Russian Tortoise erratic and not pooping (or eating either)

[jackapple]

Hi everyone, (i've actually had an account for ages, but forgot the password...and the email i used for the account)

So my tortoise has been acting very erratic. He won't stop moving, climbing, playing in general. It's nice to see, he looks pretty content exploring his enclosure, as well as our backyard and deck. He has tons of energy it seems.

Problem though, he won't eat. It's been several days. I traditionally give him collards, mustard greens, arugula, and his staple food, endive (i almost have to wrap everything in endive just so he eats, if he doesn't get his endive then he'll start eating sand/substrate). The substrate in his enclosure is a mix of 1/3 sand, 2/3 top soil.

He hasn't pooped in days (2-3). I soak him in warm water in a large tub where he will explore every inch of, but no poop. I could always depend on the soak to get his bowel movements going, so I am a bit concerned that it hasn't worked.

I'm not sure if he is compacted, he will on some occasion eat his substrate until I catching him doing it then I put him outside. I am worried he has become compacted as I understand it can be fatal. However, I also heard if a tortoise is compacted then they will be lethargic, which he certainly is not.

If he is compacted then what should I do? do I stop feeding him so that I don't make things worse? should I soak him twice/thrice a day?

Any help is very much appreciated, Thanks!

p.s. the image is the latest one I have of him (not the greatest quality)

 

[Yellow Turtle01]

Hi, lol, that happened to me too, but I eventually remembered
Okay, I will ask all the average questions. How hot is his enclosure (how humid too)? What type of bulbs does he have? How large is his enclosure? (is that all you feed him?)
Sand is not good If he's been eating it for a long time, he could be compacted. You should soak him more anyway, because he looks a little dry! Coco coir is great, cheap... all the pluses. All of the above questions could lead to an erratic tortoise

 

[lynnedit]

Sometimes males go on a frantic 'walk about' binge, looking for a female. They pace and pace. Just let him, keep soaking him.
It is true that some sites recommend exactly the substrate you mention (1/3 sand and 2/3 topsoil). However, if he has a tendency to eat it, it would be better to swap out to plain topsoil or topsoil/coir.

He looks pretty bright eyed. Often they won't poop until they eat again.
Hopefully he will work through this phase and move on to eating again.

Meanwhile, have you tried feeding more of a variety with tortoises safe weeds, etc.? Might be worth looking into that.

http://russiantortoise.net/russiantortoisediet.htm
Also their info on edible plants.

 

[wellington]

I,agree with lynnedit. More variety in the diet and loose the sand if he is known to eat it. I also think that it's just a phase thing that hopefully he will settle down again soon. 3-4 days isn't very long for a tort not too eat. If he doesn't eat, he won't poop either. Try a favorite food, even if it's a strawberry or piece of watermelon. Squeeze the juice onto some food and see if he will eat then.

 

[jackapple]

Hi everyone, thank you all for your responses.

I actually really debated putting in the sand and now I regret it. I just built him a new enclosure (about 3 x 4 feet). I made sure all the sand and top soil was baked at 450-500 F n' all that jazz. Anyways that's just an extra bit of info, he was acting this way even before he was introduced to his new enclosure. Anyways, the temperature near the Heat lamp is 32 C, cooler end is around 24C. I also have a UVB bulb in a Large lamp. I put both heat and UV lamps next to each other. I forgot to mention I also offer him up some dandelion greens. I remember reading there are many flowers he can also eat like hibiscus but my grocery store doesn't seem to sell them (No Frills + Zehrs for the Canadian folk).

Hi go-to things to eat are endive (the flower or whatever) and romaine (i give him this as a rare treat since he loves the stuff), literally everything else is a battle to get him to eat.

I'm just nervous if compaction is the issue then giving him more food might make things worse. He is still going nuts. He will try to escape his enclosure, so then I put him outside of it to play..at which point he then tries to climb in.

I took your advice and gave him soaks more often. He's gone poop a bit more.
Also for any canadians out there, I would really really love to hear how you plan your weekly feedings for your tortoise. I find trying to maintain variety is a huge challenge as I will buy collards, dandelions, endive, but they come in such large bushels that 60% of it ends up becoming rotten. I also run into the problem where if I don't wrap his food in endive he will just not eat it and will even resort to eating his substrate.

Anyways, I will be sure to look more into variety and do some research on how best to do that. I will also phase out the sand and replace it with topsoil (he's going to be so upset hahaha, he hates how dark top soil is).

 

[Kim444]

I am Canadian, but live in Montreal. Not sure our stores are the same. I have the same issue as you, lots of bulk stuff here, so I feed variety over time. Example: One week I will feed dandelions(I eat the left overs, look for recipes, they are really good) and endive, the next week spring mix and plantain, etc....

I would use coco coir with a bit of top soil mixed in. Also, it is recommended for folks like us especially who cannot get a hold of the variety of weeds they need to feed Mazuri once or twice a week. I feed it once a week after Mr. T's soak. I soak the Mazuri in a bit of water, mush it all up, add chopped dandelions and he gobbles it up especially since their appetites seems to be really good after a soak and poop.

Does your tortoise enclosure have a shallow water dish for self-soaking?

 

[taza]

I do the same as Kim444 rotate weekly as to not waste so much. My neighbour has a huge Rose of Sharon I asked her if I could have some leaves and blooms.