Need help, new owner with russian tortoise

Hi all! I just joined, I haven't really read over the rules so sorry if I am breaking any of them by posting in here I'm just worried! My boy is named Iroh! I got him almost 4 days ago. I have watched a bunch of videos read other forums and other articles just to get info on care and other things, but one thing I havent been able to find a clear answer on is why he isn't eating. I change his food everyday. Ive been giving him store bet grass pellets mixed with water, then kale, carrots, peppers, and melon. He hasn't touched his food once as far as I know. He just burrows into the substrate and basks with his eyes closed. He hasn't moved from one spot in over a day (he is definitely alive though he moves his head occasionly.) I force soaked him yesterday and he struggled but i noticed he started drinking immediately as if he were dehydrated, but shortly after he climbed out and burrowed back into the same spot. I made him a homemade temporary hiding spot just so he could have some solitude but he doesn't use it. I'm am just very worried and do not know what to do.

I’m afraid that what you are feeding is not good At all!

Pretty much everything you have listed bar the Kale is a No No.

Russians are broadleaf weed eaters.
They should not be fed any fruit or peppers as they contain to many sugars and it causes serious havoc with their stomachs.
Kale can be fed in moderation as it contains oxilates which can cause bladder stones.

Can I ask if you can post a picture of your enclosure and your tort and members here will give you lots of information.

I will also find the thread with the list of weeds and flowers.

For a start, a shop bought bag of spring mix will be far better than anything you have fed so far.

Hello and welcome

Photos of the enclosure and lighting will definitely help us to help you. I fear you have been given outdated information on best care by a pet store.

We also need to know the 4 important temperatures: warm side, cool side, directly under the basking lamp and overnight minimum.

What type of UVB lamp are you using? The compact coil type that look like low energy light bulbs can hurt tort eyes and cause them to hide away.

As Katie said, your tort should be eating a range of broadleaf weeds and greens. It can’t digest sugars properly so fruit, carrot, tomato and bell pepper should only be fed very sparingly and very occasionally if at all.

Your tort must have constant access to water. When it’s not eating, a daily 30 minute soak in warm water in a flat-bottomed bowl (a washing up bowl is ideal) is essential to prevent dehydration.

I recommend you read the TFO care guides and compare them with your setup.

They're written by species experts working hard to correct the outdated information widely available on the internet and from pet stores and, sadly, from some breeders and vets too.

Beginner Mistakes
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/beginner-mistakes.45180/

Russian Tortoise Care
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/russian-tortoise-care-sheet.80698/

This is @Tom list of foods that he suggests. I stick to this. There are so many.

Here is a small starter list of good foods to offer:
Mulberry leaves
Grape vine leaves
Hibiscus leaves
African hibiscus leaves
Blue hibiscus leaves
Rose of Sharon leaves
Rose leaves
Geraniums
Gazanias
Lavatera
Pansies
Petunias
Hostas
Honeysuckle
Cape honeysuckle
Leaves and blooms from any squash plant, like pumpkin, cucumber, summer squash, etc...
Young spineless opuntia cactus pads

Weeds:
There are soooooooo many...
Dandelion
Mallow
Filaree
Smooth Sow thistle
Prickly Sow thistle
Milk thistle
Goat head weed
Cats ear
Nettles
Trefoil
Wild onion
Wild mustard
Wild Garlic
Clovers
Broadleaf plantain
Narrow leaf plantain
Chick weed
Hawksbit
Hensbit

Hi guys! Thanks for the welcome and quick responses! I called the pet store and they kept pushing the 14 day warranty on me, but I really do not want to give up on Iroh, it's only been 4 days but the connection has been locked. I am about to give him a soak in warm water in a large tupperware bin. I will not be giving him kale and the fruits I mentioned anymore regularly (occasional treat). The enclosure we have is a 20 gallon 1x3. I know it is not ideal, but it's what we had just to start. He is staying with my gf because I am about to move into my new apartment where I am planning to build a tort table for it at least 4x4. Thanks again guys you've already been very helpful even without me posting pics (here they are btw)

i forgot to add the temperatures, they didn't have any thermometers in stock so I ordered one off of amazon, but the room is kept at about 75 so with the heat lamp I assuming (hoping it raises the temper in there at least 5 degrees and directly under the lamp 10 (again this is just an assumption. In the pictures you see his cool side is under the UVB, which is also where his hiding spot is (also making or getting a better one this is all just temporary). At night we lower the temperature of the room to 70 or below and I read at night the temp should be brought down to about 65, so I feel like thats fine. We are going to get a bigger wattage bulb and dome once he gets bigger.

ALSO I forgot to mention that when we bought him he was in the process of shedding, and he is still shedding right now. I don't know if that plays into factor here in terms of his shyness and lack of eating

Tortoises shed a bit like we do. They’re not snakes lol. If he’s ashy he’s dry. Lots of soaking needed.

Hi and welcome!

Once you start offering him the food he recognises (items from that list above), it will still take him a while to settle down and realize he's safe - two weeks at least (longer if he's wild caught).

Yvonne G said:

Hi and welcome!

Once you start offering him the food he recognises (items from that list above), it will still take him a while to settle down and realize he's safe - two weeks at least (longer if he's wild caught).

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Thank you! Can he really go two weeks without eating though?

Yes lol. Mine went over two weeks and had a poor feeding routine for the first month.

daniellenc said:

Yes lol. Mine went over two weeks and had a poor feeding routine for the first month.

