Joworth
New Member
I'm new to the site and would really appreciate some advice on why my normally lively tortoise has lost his appetite and is sleeping a lot more?
My tortoise has lost his appetite
- Thread starter Joworth
- Start date
Hello,and a very warm welcome to Tortoise Forum. 
A more detailed picture of the enclosure might help give us a clue.
Temperature is often the cause of this.What are your basking spot , warm side and cool side temps and do you allow a temp drop at night ?
Does he sleep in complete darkness ?
What is his diet ?
What type of UVB do you use ?
Have there been any changes to his enclosure recently ?
Sorry, but these are all possibilities.
A more detailed picture of the enclosure might help give us a clue.
Temperature is often the cause of this.What are your basking spot , warm side and cool side temps and do you allow a temp drop at night ?
Does he sleep in complete darkness ?
What is his diet ?
What type of UVB do you use ?
Have there been any changes to his enclosure recently ?
Sorry, but these are all possibilities.
Yep we need a lot more info to help you. Be as detailed as you can. Brand of bulbs, height away from tort, temps, what you use to measure said temps and humidity levels, types of food, substrate, how long you've had it, how long the problems been. Spare no detail
Joworth
New Member
Hello,and a very warm welcome to Tortoise Forum.
A more detailed picture of the enclosure might help give us a clue.
Temperature is often the cause of this.What are your basking spot , warm side and cool side temps and do you allow a temp drop at night ?
Does he sleep in complete darkness ?
What is his diet ?
What type of UVB do you use ?
Have there been any changes to his enclosure recently ?
Sorry, but these are all possibilities.
Hello,and a very warm welcome to Tortoise Forum.
A more detailed picture of the enclosure might help give us a clue.
Temperature is often the cause of this.What are your basking spot , warm side and cool side temps and do you allow a temp drop at night ?
Does he sleep in complete darkness ?
What is his diet ?
What type of UVB do you use ?
Have there been any changes to his enclosure recently ?
Sorry, but these are all possibilities.
Hello,and a very warm welcome to Tortoise Forum.
A more detailed picture of the enclosure might help give us a clue.
Temperature is often the cause of this.What are your basking spot , warm side and cool side temps and do you allow a temp drop at night ?
Does he sleep in complete darkness ?
What is his diet ?
What type of UVB do you use ?
Have there been any changes to his enclosure recently ?
Sorry, but these are all possibilities.
Hi thank you for you quick reply .
I've posted a picture of his vivarium .
Cool side is between 75-79f
We don't have a thermometer on the warm side but at the height the bulb is set it produces temp between 81/91f .we don't allow a temp drop at night.
He sleeps with an inferred lamp on , his day light is on a 12 hour timer between 8am -8pm.
UVB is a curly Exo Terra 100 lamp.
No changes to his enclosure.
Diet varies: 2 week roata .. dandelion, cress, savoy cabbage, green beans, cucumber , nettle leaves , carrot , sweet red pepper, broccoli. Treat strawberries once a fortnight.
He goes for a walk around the house or garden everyday .
Joworth
New Member
We don't measure the humidity ? Not sure how we'd do it ?
I've had Sheldon 8 months , he's normally lively and full of character.
I bath him every 3 days .
His poop is normal but his urine has a pinky tinge to it?
I've had Sheldon 8 months , he's normally lively and full of character.
I bath him every 3 days .
His poop is normal but his urine has a pinky tinge to it?
Take a look at http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/beginner-mistakes.45180/
and http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/russian-tortoise-care-sheet.80698/
Russian tortoises need a lot of space, they roam huge territories in the wild and need to exercise properly for their digestive systems to work properly, an 8 foot by four foot enclosure would be considered the minimum necessary.
the basking spot should be 95 to 100°F with a natural reduction away from it and no heating at night unless you get really cold indoors, Russians are fine with temps in the 60's or even 50's at night and should be in complete darkness, no lights at night to sleep properly.
Coiled and compact bulbs often don't produce the correct levels of UVB and have been known to hurt tortoises eyes, you need a strip UVB and basking bulb, or just an MVB which provides heat, light and UVB in one. Ditch the coiled bulb.
Use http://www.thetortoisetable.org.uk/ to see what is safe for your tortoise to eat.
Cabbage and broccoli are too high in goitrogens that cause kidney damage,, cucumber only if your tortoise needs extra hydration, carrot is too high in sugars, as is red pepper which also has a bad calcium/ phosphorus ratio. Strawberries and other fruit should not be fed to this species.
Tortoises should not be walking around the house, you cannot control temperature (always different at floor level) , humidity, drafts can be dangerous, small items can be swallowed, even dust bunnies can cause impaction and accidents happen too often, we've seen it far too frequently.
You need a hygrometer to measure humidity levels.
The pinky tinge is hopefully just the dandelion, it can cause the pee to be coloured like this.
Sorry, but read the care sheets, there is a bit you need to change, i'm afraid.
Joworth
New Member
Thank you .. I've had a lot of conflicting advice. I'll have a read of the sites you suggest and hopefully I can get Sheldon back to
his happy self I'll let you know how I get on.
his happy self I'll let you know how I get on.
These care sheets are from this site. Up to date information.
A lot of the info carried by pet stores, books and other sites is thirty years out of date.
Wishing Sheldon all the best.
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