Kinda worried

[russianhenry]

ok so when I brought her home yesterday she soaked and moved around alot. Today she came out of her log once to soak for like five minutes. She wont eat any of her food either and when I put her near it she just walks away. Is this happening just because she is still getting used to her new home? Has this happened to anyone else? Help please, kinda freaked out.

 

[Laura]

could very well be.. leave her alone, let her adjust... new homes can be scary. BUT... be sure she is warm enough.. they wont eat and cant digest if not warm enough. Also lights.. they need a a minimum of 12 hours of light per day to not slow down and go into hibernation mode.
What are you trying to feed her?

 

[kimber_lee_314]

What are the temps?

 

[russianhenry]

could very well be.. leave her alone, let her adjust... new homes can be scary. BUT... be sure she is warm enough.. they wont eat and cant digest if not warm enough. Also lights.. they need a a minimum of 12 hours of light per day to not slow down and go into hibernation mode.
What are you trying to feed her?

I'm feeding her a mixture of mustard greens and squash and zuchinni and as a treat a gave her a tiny piece of cantelope.

---

What are the temps?

During the day I kept the temp under the basking light at 93 and at the complete other side by her log its 78. At night her heat lamp is on 88. Is this alright?

 

[tortoises101]

could very well be.. leave her alone, let her adjust... new homes can be scary. BUT... be sure she is warm enough.. they wont eat and cant digest if not warm enough. Also lights.. they need a a minimum of 12 hours of light per day to not slow down and go into hibernation mode.
What are you trying to feed her?

I'm feeding her a mixture of mustard greens and squash and zuchinni and as a treat a gave her a tiny piece of cantelope.

---

What are the temps?

During the day I kept the temp under the basking light at 93 and at the complete other side by her log its 78. At night her heat lamp is on 88. Is this alright?

---

The basking temp should be around 97F-ish for a russian to be comfortable. The cool side should be 82F in the day, dipping down to the 70's at night.

The diet should be a mix of weeds (since you live in Texas they should still be blooming). Good choices are dandelion, plantain (plantago), sowthistle, vetch, hawk's beard, cat's ear, chicory, mallow, and clover. Flowers such as hibiscus, nasturtium and gazanias should also be added to the diet. Grape and mulberry leaves are also recommended. Greens should be fed only a few times a week, but the main component of the diet should still be weeds (when available though). You can feed zuchinni, but keep in mind it's not so nutritious. Squash and fruit should only be used as treats.

 

[russianhenry]

could very well be.. leave her alone, let her adjust... new homes can be scary. BUT... be sure she is warm enough.. they wont eat and cant digest if not warm enough. Also lights.. they need a a minimum of 12 hours of light per day to not slow down and go into hibernation mode.
What are you trying to feed her?

I'm feeding her a mixture of mustard greens and squash and zuchinni and as a treat a gave her a tiny piece of cantelope.

---

What are the temps?

During the day I kept the temp under the basking light at 93 and at the complete other side by her log its 78. At night her heat lamp is on 88. Is this alright?

---

The basking temp should be around 97F-ish for a russian to be comfortable. The cool side should be 82F in the day, dipping down to the 70's at night.

The diet should be a mix of weeds (since you live in Texas they should still be blooming). Good choices are dandelion, plantain (plantago), sowthistle, vetch, hawk's beard, cat's ear, chicory, mallow, and clover. Flowers such as hibiscus, nasturtium and gazanias should also be added to the diet. Grape and mulberry leaves are also recommended. Greens should be fed only a few times a week, but the main component of the diet should still be weeds (when available though). You can feed zuchinni, but keep in mind it's not so nutritious. Squash and fruit should only be used as treats.

---

Alright I will go get some dandelions and stuff tomorrow. I was also told that it is good to give them cactus, is that ok? I have some chicory so I will give her some. I also have some clover in the backyard I will put that in there too.

 

[Laura]

what was she used to eating at the petstore? If she doenst start eating something you are trying in a few days.. then try what they had.. then start adding the other good things...

 

[tortoises101]

could very well be.. leave her alone, let her adjust... new homes can be scary. BUT... be sure she is warm enough.. they wont eat and cant digest if not warm enough. Also lights.. they need a a minimum of 12 hours of light per day to not slow down and go into hibernation mode.
What are you trying to feed her?

I'm feeding her a mixture of mustard greens and squash and zuchinni and as a treat a gave her a tiny piece of cantelope.

---

What are the temps?

During the day I kept the temp under the basking light at 93 and at the complete other side by her log its 78. At night her heat lamp is on 88. Is this alright?

---

The basking temp should be around 97F-ish for a russian to be comfortable. The cool side should be 82F in the day, dipping down to the 70's at night.

The diet should be a mix of weeds (since you live in Texas they should still be blooming). Good choices are dandelion, plantain (plantago), sowthistle, vetch, hawk's beard, cat's ear, chicory, mallow, and clover. Flowers such as hibiscus, nasturtium and gazanias should also be added to the diet. Grape and mulberry leaves are also recommended. Greens should be fed only a few times a week, but the main component of the diet should still be weeds (when available though). You can feed zuchinni, but keep in mind it's not so nutritious. Squash and fruit should only be used as treats.

