OhBeatrice
New Member
Hello everyone,
I joined the forum today to ask an important question.I have a 7 year old female Russian tortoise. She is very active and loves to eat. This morning I set her food bowl in her enclosure and noticed that she was moving her legs in an attempt to make her way over but couldn't move forward or lift herself up. I took her out to see if she was able to walk on the floor but the same thing happened, she continued moving her legs but couldn't lift herself. If I put my hand under her belly and slightly lift her off of the ground she will begin to walk but as soon as I remove my hand she can't anymore. She has an appetite and will eat well if I lift her to the food bowl. Has anyone seen this behavior before? Could it be a leg injury?
Some information about her care and set up:
She lives in an indoor 4x3 ft enclosure in the winter.
UVB: Reptisun T5 5.0 HO lamp
Basking area: 100w heat bulb about 95 degrees
Substrate: coconut fiber
Diet: greens (kale, collards, turnip, dandelion are the most common) with calcium about 3 times a week and vitamins once a week.
I soak her once a week and mist her and her food with water daily. I also mist the substrate to increase humidity which is at about 30 percent.
If anyone can offer any answers or suggestions I would greatly appreciate it! Thank you!
I joined the forum today to ask an important question.I have a 7 year old female Russian tortoise. She is very active and loves to eat. This morning I set her food bowl in her enclosure and noticed that she was moving her legs in an attempt to make her way over but couldn't move forward or lift herself up. I took her out to see if she was able to walk on the floor but the same thing happened, she continued moving her legs but couldn't lift herself. If I put my hand under her belly and slightly lift her off of the ground she will begin to walk but as soon as I remove my hand she can't anymore. She has an appetite and will eat well if I lift her to the food bowl. Has anyone seen this behavior before? Could it be a leg injury?
Some information about her care and set up:
She lives in an indoor 4x3 ft enclosure in the winter.
UVB: Reptisun T5 5.0 HO lamp
Basking area: 100w heat bulb about 95 degrees
Substrate: coconut fiber
Diet: greens (kale, collards, turnip, dandelion are the most common) with calcium about 3 times a week and vitamins once a week.
I soak her once a week and mist her and her food with water daily. I also mist the substrate to increase humidity which is at about 30 percent.
If anyone can offer any answers or suggestions I would greatly appreciate it! Thank you!