New in the tortoise world.

bleu_testudo

New Member
Joined
Oct 12, 2020
Messages
1
Location (City and/or State)
Sacramento
Hello, I've owned water turtles all my life, but I'm entering new to the tortoise world.

I bought a tortoise at PetSmart and I was wondering if its normal for tortoise to not eat the first day home. He/she (not sure how to tell) walked all day in the enclosure and took some heat bathing but did not drink water or ate. I did put the turtle in water for 10 minutes while I fixed its new home. But did not see the turtle eat at all. Late in the evening he/she went to sleep and probably is out for the night.

Questions:

1. How do I get her/his appetite back ?, incase she/he continues to not eat.

2. How many hours do they sleep at night?

3. What greens is best to get it at a healthy color?

4.Are you suppose to keep the heater on all night at 95 degrees or less?

Thank you..:):tort:
 

Attachments

  • IMG-2384[1300].jpg
    IMG-2384[1300].jpg
    2.8 MB · Views: 14
  • IMG-2385[1299].jpg
    IMG-2385[1299].jpg
    2 MB · Views: 14

SweetGreekTorts

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jun 12, 2018
Messages
980
Location (City and/or State)
Tucson, AZ
Tortoises are not fond of change and can be stubborn while adjusting to a new home. That's why yours is currently not eating. Keep offering fresh food daily and it will eat when it is ready. I also recommend regular soaks to help keep it hydrated.

Russian Tortoises have a staple diet of weeds, broadleaf greens, and flowers. I grow it all from seed for my Greeks and Pancakes. There are tortoise seed mixes you can buy that takes all the guessing out of it. If you're interested and need direct links, let me know.

Safe grocery store greens include Romaine Lettuce, Red Leaf Lettuce, Green Leaf Lettuce, Escarole, Endive, Collard Greens, Mustard Greens, Dandelion Greens, and Radicchio. Avoid Spinach and Kale, as those fed in excess result in binding calcium which will create health issues.

Tortoises can sleep often, and yours is stressed and adjusting, so it may hide and sleep more.

No nighttime heat, the tortoise needs to cool down in the evening.
 

Happytort27

Active Member
Joined
Apr 10, 2020
Messages
259
Location (City and/or State)
CA
Favor endive or escarole if you still love to shop at the to grocery store.

Looks like you have a coil bulb in there. Take it out. It can burn their eyes and cause problems in the long run. In addition to that, those bulbs barely put out any UVB. Instead, use a standard BR flood bulb (not PAR or halogen) as a basking light. If you want to add UVB, use a tube light. You can get the ZooMed strip light or Arcadia brand. The T8 barely gives off any UVB and it’s only effective around 8-10 inches. I’d get the T5 if you can place it around 20 inches high.

You don’t need UVB lights if you can supply natural sun for a couple of hours each week.

Give him a nice, long, warm soak tomorrow morning and see if he eats.

Here’s the forum’s current care sheet. Make sure you follow it and make the correct adjustments to to your care. Feel free to ask any more questions! If SweetGreekTorts and I didn’t answer a couple of your questions, please reach out to us or other members on the forum. They are all super helpful and knowledgeable.

 

Tom

The Dog Trainer
10 Year Member!
Platinum Tortoise Club
Joined
Jan 9, 2010
Messages
63,265
Location (City and/or State)
Southern California
I bought a tortoise at PetSmart
This was your first mistake...

Questions:

1. How do I get her/his appetite back ?, incase she/he continues to not eat.

2. How many hours do they sleep at night?

3. What greens is best to get it at a healthy color?

4.Are you suppose to keep the heater on all night at 95 degrees or less?

Thank you..:):tort:
1. You get the appetite back by housing and heating the tortoise correctly, and keeping it hydrated by soaking. Pet stores give the wrong info and sell the wrong products for this. You've got the wrong housing and wrong lighting. Refer to the care sheet that Happytort linked for you for how to do this correctly. Here is more info on heating and lighting in addition to the care sheet:
There are four elements to heating and lighting:
  1. Basking bulb. I use 65 watt incandescent floods from the hardware store. Some people will need bigger, or smaller wattage bulbs. Let your thermometer be your guide. I run them on a timer for about 12 hours and adjust the height to get the correct basking temp under them. I also like to use a flat rock of some sort directly under the bulb.
  2. Ambient heat maintenance. I use ceramic heating elements or radiant heat panels set on thermostats to maintain ambient above 80 degrees day and night for tropical species. You'd only need day heat for a temperate species like Testudo or DT.
  3. Light. I use LEDs for this purpose. Something in the 5000-6500K color range will look the best. Most bulbs at the store are in the 2500K range and they look yellowish. Strip or screw-in bulb types are both fine.
  4. UV. If you can get your tortoise outside 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. 5.0 bulbs make almost no UV. You need a meter to check this: https://www.solarmeter.com/model65.html
2. They sleep all of the night hours when its dark, and a bunch of hours during the day too.
3. The food has nothing to do with the tortoise's color. Refer to the care sheet for the correct foods to offer.
4. No. Temperate species, like Russians, need cooler nights, and they also need it dark at night.
 
Top