---

Alright I will go get some dandelions and stuff tomorrow. I was also told that it is good to give them cactus, is that ok? I have some chicory so I will give her some. I also have some clover in the backyard I will put that in there too.

---

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention cactus. High in fibre and with a good calhos ratio.

 

[russianhenry]

what was she used to eating at the petstore? If she doenst start eating something you are trying in a few days.. then try what they had.. then start adding the other good things...

She was eating mustard greens and squash so I gave her some of that.

 

[russianhenry]

Okay so I took Lola(new name! ya) out of her log and put her in front of her food. She ate two pieces of squash and thats it. She just stays in the coldest part of the enclosure so I thought maybe it was too hot for her so I turned the temp down. Then she moved a little closer to the basking spot. I have a terranium lamp too but its really bright. The people I got her from said they need that to help with calcium but I think it might be hurting her eyes. I just turned it off for a little bit to see what she does. She was really active at the store and I just hope she is getting used to things. Im pretty sure thats it because they had her at the store for 4 months so its kinda a big change. I also saw something on here about aloe vera and thats ALL over our backyard so I gave her some to see if she will eat it. Going tonight to get some dandelions and more weeds.

 

[russianhenry]

I dont know why but I keep accidentally putting the same reply twice, oops. Still getting used to my Mac.

 

[dmmj]

Mine go crazy over hibiscus flowers, I know it is not the time of year for them, but if you know anyone who has some they might have a few straggler flowers around.

---

also radish tops easy to grow inside, mine love them, remember could still be adjusting.

 

[Yvonne G]

Your tortoise needs the light for warmth. And he needs the UVB to make vitamin d3 that makes the calcium work inside his body. You can't just turn it off because you think its too bright. How big is your habitat? Place the light on one end of the habitat. If you think its too bright, then put some things in the habitat to give him shade. There are artificial plants that you can use, hiding places, rocks. In the real world no one turns off the sun so that the tortoise can get respite for his eyes. He just goes into the shade. So make him some shade.

If your habitat has been on the cool side for the tortoise, he might have decided to stop eating to clean out his system for hibernation. Its important to keep the light on for long summer-time type days so he realizes its still summer, and its not time to hibernate.

 

[russianhenry]

Your tortoise needs the light for warmth. And he needs the UVB to make vitamin d3 that makes the calcium work inside his body. You can't just turn it off because you think its too bright. How big is your habitat? Place the light on one end of the habitat. If you think its too bright, then put some things in the habitat to give him shade. There are artificial plants that you can use, hiding places, rocks. In the real world no one turns off the sun so that the tortoise can get respite for his eyes. He just goes into the shade. So make him some shade.

If your habitat has been on the cool side for the tortoise, he might have decided to stop eating to clean out his system for hibernation. Its important to keep the light on for long summer-time type days so he realizes its still summer, and its not time to hibernate.

Okay. She stays in her log all the time, so does that mean its too hot. I dont want her to hibernate but I also dont want her to get too hot.

 

[dmmj]

I think it might be to cool if he stays in his log all the time

 

[russianhenry]

I think that Lola might be trying to hibernate so I turned up her nightime heater to stay at 85. Is this good, or should it be hotter? The other side of the enclosure is between 70 to 75, thats mostly where she stays. I also turned her basking light to 98 and am keeping the other light on for calcium. Even if it is bright, I will but more plants. Thanks everyone for the advice, I needed more help than just what a book and another owner can give lol. Im still a little worried that she is not that active and I havent seen her drink at all. I am soaking her every other day and thinking about moving that up to every day. She just tries to climb out of the pan, looks like Im gunna have to get a tub a little taller. Going to Lowes (tub) and Petsmart (fake plants) tomorrow. I'll keep everyone updated. Thanks again for all the help.

Oh and my Dad is going to get some cactus tomorrow, sadly no flowers left but still the pads.

 

[Tracy Gould]

I am not an expert but i know night temps should not drop below 70 but if it gets to warm at night they tend to wake up i tried up night temps once and she got up at 11.30pm so i turned it back down.

 

[russianhenry]

Ok when I got up this morning I turned on her lights and turned off the infrared heat lamp. She woke up and stood under the basking light for maybe five minutes then went and hid in her log again. She still has not eaten. I am going to soak her again today to see if that helps and going to get dandelions and carrots(I know they shouldnt be fed often but Im just gunna see if she will eat something).

 

[Tracy Gould]

Have u got plenty of plants either real or fake will do. It could be too open and if u add safe plants the Tortoise will feel more secure and will have shade spots, I have not got a Russian mines a Hermann s but i know most Torts like plenty of places to explore and Hide in.I have the Humidity hide in the centre covered with bark to make a hill with plants around it then she as a log in the cool end and a slate bridge under the heat spot so she can hide underneath that when she needs to.

 

[Yvonne G]

What did the pet shop feed the tortoise? Sometimes tortoises get fixated on one type of food and then they don't recognize the good stuff as being edible. You may have to offer the tortoise pellets or whatever the pet shop was feeding.