Overeating & Inactive

kai.oki

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In the past couple of weeks, our little friend has become an eating machine. She previously ate very little - some days not eating at all - and has been fairly inactive for some time now (which I am guessing is still mostly to do with the fact that it's Winter). What worries me though is the combination of the two- she is only up for about 4 hours each day (7-11am), and in the moments that she's not busy stuffing her face, she's either sleeping or sitting still near her basking lamp. The remaining 20 hours she sleeps in her hide. In the last 3 weeks she has gained 35 grams, about 20-25% of her body weight. I've re-organised her enclosure in the hopes of making it more interesting for her, but that didn't stimulate any activity either.

I'm wondering, is this rate of weight gain likely to cause problems? Is there anything else I can do to encourage more activity? I'm guessing the weight gain will taper off soon, but I'd really like to see her return to being her active self! Thanks in advance for any help.
 

Tom

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The weight gain is because she was empty and is now tanked up.

Four hours of activity is not unusual for a baby tortoise that has what it needs. If you've already eaten and you are warm enough, why expose yourself to predators?

Moving things around probably made things worse. They don't want "interesting" surroundings. They want familiar surroundings.

It is likely that she slowed down as Fall and Winter set in, but has now realized that you are keeping it warm and sunny, so there is no need to hibernate to survive a cold winter. Now, the days are getting longer, and this should kick the appetite into high gear. Soak frequently and house your tortoise with the correct temps and humidity, feed the tortoise the right foods, and growth will not be a problem. House the tortoise too dry and the growth will come in pyramided.
 

kai.oki

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Thanks for your help @Tom :) Sorry, it had been suggested to me in another post that changing up their habitat once in a while was a good idea. But I'll stick with how it is.

She's around 2 years old now- is there still a chance of pyramiding happening? I spray her enclosure once or twice a day to keep it moist, and soak her every 2nd morning, but the humidity is quite low (20-30%). I've read that's okay for Russians as long as they always have access to water?
 

Tom

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She's around 2 years old now- is there still a chance of pyramiding happening?

Pyramiding is caused by growth in conditions that are too dry. If your tortoise is being kept too dry and it is still growing, then yes, there is a chance of pyramiding. 20-40% humidity is pretty low. I'd raise that up and also offer a humid hide. I like humidity to be somewhere around 50-60% for a young growing russian. Spraying the surface does't do much for humidity. You need to use the right kind of damp substrate and at least partially cover the top to hold in heat and some humidity.
 

kai.oki

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Oct 27, 2017
Messages
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Location (City and/or State)
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Pyramiding is caused by growth in conditions that are too dry. If your tortoise is being kept too dry and it is still growing, then yes, there is a chance of pyramiding. 20-40% humidity is pretty low. I'd raise that up and also offer a humid hide. I like humidity to be somewhere around 50-60% for a young growing russian. Spraying the surface does't do much for humidity. You need to use the right kind of damp substrate and at least partially cover the top to hold in heat and some humidity.

Okay great, thank you. We use coco coir with a small amount of orchid bark. The substrate is pretty damp under the surface, but the top dries out under the lamps each day so I re-moisten it regularly. Her hide is around 65% humidity at the moment. I think I can rig something up this weekend to cover the whole back half of her enclosure, so the heat and humidity stays in. Thanks again for your help!
 
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