Inactive Tortoise

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hunterk997

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My russian tortoise only seems to come out to eat then I walk her and she goes right back to her hiding place once she gets back in her enclosure. I have had her for three months and she is definitely settled in already. She doesn't show any signs of being sick. She has clear nostrils, clear eyes. The temperatures are 95-100 on the basking ened and 80 on the cool end. Is it possible she is just "lazy?"
 

JoesMum

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Re: RE: Inactive Tortoise

hunterk997 said:
My russian tortoise only seems to come out to eat then I walk her and she goes right back to her hiding place once she gets back in her enclosure. I have had her for three months and she is definitely settled in already. She doesn't show any signs of being sick. She has clear nostrils, clear eyes. The temperatures are 95-100 on the basking ened and 80 on the cool end. Is it possible she is just "lazy?"

What do you mean by "when I walk her"... Her enclosure should be her world, not the wider surroundings.

Do you always put her next to her food? Or does she have a reason to go looking for it? If you always move her to food, she'll just eat and then go sleep it off. Why be more active?
 

theelectraco

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Russians also need a cool end that's closer to room temp if I am correct.


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hunterk997

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JoesMum said:
hunterk997 said:
My russian tortoise only seems to come out to eat then I walk her and she goes right back to her hiding place once she gets back in her enclosure. I have had her for three months and she is definitely settled in already. She doesn't show any signs of being sick. She has clear nostrils, clear eyes. The temperatures are 95-100 on the basking ened and 80 on the cool end. Is it possible she is just "lazy?"

What do you mean by "when I walk her"... Her enclosure should be her world, not the wider surroundings.

Do you always put her next to her food? Or does she have a reason to go looking for it? If you always move her to food, she'll just eat and then go sleep it off. Why be more active?

She is in an indoor enclosure so I allow her to walk twenty minutes a day for exercise. I usually put her food in the same spot at the same time every day.
 

theelectraco

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hunterk997 said:
JoesMum said:
hunterk997 said:
My russian tortoise only seems to come out to eat then I walk her and she goes right back to her hiding place once she gets back in her enclosure. I have had her for three months and she is definitely settled in already. She doesn't show any signs of being sick. She has clear nostrils, clear eyes. The temperatures are 95-100 on the basking ened and 80 on the cool end. Is it possible she is just "lazy?"

What do you mean by "when I walk her"... Her enclosure should be her world, not the wider surroundings.

Do you always put her next to her food? Or does she have a reason to go looking for it? If you always move her to food, she'll just eat and then go sleep it off. Why be more active?

She is in an indoor enclosure so I allow her to walk twenty minutes a day for exercise. I usually put her food in the same spot at the same time every day.

She needs a real, secure outdoor pen. Letting them roam for 20 minutes a day is not enough.


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hunterk997

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I can't put her outdoors. She is ony four inches, so it's not as if she is outflgrowing her ability to be indoors. I would just like to know if she is sick.
 

theelectraco

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hunterk997 said:
I can't put her outdoors. She is ony four inches, so it's not as if she is outflgrowing her ability to be indoors. I would just like to know if she is sick.

Why can't you out her outdoors? Russians roam alot in the wild. Even with a decent sized indoor enclosure all tortoises need a lot of time outside in the sun roaming and exercising.


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hunterk997

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I put her outside when I can and she is monitored. She gets daily exercise usually twenty to thirty minutes a day, and now that I don't have school, she has been walking more. I have done tons of reasearch and it has said the enclosure should be at least ten times the length of the tortoise's shell, so that's what I did. She is in a four by two foot enclosure. I would like to know why she is "lazy."
 

theelectraco

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Perhaps she is lazy because she is bored with her indoor enclosure. 4x2 isn't much space for a Russian, so if that's what she is going to be housed in, it needs to be as interesting as possible. Densely planted, real or fake. Give her something to walk around and over and through.

I still don't understand why you can't provide an outdoor enclosure. You seem to be handy, as you built your tortoises enclosure...you can easily build something portable for the outdoors that you can out your tortoise in. Do you not have a yard? Apt? Predators? Maybe if we understand the situation better we can help you find a happy medium for your tortoise while outdoors.


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JoesMum

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Re: RE: Inactive Tortoise

hunterk997 said:
I put her outside when I can and she is monitored. She gets daily exercise usually twenty to thirty minutes a day, and now that I don't have school, she has been walking more. I have done tons of reasearch and it has said the enclosure should be at least ten times the length of the tortoise's shell, so that's what I did. She is in a four by two foot enclosure. I would like to know why she is "lazy."

Going gently here with a young member.

Your enclosure needs to be as large as possible. Your tort in the wild is one that roams over many miles and in captivity it needs lots of space too. Your tort is not a dog and doesn't need exercising, but it does need room to roam and do things for itself.

