Help please (Not eating)

[natalienbk]

Hi new here
I have a baby russian tortoise, iv had her for 3 days and she is not eating and burying herself and sleeping all day on cooler side, does this mean she is to hot or cold? read lots of conflicting things please help her hot side is 85 fahrenheit witch is what the pet shop told us to have it on ?

 

[wellington]

Post a pic of the enclosure.
She needs a basking spot that reaches 95-100 in order to digest the food properly.
80 is high enough during the day besides the basking spot and 65-70 at night. She also needs humidity of 80% while young.
Please read the Russian caresheets in the russian section. Stick to info on this forum as most info out there is old and incorrect

 

[TammyJ]

Wellington said it!!! Welcome to the site.

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi, and welcome!

 

[Ray--Opo]

Hello and welcome, we love pics also of your tort and enclosure.

 

[natalienbk]

Thank you everyone for your lovley welcomes, how do i know if there is 80% humidity and i have a thermostat that turns heat lamp on and off when hits temp is that right ? please

 

[natalienbk]

pictures of tortoise and enclosure

 

[natalienbk]

enclosure

 

[Ray--Opo]

You can get these on Amazon. The one probe is for temp the other for humidity.

 

[Ray--Opo]

A infrared temp gun is very useful also. I use mine all the time. You can get temps anywhere in the enclosure. Just don't point at the eyes.

 

[natalienbk]

Thank you will have a look at getting them, looking at my pictures is everything right in the enclosure please?

 

[natalienbk]

iv put the temp up to 90 fahrenheit as told on here that will help, but still she is not eating and burying self on cooler side and doesnt come out at all, very worried, please help

 

[ZEROPILOT]

Home Depot, Walmart etc. Sell this type of digital thermometer/ humidity gauge for about $10.
Look in the garden department.
They do a good job.

 

[Ray--Opo]

Home Depot, Walmart etc. Sell this type of digital thermometer/ humidity gauge for about $10.
Look in the garden department.
They do a good job.

Hey Ed, do you think the not eating is the tort adjusting to the new environment?

 

[Ray--Opo]

enclosure

Everything looks good. I would sink the food and water dish a little more into the substrate. The UVB light would be better mounted on the ceiling for more direct UVB.

 

[ZEROPILOT]

Hey Ed, do you think the not eating is the tort adjusting to the new environment?

I don't keep Sulcata.
But I trust the above advice that the temperature may not be warm enough for correct digestion to take place.
Nothing out....Nothing in.

 

[kanalomele]

Welcome to TFO!

 

[Tony the Tort42]

A infrared temp gun is very useful also. I use mine all the time. You can get temps anywhere in the enclosure. Just don't point at the eyes. View attachment 286087

i have the same thing!

 

[Ray--Opo]

iv put the temp up to 90 fahrenheit as told on here that will help, but still she is not eating and burying self on cooler side and doesnt come out at all, very worried, please help

Has she started eating yet? If no try some carrot baby food puree mixed in a small tub she has enough room in. Let the depth of the warm mixture be at where the top of bottom shell meet.

 

[Tom]

You shouldn't be using a thermostat on your heat lamp. The "sun" shouldn't turn on and off all day.

There are four elements to heating and lighting:

1. Basking bulb. I use 65 watt floods from the hardware store. I run them on a timer for 12 hours and adjust the height to get the correct basking temp under them. You can mount a fixture on the ceiling, or hang a dome lamp from the ceiling. Go lower or higher wattage if this makes the enclosure too hot or not warm enough. Do not use "spot" bulbs, mercury vapor bulbs or halogen bulbs.
2. Ambient heat maintenance. Unless your house gets unusually cold at night, you can skip this step for a Russian or other Testudo species. Night lows above 60 require no night heat for Testudo species.
3. Light. I use florescent tubes for this purpose. Something in the 5000-6500K color range will look the best. Most tubes at the store are in the 2500K range and they look yellowish. I've been using LEDs lately and they are great, and run cooler than a florescent. This can be set on the same timer as the basking bulb. If your tortoises room is already adequately lit, you don't need this one either.
4. UV. If you can get your tortoise outside in a safe secure enclosure for an hour 2 or 3 times a week, you won't need indoor UV. If you want it anyway, get one of the newer HO type fluorescent tubes. Which type will depend on mounting height. It helps to have a UV meter to test and see what your bulb is actually putting out at your mounting height. Plexi-glass or screen tops will filter out some or all of the UV produced by your bulb. Regular "T 8" type UV tubes produce hardly any UV. CFL type UV bulbs are also ineffective, and sometimes dangerous, and should not be used.

More info:
https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/beginner-mistakes.45180/
https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/russian-tortoise-care-sheet.80698/