Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Thanks for the response. Am I feeding him the right stuff? At what age do they start eating the grass hay? Should I be concerned about him sleeping so much? If so, what should I do?

I would not be concerned. They eat, they sleep, they dig a little, they poop, and they mate...that's pretty much all they do!

Sounds like you are feeding the right stuff and providing good care. You can always buy a digital scale to record his growth if that will make you feel better.

My younger tortoise is about 6" long and does not eat grass yet (unless I trick him into it). He likes greens and clover and cactus.

Just keep offering it...and mix it into his food to trick him into eating it.

thanks again. i have one last question. if you can answer it for me it would be much appreciated. how much should i be feeding him? i see all of these horrible photos of pyramided shells and don't want that to happen to him. he is 3".

I also have a hatchling I got it end of last month. It is about 7 weeks old now. It is about 2 1/2-3" I feed it 1/4cup of a mixture of fresh grass and clover, although it prefers the clover it has no problem eating the grass. I like to divide it into 2 feedings because he/she will eat it all at once or leave it to dry out and not eat the rest. I also provide a supplement 3x a week. I have tried timothy grass which he/she will eat also. Also he/she gets a small piece of romaine lettuce once a week. I also soak "Dozer" every day for 15 minutes. It sounds like you are doing everything right. I know there is a lot of info out there, some of which contradicts what others tell you, this is a good site and everyone on it gives you pretty good info.

Thanks for the response. "sterling" will be happy to hear his mother is doing all the right things. I know I am happy to hear it. I have had a couple of sleepless nights over this. I guess I just have to push the grass. I have bermuda, timothy, and orchard grass. he won't touch any of it.Thanks again.

I didn't start with a baby. Ours sulcata was already 12 inches & 9 lbs when she got here. I have no clue what she was used to eating before she got here.
She was very nervous here in the beginning, she had all the Bermuda grass, mulberry leaves, leafy greens she wanted but she wouldn't eat any of it.
She'd wait for me to bring food to her.
After about a week here I started noticing the grass getting shorter in her pen, then I saw her eating the grass. Maybe they need to settle in & get used to new things before they accept them.. that makes sense to me because most animals need an adjustment period in the beginning.
I hope you get your baby to eat what it needs to eat & it all works out for you.
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PHRatz

thanks so much for all your advice and input. much appreciated!