It also needs to be left alone and be allowed to explore and do things in its own time... which may well be when you are not around... at school for example. What you are seeing is normal tort behaviour. They eat, they poop and they sleep or bask... then go and find something else to eat... They don't run around and play... and sleeping takes up probably 80% of their time... more if they don't have to work hard to find food.
 

hunterk997

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JoesMum said:
hunterk997 said:
I put her outside when I can and she is monitored. She gets daily exercise usually twenty to thirty minutes a day, and now that I don't have school, she has been walking more. I have done tons of reasearch and it has said the enclosure should be at least ten times the length of the tortoise's shell, so that's what I did. She is in a four by two foot enclosure. I would like to know why she is "lazy."

Going gently here with a young member.

Your enclosure needs to be as large as possible. Your tort in the wild is one that roams over many miles and in captivity it needs lots of space too. Your tort is not a dog and doesn't need exercising, but it does need room to roam and do things for itself.

It also needs to be left alone and be allowed to explore and do things in its own time... which may well be when you are not around... at school for example. What you are seeing is normal tort behaviour. They eat, they poop and they sleep or bask... then go and find something else to eat... They don't run around and play... and sleeping takes up probably 80% of their time... more if they don't have to work hard to find food.
I understand this. I realize it may seem because I am younger I don't know, but I did plenty of research, so I am not completely ignorant to tortoise behavior. It's just she was active last week, she would walk around, bask, go in her water dish. But this week she has seemed to slow down, she wakes up and comes out at around the time for food but then immiediately goes back to her hide. I will attempt to make her enclosure more "ineteresting" for her. I did make a hill for her before but she demolished it while digging, so I'll recreate that. The reason i walk her is because in the resaerch I did before getting her, it said they should have that opportunity to freely walk around. I also know that they roam for several miles, but we have three dogs and one of them is one that always wants to be outside, so it would be hard for an enclosure out back :/ and we live in town and we have other ternagers that like to "disrespect" I guess is the word- others property. So our front yard can't have an outdoor enclosure either. But my father and I have discussed cuttig off an area for my tortoise, but I don't know when this will actually happen...
 

JoesMum

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Re: RE: Inactive Tortoise

8T
hunterk997 said:
JoesMum said:
hunterk997 said:
I put her outside when I can and she is monitored. She gets daily exercise usually twenty to thirty minutes a day, and now that I don't have school, she has been walking more. I have done tons of reasearch and it has said the enclosure should be at least ten times the length of the tortoise's shell, so that's what I did. She is in a four by two foot enclosure. I would like to know why she is "lazy."

Going gently here with a young member.

Your enclosure needs to be as large as possible. Your tort in the wild is one that roams over many miles and in captivity it needs lots of space too. Your tort is not a dog and doesn't need exercising, but it does need room to roam and do things for itself.

It also needs to be left alone and be allowed to explore and do things in its own time... which may well be when you are not around... at school for example. What you are seeing is normal tort behaviour. They eat, they poop and they sleep or bask... then go and find something else to eat... They don't run around and play... and sleeping takes up probably 80% of their time... more if they don't have to work hard to find food.
I understand this. I realize it may seem because I am younger I don't know, but I did plenty of research, so I am not completely ignorant to tortoise behavior. It's just she was active last week, she would walk around, bask, go in her water dish. But this week she has seemed to slow down, she wakes up and comes out at around the time for food but then immiediately goes back to her hide. I will attempt to make her enclosure more "ineteresting" for her. I did make a hill for her before but she demolished it while digging, so I'll recreate that. The reason i walk her is because in the resaerch I did before getting her, it said they should have that opportunity to freely walk around. I also know that they roam for several miles, but we have three dogs and one of them is one that always wants to be outside, so it would be hard for an enclosure out back :/ and we live in town and we have other ternagers that like to "disrespect" I guess is the word- others property. So our front yard can't have an outdoor enclosure either. But my father and I have discussed cuttig off an area for my tortoise, but I don't know when this will actually happen...

Actually my bit about you being younger was a warning to others who might treat you more harshly than they should, not a reflection of your research.

You will find that torts have an extraordinary ability to trash their enclosures; rebuilding can be a full time occupation, but it keeps our shelled friends happy!

Letting your tort roam freely is not recommended. They do need exercise, but they don't cope with change well and their is a high risk of him attempting to eat something that isn't food. Also your tort is exposed to all the chemicals and things that you do your best to avoid in his enclosure.

Are there any other signs of possible illness such as a soft shell or runny nose?
 

hunterk997

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I don't think there are any other signs of illness. She eats normally. Her eyes and nose look clear, no mucus or "bubbling" from the nose. And I apologize for assuming about the younger comment, I am used to people basing everything off of age, so I am sorry.
 

JoesMum

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Re: RE: Inactive Tortoise

hunterk997 said:
I don't think there are any other signs of illness. She eats normally. Her eyes and nose look clear, no mucus or "bubbling" from the nose. And I apologize for assuming about the younger comment, I am used to people basing everything off of age, so I am sorry.

