new tortoise, help!

[sammieannfit]

so i have owned a red ear slider for a year now. i went to petsmart to get him fish and snails to eat. i had seen this russian tortoise that didn't look too hot. they said he wasn't eating or drinking because his tankmate had been sold. it's been two days and he isn't doing well at all. not eating, drinking, not moving. i'm not sure what i can do to help him. he has an appointment in the am to see a vet. ive removed the wood chips, his enclosure is at 80 degrees (87 in basking) and coconut fiber is dampened. anything i can do to help with dehydration and loss of appetite? is this normal?

 

[wellington]

Basking spot should be 95-100. Give him a warm water soak daily.
Hes not missing his cage mate, they should not be kept in pairs as they will bully. This one was probably the one getting bullied and pet stores take lousy care of their animals.
This tortoise needs an enclosure of no smaller then 4x8 feet.

 

[Yvonne G]

Please read our Russian tortoise care sheet: https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/russian-tortoise-care-sheet.80698/ and make any changes to the way you have him set up accordingly.

Here's what I would do if I had just brought this tortoise home:

Because he's not eating and his eyes are closed, I would have his new enclosure (according to the care sheet) all set up, but instead of putting him in there, I would put him into a smaller plastic tub and cover it to keep the warm air inside. Then I would soak the tortoise daily for at least a half hour. If he scrambles to get out, that's ok, just leave him in there under supervision. I would have the temperature in this smaller hospital enclosure about 80-85F degrees, day and night. After his soak in the morning, I would place him in front of the food in the smaller hospital enclosure and step out of his sight. If his eyes don't open after a couple days of soaking him and keeping him warm, then I would start adding Gerber strained carrots to the soaking water. They get some vitamin A from soaking in the carrot water and this usually helps get the eyes open.

Please keep us informed and let us know if the tortoise is improving.