How much do soaks affect her appetite?

[Geng]

Hi guys,

I notice that my 2 year old russian isn't eating much lately. For the past 2 weeks I neither notice poo in her enclosure, which is strange because usually she poops alot.

I don't know what the reason is. The temps has dropped alot these days outside, so I lowered the lamps to keep her temps up.

Also, because of my full time job I can only soak her during weekends. I used to give her a warm soak daily for 30-40 minutes. Is her lose in appetite caused by the lacks of soaks??

Help please!

 

[christinaland128]

My Redfoots slow down a bit as the weather cools. Perhaps yours is doing the same? If you're worried about infrequent spams maybe you can put a larger dish under a heat source so he can soak on his own? My reds go soak themselves if I haven't offered them a chance each day. I've got a large planter dish. The water stays warm when it's under the lamp, they like it.

 

[Gillian M]

Torts do tend to lose appetite during cold weather. Whereabouts do you live?

Soak your tort in warm water daily. Soaks can help here. Please keep us updated.

 

[JoesMum]

I agree that the shortening days as winter approaches can affect even the warmest of tortoises and kick off the hibernation urge.

Do:
- Soak your tortoise every morning while it's not eating for at least 30 minutes in warm water to ensure it stays hydrated.
- Feed straight after the soak.
- Double check the enclosure temperatures
- Make sure lights are bright and on for 12-14 hours

 

[Pearly]

My Redfoots slow down a bit as the weather cools. Perhaps yours is doing the same? If you're worried about infrequent spams maybe you can put a larger dish under a heat source so he can soak on his own? My reds go soak themselves if I haven't offered them a chance each day.View attachment 188883 I've got a large planter dish. The water stays warm when it's under the lamp, they like it.

I second all of the above. Great enclosure @christinaland128

 

[Tom]

Soaks usually increase appetite in my experience.

What you are experiencing (… well… your tortoise anyway…) is likely a fall slow down in preparation for hibernation. If you don't want to hibernate your tortoise this year you need to warm up the temps, brighten up the enclosure by adding a 10.0 tube, and increase the amount of hours the bulbs are on. Set your timer to turn the light on before sunrise and keep the lights on until after sunset. More warm soaks is likely to help, and certainly won't hurt.

 

[Geng]

Torts do tend to lose appetite during cold weather. Whereabouts do you live?

Soak your tort in warm water daily. Soaks can help here. Please keep us updated.

I used to warm soak my tortoise daily, but because of my full time job I don't have the time for it. My tortoise doesn't wake up after 8am, and I'm already off to work. And by the time I get home she's already sleeping.

Do you think it's okay to wake her up for a soak?

 

[saginawhxc]

My tortoise is usually in its hide when I come home from work. I never hesitate to grab him for his soak, even if he seems to sleeping.

 

[JoesMum]

I used to warm soak my tortoise daily, but because of my full time job I don't have the time for it. My tortoise doesn't wake up after 8am, and I'm already off to work. And by the time I get home she's already sleeping.

Do you think it's okay to wake her up for a soak?

Perfectly OK. I do it too. A warm soak for Joe while I am having breakfast and then I go out leaving Joe with his breakfast

 

[Geng]

Perfectly OK. I do it too. A warm soak for Joe while I am having breakfast and then I go out leaving Joe with his breakfast

Disrubting her sleep wont do any thing bad?

 

[Gillian M]

I used to warm soak my tortoise daily, but because of my full time job I don't have the time for it. My tortoise doesn't wake up after 8am, and I'm already off to work. And by the time I get home she's already sleeping.

Do you think it's okay to wake her up for a soak?

I do not think that waking your tort up from his sleep would do any harm. By the same token, NOT giving him enough soaks would: pyramiding and dehydration.

 

[JoesMum]

Disrubting her sleep wont do any thing bad?

Your tort can catch up on beauty sleep later