Don't worry. I didn't take offence. We all want the best thing for your tort. If your tort is otherwise well, I wouldn't worry too much. Just try to make him work a bit harder for his food before he turns into the tortoise equivalent of a couch potato! :D

I am in the UK and it's gone 10pm, so I am off to bed now. There will be others in your time zone who can help you out on this thread while I sleep :)
 

hunterk997

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theelectraco said:
Perhaps she is lazy because she is bored with her indoor enclosure. 4x2 isn't much space for a Russian, so if that's what she is going to be housed in, it needs to be as interesting as possible. Densely planted, real or fake. Give her something to walk around and over and through.

I still don't understand why you can't provide an outdoor enclosure. You seem to be handy, as you built your tortoises enclosure...you can easily build something portable for the outdoors that you can out your tortoise in. Do you not have a yard? Apt? Predators? Maybe if we understand the situation better we can help you find a happy medium for your tortoise while outdoors.


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Okay so I tried to make it more interesting. I added a huge aloe vera plant, moved her food dish to the opposite end of the enclosure, and put a hill in the middle of the enclosure. I attached pictures. I also have a spider plant that is flowering so I will be adding some spider plants.
ImageUploadedByTortForum1371058252.852033.jpgImageUploadedByTortForum1371058275.786924.jpgImageUploadedByTortForum1371058310.414273.jpg ImageUploadedByTortForum1371058348.886468.jpg
So do you guys think this is more interesting? I'm hoping to buy some seed mixes from carolina pet supply to plant also.
 
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Levi the Leopard

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Well, adding that one plant is more interesting than no plant...but it's still a boring enclosure IMO.

I don't think your tort is sick and I think he is lazy because there is nothing to do.

I have so many ideas of what you could do... Decorating enclosures is one of my favorite things!

I'm on my phone right now but next time I'm at my computer I can post some specific picture examples for you, if you are interested.

Post a picture of your enclosure from straight overhead and i can help you with placement too

Heather
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I like your substrate and the general design of your enclosure.

I think your idea of planting the seed mix is a good one. If you can I would also advise buying the TNT with the additive. It's good for Russians.

I do think your enclosure needs an addition to give more roaming space and give you an area for a second feed station. Either add an "L" extension, if you have room, or a second story. You can find lots of examples on the forum enclosure pages.

I like the hill idea you have implemented. You can also add some sight breaks so that he will want to check out whats around the corner. Russians are very curious, when I rake my enclosures to mix the substrate I put the tortoise over in one corner and make a large pile from the other end; within 10 seconds my Russian will be on top of the hill checking out the changes. Then I mix the other end while he or she is on the hill. Then I move the Russian back to the finished area and level the big mound and replace the ramp to the second story. I find it disturbs my Russians less if move them gently with a low level glide than if I move them out and over the wall.

I also find that my Russians seem move active when the night temperature drops into the mid 60's. And if you can get the temperature range for daytime more like 75 to 100. I think the 80 degrees is a little high for their low temperature.

Good luck; I'm sure you'll be a wonderful keeper! :)
 

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can you get Cinder blocks from Home Depot? you can make a quick easy outdoor enclosure with them. make it square and then use 2x4 and make a 'lid' and use hardware cloth as the top covering to secure her. outside is best for them.. you can bring inside at night if nec.
 

hunterk997

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Laura said:
can you get Cinder blocks from Home Depot? you can make a quick easy outdoor enclosure with them. make it square and then use 2x4 and make a 'lid' and use hardware cloth as the top covering to secure her. outside is best for them.. you can bring inside at night if nec.

Thanks! This sounds like a really simple, do-able design. I'll try to convince my dad to section off an area for her. Thanks for the idea, it's awesome. Could I use chicken wire? We still have tons left over from when we built her indoor enclosure.


Team Gomberg said:
Well, adding that one plant is more interesting than no plant...but it's still a boring enclosure IMO.

I don't think your tort is sick and I think he is lazy because there is nothing to do.

I have so many ideas of what you could do... Decorating enclosures is one of my favorite things!

I'm on my phone right now but next time I'm at my computer I can post some specific picture examples for you, if you are interested.

Post a picture of your enclosure from straight overhead and i can help you with placement too

Heather
Sent from my Android TFO app

I'd be very interesting to hear some more ideas. I am using an ipod so it's kind of hard to get a good picture but here is one
ImageUploadedByTortForum1371064963.598595.jpg.


I talked to my parents about the cinder block enclosure, I explained I was paying for it and they would just need to section off some yard, and they said that they would think about it. But if we do it, it will have to wait a few weeks.


So I guess I made it a little more interesting for her, for now. She is now basking, which she hasn't done in about a week.
 
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hunterk997

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Laura said:
can you get Cinder blocks from Home Depot? you can make a quick easy outdoor enclosure with them. make it square and then use 2x4 and make a 'lid' and use hardware cloth as the top covering to secure her. outside is best for them.. you can bring inside at night if nec.

Would one of those molded plastic kiddie pools work too? I've seen some people on here make enclosures out of those. Would a six foot diameter pool be enough space for a Russian?
 
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