in the 80-85 range the rest of the time. Check the temps with a thermometer, don't guess. Also try giving it a soak in shallow, lukewarm water. Maybe a half-inch of water. Sometimes animals are very dehydrated. Let it soak maybe 15 minutes. It might defecate while soaking. Do this every other day until it you see a vet.

If the animal is showing any signs of respiratory problems, like a runny nose, then get it to a vet quickly.

Also, while the caresheet above mentions using dirt, hay, etc. as a substrate, I'd stick with newspaper for now. The animal may have parasites, and you want to keep the enclosure clean until the parasites are eliminated.

Also (again) there might be some legal issues with having a
Texas Tortoise. Be sure to look at your state's laws about that.

Good luck.

Texas tortoises are very tough to acclimate to captivity. Any change of environment will lead to a new requirement to acclimate.

Try any broad leafy greens to get it an eating response going and then add variety to that once it gets going.

Be sure to soak it daily.

The idea of keeping it on grass or hay is a good one because this will allow it to bed down and feel secure.

A temperature gradient of 80 to 100 is the best way to go for now but a constant temperature of 86 will work.

Texas Parks and Wildlife has a neat flier on the natural history of the tortoise. See if you can find it on line or contact them directly.

Good luck.
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Ed @ Tortoise Keepers
Trying to keep the fun in Chelonian care