Hi everyone, I recently took in my nephews Russian tortoise simply because he appeared to be neglected and the family had 0 interest in keeping the tortoise alive.
This means I am a new tortoise mom. And I need a lot of help from everyone. I have spent all morning trying to do my research, but I still know very little. This Russian tortoise is 5 years old, lives in a decent sized indoor enclosure with a UV and a basking lamp located in one corner (see attached). I'll refer to the tortoise as a "he" for now, because that's the gender I was told by my relatives but this is not confirmed. He currently has a very overgrown beak (I think!) and it's cracked on one side. He has no interest in the cuttle bone I got him for his beak. He has apparently not eaten in 1-2 months, same goes for pooping. They have never taken him to the vet. They picked him up at petsmart 5 years ago. They feed him pellets. From what I understand this is a poor choice? They also give him some lettuce, kale, endive, and very rarely arugula. They use some shell cream called "VitaShell" (also in attachments).
Again I am a new tortoise mom. Please be gentle, but PLEASE give me as much information as I need. Is he really a he? Is the light location ok? Does he need another light on the other side? Is the enclosure too small? Can anyone give me an example of a diet? Should I get rid of the pellets? What do I do about the cracked beak? Is the cream any good?
I just moved a few days ago and will be bringing the tortoise to a vet ASAP. I gave him a bath today and let him sit for about 30 minutes in warm water and he DID manage to poop (yay, small victory!). He still is not eating, or drinking water unless he is doing it when I am sleeping. I read that tortoises will refuse to eat unless they can heat themselves up to a certain temperature. I try to keep him under the basking light but he keeps moving into the den and banging against it. I'd like the advice of everyone here. Please help. I thank you so much in advance, and hope this lovely baby is not in as much trouble as I feel he is in.
This means I am a new tortoise mom. And I need a lot of help from everyone. I have spent all morning trying to do my research, but I still know very little. This Russian tortoise is 5 years old, lives in a decent sized indoor enclosure with a UV and a basking lamp located in one corner (see attached). I'll refer to the tortoise as a "he" for now, because that's the gender I was told by my relatives but this is not confirmed. He currently has a very overgrown beak (I think!) and it's cracked on one side. He has no interest in the cuttle bone I got him for his beak. He has apparently not eaten in 1-2 months, same goes for pooping. They have never taken him to the vet. They picked him up at petsmart 5 years ago. They feed him pellets. From what I understand this is a poor choice? They also give him some lettuce, kale, endive, and very rarely arugula. They use some shell cream called "VitaShell" (also in attachments).
Again I am a new tortoise mom. Please be gentle, but PLEASE give me as much information as I need. Is he really a he? Is the light location ok? Does he need another light on the other side? Is the enclosure too small? Can anyone give me an example of a diet? Should I get rid of the pellets? What do I do about the cracked beak? Is the cream any good?
I just moved a few days ago and will be bringing the tortoise to a vet ASAP. I gave him a bath today and let him sit for about 30 minutes in warm water and he DID manage to poop (yay, small victory!). He still is not eating, or drinking water unless he is doing it when I am sleeping. I read that tortoises will refuse to eat unless they can heat themselves up to a certain temperature. I try to keep him under the basking light but he keeps moving into the den and banging against it. I'd like the advice of everyone here. Please help. I thank you so much in advance, and hope this lovely baby is not in as much trouble as I feel he is in.