I need experienced keepers, help!

[IIzDaFury]

Hello,

I recently got 2 russian tortoises, i'm a reptile lover, i love reptiles, anyway i did a fair large amount of research before i bought them,

Unfortunately the enclosure i was given was a viv, i'm planning on changing this, i was given rubish substrate so i replaced that too, no hiding spots so i had to make my own but i'm slowly giving them a better home!

I need some help, it's been 6 days since i've got them, they're not eating!! BUT they do drink, i've watched them drink fair amounts of water when bathing and they eat small amounts of the cuttlebone fish i've supplied them.

I've seen one of the tortoises trying to nipple the food bowl dish, even when theres food inside the dish, the dish is very low so they can easily climb over it without any effort. I was wondering what should i do? How can i get them to eat their food or are they just settling in?

i was given dry nettles to feed them, i'm currently trying to grow 3 pots worth of weeds, flowers ect. hopefully they'll be up and running soon but weeds outside are hard to come by this time of year :/

Any advice?!

Many thanks!

 

[IIzDaFury]

P.s I thought the man i bought them off was a breader but he could've been in the business (shop) because he was wearing work uniform Really nice guy and the torts seem to be healthy! and look healthy

 

[ZEROPILOT]

WELCOME
Yes. First, tortoises don't do well in pairs and especially Russians IMO. (LOVE to fight and bully)
Also, check out our Russian tortoise section for a list of foods and any photos you can supply us with of the housing, lighting, etc. would be very helpful.
Most Russians are caught in the wild, so your breeder might have just been a broker. They stay small, so one that is only 6 inches is an adult of several years.

 

[IIzDaFury]

Hello,

I can provide pictures for you, but they're not amazing at the moment, i'm planning on separating them in the future! I know what type of foods they eat, well a fair few i'm trying to get my stock up to date!


Heres some pictures, i've changed the substrate, from where they're sleeping. they found it hard to walk on and climb so i just changed it.
Any ideas why they're not eating properly yet?

I can add more when i come home from work if needed.
Thanks!

 

[ZEROPILOT]

There is a common, but problematic type of light sold on almost every pet shop that has been associated with stress and even blindness.
when you are able to, please take a photo of your actual light/lights.

 

[IIzDaFury]

Sure thing!

I know i'm currently using a sprial UV bulb with a ithink it's called a white heat lamp or something, soon as i'm back i'll take a picture of the lights + packaging and show you.

Thanks for your help!

 

[ZEROPILOT]

Bingo.
The spiral or "coiled" type CFL bulb needs to go in my opinion.
Remove it and see. My money says that within 48 hours they act better and maybe eat.
You'll need another MVB source.

 

[IIzDaFury]

What bulb do you recommend me getting? I'll order it today if thats the issue.

I'll post a picture tonight just to be certain!

Thanks for your help!

 

[ileoyu]

Zoo meds power sun 100w works well. What's your humidity level ?

 

[IIzDaFury]

I don't have a way to test the humidity levels yet, the tank is fairly dry, more dry in the hot area than cold, you can tell by the feel of the soil i use, it doens't go below 10c at night and i think it's around 90f during the day

 

[IIzDaFury]

what i don't understand is they eat their cuddlebone, i watched one eat 1 dried nettle leaf when i first got it but nothing else :/

 

[ileoyu]

They're eating their cuttlebone because they're lacking in calcium. The best thing you could do right now is separate them into different enclosures and serve them fresh greens instead of the grassland dried food.

 

[IIzDaFury]

Unfortunately i can't seperate them right away, i don't really have a suitable size area for them both at the moment, it was a plan for the future i have in mind, do you think feeding them seperately would benifit them both?

I'm going to try fresh food tonight when i get back! I do put calcium and multi-vitamins on their food but they arn't really eating it as of yet. It's been 6 days since i've recieved them.

 

[ZEROPILOT]

If they've munched on the cuddlebone, feed them the fresh food without anything sprinkled on it.

 

[ileoyu]

Yes, don't sprinkle anything on it, those powder smells weird to them, so they might not want to touch it. Good luck getting them to eat. What are you going to feed them tonight ?

 

[IIzDaFury]

Yes, don't sprinkle anything on it, those powder smells weird to them, so they might not want to touch it. Good luck getting them to eat. What are you going to feed them tonight ?

I've only tried sprinkling it on once which was 2 days ago, apart from that i've tried to give it them alone till i've grown my batch, i'm going to try and feed them some fresh weeks ect.. tonight see if they eat it and tomorrow if they don't tonight,

End of the month i'll look into buying a new table for one of them!

Thanks for the help guys! (y) I'l be back shortly with pictures of the bulbs.

I wasn't very happy with the setup i was provided so hopefully i can make changes to make life better for my torts!

 

[Yvonne G]

Your new little Russian tortoises are still very young. They need to be kept warm with a slight drop in temperature at night. Offer them fresh greens with no supplements sprinkled over them. Chop up the greens for a month or so, then once they're eating, you can offer the greens whole.

This is a very good care sheet. Read it and make changes accordingly:

http://www.tortoiseforum.org/thread...or-other-herbivorous-tortoise-species.107734/

 

[IIzDaFury]

Hey everyone!

I'm finally home! i've taken pictures of the entire enclosure, lights ect.. including their boxes and the food i recieved with the torts long with the pots i'm growing food for them in!

Please let me know if these lights are good enough, currently trying to feed them chopped up greens!

 

[IIzDaFury]

i forgot to add the front of the package sorry both bulbs was provided with the torts and i was told "t's all i need"

 

[Lyn W]

Hi and welcome - as Ed said the coiled bulb has been known to damage torts eyes and cause blindness so you should replace that asap. I like the mercury vapour bulbs (MVB) which provide heat light and uvb in one bulb, it needs one ceramic bulb holder and I use mine with a wide dome to keep heat directed downwards. At night I use a ceramic heat emitter in a similar fitting- this just gives heat as torts need darkness to sleep, depending on your night temps and recommended tort temps you may not need one but check the caresheet for Russians which will tell you all about temps humidity diet and substrate. The Beginners Mistakes thread (link below) will help you avoid problems encountered by others and the Enclosures thread has great ideas for a safe tort home.
This link may help you understand why keeping torts in pairs is not recommended.

http://www.tortoiseforum.org/thread...together-a-lesson-learned-the-hard-way.94114/