My new baby russian hasn't eaten for 11 days

[Deanlfcladd]

Hi just looking for some reassurance I brought home a new baby russian nearly 2 weeks ago and she still hasn't eaten she comes out in the morning to bask walks around for abit then goes back to bed for most of the day and night her diet is romain lettuce and a mix of dark multi leaf lettuce red and green with some radicchio and batavia lettuce my temps are set to 36°c right under the basking lamp and cool side is around 22°c upto 24°c humidity sits around 40% to 60% I'm sure she hasn't had any poo's and she gets bathed daily

 

[wellington]

She needs a much better diet. Less romaine and dark leaf lettuce and more of the better stuff like ridicchio, arugula, water cress, dandelion, escarole, endive, cactus, spring mix.
Also get a digital thermometer not the disc type, they are unreliable.
Basking temp 95-100
All over temp 75-80
Night 70
Humidity 80% adults,30-50%
Make sure it's brightly lit as they normally brumate this time of year

 

[Deanlfcladd]

She needs a much better diet. Less romaine and dark leaf lettuce and more of the better stuff like ridicchio, arugula, water cress, dandelion, escarole, endive, cactus, spring mix.
Also get a digital thermometer not the disc type, they are unreliable.
Basking temp 95-100
All over temp 75-80
Night 70
Humidity 80% adults,30-50%
Make sure it's brightly lit as they normally brumate this time of year

I do have digital thermometers and a temp gun too. Temps are quite stable throughout the day I've been measuring them multiple times a day but they do drop at night I have setup a CHE to help with night temps it stays about 18°c to 20°c at night now. I'm also going to add an led light to stay on 12 hours a day as my uv bulb is providing most of the light I will improve her diet just getting her to eat has been stressful and abit worrying

 

[wellington]

I do have digital thermometers and a temp gun too. Temps are quite stable throughout the day I've been measuring them multiple times a day but they do drop at night I have setup a CHE to help with night temps it stays about 18°c to 20°c at night now. I'm also going to add an led light to stay on 12 hours a day as my uv bulb is providing most of the light I will improve her diet just getting her to eat has been stressful and abit worrying

What you uvb light bulb are you using?
The coiled kind, like a fluorescent that has a bend or bends in it don't give enough if any UV.
A mercury vapor bulb, used to be good, but now has been found to be too harsh on the shell and same with halogen bulbs. Tube fluorescent is what you need for uvb.

 

[Deanlfcladd]

What you uvb light bulb are you using?
The coiled kind, like a fluorescent that has a bend or bends in it don't give enough if any UV.
A mercury vapor bulb, used to be good, but now has been found to be too harsh on the shell and same with halogen bulbs. Tube fluorescent is what you need for uvb.

It's an arcadia t5 Ho 12% uva uvb

 

[ryan57]

The obvious... please show a photo of the food dish. I bet that in your photo the food will be large pieces and not cut to the size of a small or medium clover. Absolutely NO stems and stalks. Only tender bites of the leafy parts of the nutritious DARK greens you mentioned.

 

[wellington]

The obvious... please show a photo of the food dish. I bet that in your photo the food will be large pieces and not cut to the size of a small or medium clover. Absolutely NO stems and stalks. Only tender bites of the leafy parts of the nutritious DARK greens you mentioned.

Babies don't have to have their food chopped up.

 

[SinLA]

Are you planning on putting more things in the space? I wouldn't do too much too soon as they don't like change, but put in things to break up the eyeline and the more of a "maze" feel the more of a territory it may feel like it has. I use these: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B083JPLRXS/?tag=exoticpetnetw-20

and I turn them in their side making little vertical walls, but there are a lot of things you can do, also give him a lot of things to hide under so he doesn't feel so exposed. Babies want to stay protected from airborn predators, they like hiding

 

[Tom]

It's an arcadia t5 Ho 12% uva uvb

That is a great bulb, but very strong UV. How long is it on each day, and how close to the tortoise is it? Do you have a Solarmeter 6.5?

