Help with inactive and not eating Russian

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JaK0603

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Hello all,

I'm new to the forums and to torts in general. My wife and I have had Natasha for about a month and a half now. At first we had her in a 40 gal glass terrarium but after seeing how she was constantly bumping into the sides we decided to relocate her into a ZooMed tortoise house with a coconut and mulch mix substrate. This has been the enclosure she has been in since a week after we have had her. She was a typical newbie just hiding the first few days and then finally a week later started being out and about more often and eating. Well now for about a week or so she has just been digging in and not at all eating. When i make her food in the morning i will move her in front of it. 10 min later i will look and she would just have moved back to her hole. She almost solely stays in the built in hide away that the tortoise house comes with.

The heat in her "house" stay's in the low 80's in the cold spots and 90's in the warm with the basking spot being around 95. We use a 100W "red" heat lamp and a "curly" UV lamp (I know most people suggest the Powersun 100W and i am considering returning all current lights and getting that). I have a mounted temp/humid thermometer and i use a infrared thermometer to double check temps. So i believe these are the correct temps.

As for diet we feed her the ZooMed grassland pellets mixed with collard greens, spring mix, fruit, and i have even tried to get her some reptivite fruit gel. All the foods listed is being fed interchangeably and not all together. We only give fruit about once a week and we feed her every other day.

I have to admit i have not given her the soakings that i have seen suggested on here. so far i have only soaked her about once a week in baby warm water. could this be a cause?

My wife and i are college students so we would definitely like to avoid a vet bill if at all possible. We have no clue as to what to do for her anymore and that is why i am turning here. Please help us! Thanks for reading this and i appreciate any suggestions.
 

Yvonne G

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Hi JaK0603 and welcome to the Forum!

First of all, get rid of the curly bulb. I know your tortoise isn't a baby, but those bulbs have been known to be hard on baby tortoises' eyes (snowblindness).

Here's something good for you to read, as this problem (the one you're writing about) comes up quite often:

http://www.tortoiseforum.org/thread-59575.html#axzz2DRd3cyKJ
 

JaK0603

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mainey34 said:
Agreed about the curly bulbs. Also they need some humidity...

I forgot to mention i do spray down the substrate about every week and the humidity doesn't fall below 40% from what i have seen.
 

JaK0603

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emysemys said:
Hi JaK0603 and welcome to the Forum!

First of all, get rid of the curly bulb. I know your tortoise isn't a baby, but those bulbs have been known to be hard on baby tortoises' eyes (snowblindness).

Here's something good for you to read, as this problem (the one you're writing about) comes up quite often:

http://www.tortoiseforum.org/thread-59575.html#axzz2DRd3cyKJ

Yes that is why i posted that i was most likely going to be taking it back. Would the Powersun or something like that work better as an all in one heat/light/uv?
 

Yvonne G

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Yes, I like them just fine.
 

furandscales

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I would suggest soaks everyday until she gets better. And maybe less fruit. And pellets aren't necessary and sometimes are hard to digest. Does her eyes and shell look ok?


emysemys said:
Hi JaK0603 and welcome to the Forum!

First of all, get rid of the curly bulb. I know your tortoise isn't a baby, but those bulbs have been known to be hard on baby tortoises' eyes (snowblindness).

Here's something good for you to read, as this problem (the one you're writing about) comes up quite often:

http://www.tortoiseforum.org/thread-59575.html#axzz2DRd3cyKJ

I have one of those but have read many places u need UVB and UVA so that's what the "curly" one is. I need to get rid of it?
 

Yvonne G

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Furandscales:

The curly compact fluorescent bulbs have caused snow blindness in baby tortoises in the past, when the bulbs first came out for reptile use. They have supposedly been fixed, but I choose to err on the safety side and not use them at all...because how do you know if you have a new or an old bulb?
 

biochemnerd808

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You might check eBay for a better price on the Powersun. Or, you can opt for the slightly less expensive tube-style light, which is not QUITE as good as the powersun, but still better than the curly kind. You use that together with a basking bulb. If you get the tube-light kind, I recommend the Exo Terra Repti Glo 10.0 - that has more UV than the 5.0.
I know some folks on here swear by the SunForce Mercury Vapor bulb by Big Apple Pet supply. It only costs about $30, and gets great reviews (some say it's better than the powersun).

JaK0603 said:
emysemys said:
Hi JaK0603 and welcome to the Forum!

First of all, get rid of the curly bulb. I know your tortoise isn't a baby, but those bulbs have been known to be hard on baby tortoises' eyes (snowblindness).

Here's something good for you to read, as this problem (the one you're writing about) comes up quite often:

http://www.tortoiseforum.org/thread-59575.html#axzz2DRd3cyKJ

Yes that is why i posted that i was most likely going to be taking it back. Would the Powersun or something like that work better as an all in one heat/light/uv?
 