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Thank you haha that actually makes me feel a lot better! The pet store told me to bring him back if he still wasn't eating after 3-4 days but again im already very attached to Iroh haha i'll provide updates later on. Thanks again to all who helped!

JoesMum said:

Hello and welcome

Photos of the enclosure and lighting will definitely help us to help you. I fear you have been given outdated information on best care by a pet store.

We also need to know the 4 important temperatures: warm side, cool side, directly under the basking lamp and overnight minimum.

What type of UVB lamp are you using? The compact coil type that look like low energy light bulbs can hurt tort eyes and cause them to hide away.

As Katie said, your tort should be eating a range of broadleaf weeds and greens. It can’t digest sugars properly so fruit, carrot, tomato and bell pepper should only be fed very sparingly and very occasionally if at all.

Your tort must have constant access to water. When it’s not eating, a daily 30 minute soak in warm water in a flat-bottomed bowl (a washing up bowl is ideal) is essential to prevent dehydration.

I recommend you read the TFO care guides and compare them with your setup.

They're written by species experts working hard to correct the outdated information widely available on the internet and from pet stores and, sadly, from some breeders and vets too.

Beginner Mistakes
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/beginner-mistakes.45180/

Russian Tortoise Care
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/russian-tortoise-care-sheet.80698/

Click to expand...

Also now that I provided some pictures is there anything you'd like to add? All feedback is appreciated since I'm still new to this!

katieandiggy said:

This is @Tom list of foods that he suggests. I stick to this. There are so many.

Here is a small starter list of good foods to offer:
Mulberry leaves
Grape vine leaves
Hibiscus leaves
African hibiscus leaves
Blue hibiscus leaves
Rose of Sharon leaves
Rose leaves
Geraniums
Gazanias
Lavatera
Pansies
Petunias
Hostas
Honeysuckle
Cape honeysuckle
Leaves and blooms from any squash plant, like pumpkin, cucumber, summer squash, etc...
Young spineless opuntia cactus pads

Weeds:
There are soooooooo many...
Dandelion
Mallow
Filaree
Smooth Sow thistle
Prickly Sow thistle
Milk thistle
Goat head weed
Cats ear
Nettles
Trefoil
Wild onion
Wild mustard
Wild Garlic
Clovers
Broadleaf plantain
Narrow leaf plantain
Chick weed
Hawksbit
Hensbit

Click to expand...

Thanks for the list! Do you go out and collect these yourself or do you have a supplier or grow them yourself?

irohthetortoise said:

Thanks for the list! Do you go out and collect these yourself or do you have a supplier or grow them yourself?

Click to expand...

Learn what grows around you and look them up on The Tortoise Table Plant Database online... it’s cheaper!
https://www.thetortoisetable.org.uk/

If you can’t identify a plant then post a picture in our plant ID forum and someone will help.

Just make sure that anything you pick is free of pesticides, weedkillers and chemical fertilisers

I plant edibles flowers in my flower beds around my house and the weeds plant themselves naturally. Petunias (from starts) and zinnias (from seed) are both easy to grow for first timers, and could be grown in large pots on a porch. If you have hard time finding weeds/plants outside, then there are okay foods at the grocery store that work (it is what I have to use when the flowers/weeds are still under snow.)

Kale
Radicchio
Green leaf lettuce
Red leaf lettuce
Romain Lettuce
Iceberg lettuce
Frisee/Excarole
Endive
Spring Mix Salad (take out the spinach, a small amount of shredded carrot is fine)
And you can supplement with Mazuri Tortoise Diet (found on Amazon).

The key is to keep it varied (i.e. don't just feed iceberg exclusively week after week). And as was mentioned above, any new food you introduce might take 2-5 offerings/days before your tortoise finally agree to taste it.

Also do your tortoise a huge favor and invest $15 in a temperature gun. People are just not built with enough intuition to estimate proper tortoise temperatures, especially under heat lamps or in a tortoise hide. Moving a heat lamp up or down 2-4" can change a temperature 5-10 degrees. I've never been able to figure out the correct height of my heat lamps without the aid of my temperature gun.

Welcome! I don’t anyone has mentioned this, but I’d take out the Tupperware container. In his enclosure, use a terra-cotta flower pot base (large enough for his entire body to fit in it.) When you soak him, take him out of his enclosure and use the Tupperware container for that. Use warm water for his soaks and change the water out midway if the water cools off too much. I’m worried he would somehow flip over into the Tupperware container and drown if it is left in his tank.

TriciaStringer said:

Welcome! I don’t anyone has mentioned this, but I’d take out the Tupperware container. In his enclosure, use a terra-cotta flower pot base (large enough for his entire body to fit in it.) When you soak him, take him out of his enclosure and use the Tupperware container for that. Use warm water for his soaks and change the water out midway if the water cools off too much. I’m worried he would somehow flip over into the Tupperware container and drown if it is left in his tank.

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Like this terra-cotta saucer I have for my tortoise

hi and welcome!! Keep in mind since they're used to grazing on grass and weeds in the wild, those have extremely low nutrients which is why they eat so much of it. Our store bought greens are very nutrient dense (cause we eat them!) which could be a lot for a tortoise. Because of this, I only feed my russians every other day or so.

TriciaStringer said:

Like this terra-cotta saucer I have for my tortoise

Click to expand...

I LOVE this housing idea! Great for some outside exposure. Do you have a thread going over how you built this and such?