I agree with SInLA. Its much too barren and open in there. Potted plants take time to get going, so unless you already have some ready to go and that are de-toxified, that won't help. Are there any safe branches to clip outside? I'm guessing not in winter in the UK... Plastic plants are likely to be eaten, as is moss... How about making a little shelter or two out of some sticks lined up horizontally? Like a little table that he can get under?

I would also put a flat rock of some sort under the basking lamp.

 

[zolasmum]

Don't worry - it often takes new babies quite a while to settle in. She looks very cute. Where in the UK do you live? I live in Devon.
Angie

 

[ryan57]

Babies don't have to have their food chopped up.

Do you know if there is a way to block users globally on this forum?

 

[wellington]

Do you know if there is a way to block users globally on this forum?

We don't block anyone unless they are spammers or trolls.

 

[Deanlfcladd]

It's around 35cm from the substrate it's on 5 hours from 12pm I'm going to dig out some old plant pots and some other decorations tomorrow and maybe get a small spider plant an add a cactus or 2 I've also got one of those stick bridges you linked from a previous hamster cage I can add hopefully she will start eating soon, at the moment she just sniffs it and wanders off to bed

 

[Deanlfcladd]

Don't worry - it often takes new babies quite a while to settle in. She looks very cute. Where in the UK do you live? I live in Devon.
Angie

I'm from wirral I have been Devon a fair few times on fishing trips very nice quite place

 

[ryan57]

Then a new tortoise forum is needed where you can turn useful information into the good news network and block those that you don't want to hear from on an individual basis.

 

[ryan57]

It's around 35cm from the substrate it's on 5 hours from 12pm I'm going to dig out some old plant pots and some other decorations tomorrow and maybe get a small spider plant an add a cactus or 2 I've also got one of those stick bridges you linked from a previous hamster cage I can add hopefully she will start eating soon, at the moment she just sniffs it and wanders off to bed

Dean,

As an experiment, please make two portions of fresh cut food tomorrow. Chop one of them finely no bigger than .5 centimeters square with only the green tips of the produce with no stems, etc. and leave the other as you are presenting it. I am interested in finding out if your tortoise will eat the produce when presented differently. It's worth trying...

Notice the goofus doofus comment "ha ha" below after noting that your tortoise is not eating. Real helpful... We're concerned for the tortoise... yeah.

 

[wellington]

At work I fire idiots that others hired. It seems that here I watch them.

Please tell me that this forum is chocked full of good will .org volunteers...

If you got a problem, start a thread or pm someone. But don't hijack someone else's thread!

 

[Yvonne G]

It's around 35cm from the substrate it's on 5 hours from 12pm I'm going to dig out some old plant pots and some other decorations tomorrow and maybe get a small spider plant an add a cactus or 2 I've also got one of those stick bridges you linked from a previous hamster cage I can add hopefully she will start eating soon, at the moment she just sniffs it and wanders off to bed

Try to find out from the previous keeper what they fed the baby. It might be that it doesn't recognise what you're feeding is edible.

 

[Tom]

It's around 35cm from the substrate it's on 5 hours from 12pm I'm going to dig out some old plant pots and some other decorations tomorrow and maybe get a small spider plant an add a cactus or 2 I've also got one of those stick bridges you linked from a previous hamster cage I can add hopefully she will start eating soon, at the moment she just sniffs it and wanders off to bed

That is a bit too close for that bulb. It might be blinding the tortoise to the point that it doesn't want to eat. Normal mounting height for a 12% HO tube is around 45-50cm. I wouldn't think that 35cm would be reaching dangerous levels, especially since it is only on for 5 hours mid day, but with the lack of hiding areas, it could be off-putting enough to make him not want to eat.

It is normal for any tortoise to take a while to adjust after a move, but they are usually eating within a day or two. Two weeks indicates a problem. Your enclosure parameters sound excellent, so we can only guess and offer suggestions. I like Yvonne's idea. She's very perceptive, that one.

 

[Deanlfcladd]

This morning when she was having her daily bath she was making these noises like a croaking hissing and a loud squeeky sound I cut her bath short and put her near the heat lamp and the noises stopped is this normal?