JaK0603

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Laura said:
14 hours of light a day or she will try to hibernate as well...

See I learn something new all the time. I have mostly seen 12 hour days but thanks for letting me know that 14 is better.
 

JaK0603

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Seems like Natasha is getting a bit worse. I soaked her last night and this morning i put some food out and her new powersun light. As i was observing her i kept hearing little bubbles almost as if water was trapped in her shell when she was moving. Well then i saw a little bubble at her nose :(. So does this mean she has a RI? Do we have to take her to a vet asap?
 

JaK0603

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We took her to a vet who told my wife that the temps are too high for her. As i stated before though the temp directly underneath the light is 93 or so at this moment and cool spot is 85 with her hideaway in the high 70's.

He told my wife we need to keep it in the high 80's in the hot area. Now here is my other question. With the powersun lamp i have right now i keep it straight on the zoomed tortoise house "roof". We don't have a stand or clamp keeping the light up. Now if i want it cooler do i have to move the light higher up? I also forgot to mention that this light has a dimmer so in the past with the other heating lamp i just dimmed it. Can the powersun lamp be dimmed?


Thanks guys for helping us out.
 

lynnedit

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So sorry you are having these problems.

The basking area, right under the Powersun, should be 95-100F. Your temps sound good, and your vet may not be giving correct information, at least about temps.
If a tort gets too warm, they burrow down, but they don't generally get an RI.
95 to 100F provides one option for your tort. They are not forced to be under it, but have the choice of going under it, or near it, to self regulate.
When a tort is sick, with nose bubbles, etc., then it is even more important to keep them on the warm side.
Basking 95 to 100.
other areas 80F
cool side 70F. Since your tort is not well, maintain this at night too.

Do you have an accurate way to measure temps? A digital thermometer with a probe (which you can move from spot to spot every few hours to monitor) works well and is inexpensive.

Powersuns cannot be dimmed, just on and off. CHE's can be dimmed, on a thermostat. If you want to lower temps, yes, raise the Powersun. However, too high and your tort won't get much UVB. However, if your temps are correct, you don't need to do this, really.

Warm daily soaks (don't let the water cool off).

Did the vet say anything else?
 

JaK0603

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lynnedit said:
So sorry you are having these problems.

The basking area, right under the Powersun, should be 95-100F. Your temps sound good, and your vet may not be giving correct information, at least about temps.
If a tort gets too warm, they burrow down, but they don't generally get an RI.
95 to 100F provides one option for your tort. They are not forced to be under it, but have the choice of going under it, or near it, to self regulate.
When a tort is sick, with nose bubbles, etc., then it is even more important to keep them on the warm side.
Basking 95 to 100.
other areas 80F
cool side 70F. Since your tort is not well, maintain this at night too.

Do you have an accurate way to measure temps? A digital thermometer with a probe (which you can move from spot to spot every few hours to monitor) works well and is inexpensive.

Powersuns cannot be dimmed, just on and off. CHE's can be dimmed, on a thermostat. If you want to lower temps, yes, raise the Powersun. However, too high and your tort won't get much UVB. However, if your temps are correct, you don't need to do this, really.

Warm daily soaks (don't let the water cool off).

Did the vet say anything else?

To measure the temps I have an IR digital thermometer i use to periodically check temps and also an analog thermometer with humidity gauge on the warm side. How do i keep the water warm?

The vet also mentioned she had a little bit of dry irritation on her face and shell. I'm sure the soaks will help with that though.
 

lynnedit

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Soaks: if you start with the water warm enough, it should be OK. Just keep tabs on the water, if it feels lukewarm, either add some (if not too deep) or have a second container to move him to. Soak for about 15 mins.

Sometimes during soaks, water can cool off to lukewarm in 15 to 20 mins. With a healthy tort, put right back to bask, this is probably OK. But you have to be extra careful right now.
Soaks will definitely help with dryness.
You can start the baby food soaks, won't hurt. You take a jar of strained carrots or sweet potato or squash (high in vits, including A) and just mix it into the warm water. I use the Beech Nut stage 2 brand because it is the cheapest :p. One jar to the soaking water is fine. They get some when they drink, or if not, absorb some through the skin by the tail.

The IR thermometers are great! So your temps are probably very accurate, and as mentioned, actually sound good.

Have you seen this site?
http://russiantortoise.net/

Hope he comes around!
 

JaK0603

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Just thought I would give a bit of an update. Natasha seems a bit better today. when I came home I saw the tunnel she had dug and it looks like she almost turned her house upside down she was digging so much today. This seems like good news as she was barely moving last week. It also looks like she may have eaten some. Here's to hoping. I'll continue soaks and temp monitoring. The new light seems to be helping.
 

lynnedit

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That is a very good sign. Burrowing is certainly normal for them.
Good plan to keep the soaks up.

Appreciate the update!
 
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