I have had my female Russian tortoise for two years. She was small when I got her and she has grown a lot. In the last week she has not eaten much of her food and is eating her substrate. I use reptibark and coconut husks. She typically will have romaine lettuce, red leaf lettuce, radicchio, and occasional spinach and kale. In the last week she has been restless as well. She appears to be trying to get out of her 2x3 foot enclosure. I don't know what to do to get her to eat her food and be less restless. Please help
New here! Help. (Poor Appetite)
- Thread starter Saraa
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Hi and welcome,
Can you post pictures of her enclosure and the bulbs you are using please? They will help us see if there is anything that could be affecting her behaviour.
Meanwhile here is an up to date caresheet to read so that you can see if your temps are OK. It will also tell you which foods you could add into her diet; maybe she is eating her substrate because she needs more minerals in her diet.
tortoiseforum.org
Do you use calcium - just a small pinch a couple of times a week is usually all that is needed or try putting a cuttlefish bone in her enclosure (the sort sold for birds with the metal or plastic cage clips removed).
Anyway let us see some photos and members will soon help you calm her.
Can you post pictures of her enclosure and the bulbs you are using please? They will help us see if there is anything that could be affecting her behaviour.
Meanwhile here is an up to date caresheet to read so that you can see if your temps are OK. It will also tell you which foods you could add into her diet; maybe she is eating her substrate because she needs more minerals in her diet.
The Best Way To Raise Any Temperate Species Of Tortoise
I chose the title of this care sheet very carefully. Are there other ways to raise babies and care for adults? Yes. Yes there are, but those ways are not as good. What follows is the BEST way, according to 30 years of research and experimentation with hundreds of babies of many species. What is...
tortoiseforum.org
Anyway let us see some photos and members will soon help you calm her.
Thank you! Here is a picture of her enclosure and vitamins she gets twice a week. The light is uv and heat. I just retested the temp and it is in the 90s.Hi and welcome,
Can you post pictures of her enclosure and the bulbs you are using please? They will help us see if there is anything that could be affecting her behaviour.
Meanwhile here is an up to date caresheet to read so that you can see if your temps are OK. It will also tell you which foods you could add into her diet; maybe she is eating her substrate because she needs more minerals in her diet.
Do you use calcium - just a small pinch a couple of times a week is usually all that is needed or try putting a cuttlefish bone in her enclosure (the sort sold for birds with the metal or plastic cage clips removed).The Best Way To Raise Any Temperate Species Of Tortoise
I chose the title of this care sheet very carefully. Are there other ways to raise babies and care for adults? Yes. Yes there are, but those ways are not as good. What follows is the BEST way, according to 30 years of research and experimentation with hundreds of babies of many species. What is...
Anyway let us see some photos and members will soon help you calm her.
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The combined lamps aren't recommended now because they have been found to dry and damage shells. Many of use T5 HO uvb tube kits, with a separate flood basking bulb and a CHE run through a thermostat for night heat. and extra heat when needed.
For most enclosures just one of each, but you should start to look at giving him more space.
My tort is a leopard and he has his own room so the wattage of my lamps are quite high because he needs high temps and has a large space. Your enclosure is only small so I'm not sure what you need - I would think only low/medium wattage bulbs, but if you hang the bulbs you can raise or lower them to get the right temp at tort level. I'll tag @Tom and he can tell you more about heating and lighting.
You need to measure the night temperature at tort level - if he is on the floor of the house it will be colder down there than room temp.
Welcome the Arcadia HO T5 UVB light is used often here.
They can go quite awhile without eating. You need to find the problem why the eating has stopped. It could be not being warm enough. My sully has really slowed down on eating because of the cold weather we are having. I would get a CHE( ceramic heating element) so you can keep the heat up at night. Do you hear any wheezing or bubbles coming out the nose. Just making sure he doesn't have a respiratory infection. You could also cover the top with tin foil temporarily to help hold in the heat. You will need a bigger enclosure, Russians need at least a 4'x 8' enclosure. Read the caresheets carefully.
74 is plenty warm enough, but is it 74 down on the floor?
Only your thermometer can answer the wattage question. I like 65 watt bulbs, but you may need more in a large open topped enclosure. Hand the bulb from a ceramic based fixture ($13 at Home Depot) and adjust the height up or down to get the correct temp under it.
The basking temp directly under the bulb needs to be near 100. 90 is a bit too low.
The diet you are offering is not suitable for the long term. It lacks calcium and fiber. They need to be eating mostly broadleaf weeds, leaves, flowers and some succulents. Grocery store foods do not meet their needs, and this is probably why she is eating the substrate. Diet is explained in detail in the care sheet that Lyn linked for you. If you must use grocery store foods, you need to be adding amendments and avoiding the lettuces most of the time. Favor endive and escarole. Add in arugula, cilantro, collard, turnip and mustard greens and more for variety. Squash leaves of any type are good too. Mulberry or hibiscus leaves and flowers. Lavatera. Grape vine leaves. Etc...
That enclosure is far too small. They need at least 4x8 feet. Tortoises rely on locomotion to help move the food through the gut, much like a horse does. Housing them in a small enclosure reduces their ability to walk. That detail in combination with the low fiber diet, may have your tortoise impacted with substrate. Long warm soaks in a tall sided opaque container or the sink might help clear the blockage.
I am testing the nighttime temp tonight. She has been pooping regular so I am not concerned yet with impaction. I have ordered a second enclosure to add room for her. I will work on switching up the diet to better meet her needs. She will have them available when she feels like eating again. She has no wheezing for bubbles. She also had a ton of energy. I am not worried yet about a respiratory infection. I have ordered new lamps for her as well. I really appreciate your help.
Are there any tricks to get her to stop eating the substrate. This morning I noticed her eating it again. I attempted to hand feed her some of the Dandelion and a flower but she had zero interest in that. I am hoping all of her new supplies come in within the next few days so I can start getting her more comfortable.
Bridgebob
Active Member
I have a baby Eastern Box Turtle and she won't eat occasionally. Her enclosure is 2X4 but she is much smaller than a Russian Tortoise. And she will try to see other ways out of her enclosure.
Since she is a baby EBT she is voracious and will eat anything (Spiders, Roaches, Millipedes, Centipedes, Slugs, Eggs, Fruit etc.) so I don't know how old your Russiand Tortoise is and I don't know what their juvenile diet should be. But my theory is your companion may need more protein.
My EBT won't eat greens!
EBT diet is different. Russians get protein from plants/weeds etc and shouldn't eat fruit or be fed insects etc.
What about putting her in a temporary enclosure for a little while without substrate and just the food she should eat in it (with water and a cuttlefish bone) to see if that encourages her to eat the good stuff.
I would be worried about impaction or choking if she continues eating substrate.
I could do that. I would have to take it all out because I do not have another temporary spot for her. That is a good idea.
Take out all that substrate and replace it temporarily with newspaper, flattened for her to walk on and shredded for her to burrow in. She has to stop the substrate eating habit. When she starts eating properly again, with the correct diet being given, she will not need so much supplements. Then, you can change the substrate to something else, not the one she has been eating.
That's right!!!!
