Eating substrate

[PrincessToad]

I've caught my russian tort eating the coconut fiber in his habitat. Is this normal?

 

[Yvonne G]

Sometimes they just have to test everything to be sure they're not missing out on a meal. If he continues to eat the substrate, then he may be trying to get some minerals that are missing from his diet. In that case, you can supplement with Miner-all, a mineral/calcium supplement made by Sticky Tongue Farms.

Also, if you have a black/red light on during the day, it changes the way things look to a tortoise. Makes substrate look like food.

 

[JoesMum]

Do you use a coloured lamp? Torts are attracted to colourful food and the light from coloured lamps can fool them into eating the wrong things.

 

[PrincessToad]

I use a red heat lamp but it's off most of the day because it is warm in my house. Also my tortoise doesn't eat colorful food for some reason. He only eats regular lettuce. He is no longer eating the substrate! Though when I posted this I caught him doing this multiple times.

 

[zman7590]

just make sure to watch and diont let em fill its tummy with substrate!

 

[PrincessToad]

Thank you!

 

[Tom]

I use a red heat lamp but it's off most of the day because it is warm in my house. Also my tortoise doesn't eat colorful food for some reason. He only eats regular lettuce. He is no longer eating the substrate! Though when I posted this I caught him doing this multiple times.

You need a regular incandescent flood bulb and it needs to be on a timer for 12-13 hours every day. "Warm in your house" is not enough. They need a 100 degree basking spot that they can move in and out of to regulate their body temp. This is likely the source of your problem from the other thread. Raise or lower your fixture to get the right temp, or try several different wattage bulbs until you find the right one.

Outdoors they would move in and out of the sun to regulate their body temp. Indoors we must provide them with a heat source all day long, so they can use it at will.

 

[PrincessToad]

Will do Tom. Thanks.