Questions on caring for Russian baby

[Ninja's mom]

I have a few more questions for caring for our Russian Tortoise baby. First off, he had diarrhea today. He had diarrhea for a day or two about two months ago and it worked itself out, so hoping this will be the case again. I had his stool checked and it was fine. But it made me wonder if I should be giving him hay or some sort of roughage? He only gets a variety of grocery store greens, we live in a cold climate. Unless someone has ideas for growing plants indoors in cold climates? I do give him Mazuri but he only eats it once in awhile, he doesn't seem crazy about it.

Also, everyone says you need to turn his lights off at night so he can sleep...this could be a dumb question, but he sleeps all the time during the day when its light, why do they need darkness to sleep?

He tends to go through periods of being awake more during the day and sleeping most of the day...is that normal? Maybe he's bored? He has a rock to climb on, a log to hide under and two sets of fake plants...he tends to hang out under one fake plant most of the day. Anything else I can do for him? The basking side stays around 95 and he spends most of his time on that end, going to the other end only to eat. He gets soaked about 5 days per week.

 

[wellington]

Maybe he needs a bigger variety of food items. Be sure to mix it up. As for light or dark at night, hmmm, night time in the wild is dark. So yes, it should be dark. Babies sleep a lot. That's just what babies of all species, well most all do, so that's pretty normal. Are you soaking him daily, warm water? Also keep humidity up. If you haven't read the caresheet yet, please do, that will help with temps and humidity. There's one for hatchlings and one for adults.

 

[Tom]

I have a few more questions for caring for our Russian Tortoise baby. First off, he had diarrhea today. He had diarrhea for a day or two about two months ago and it worked itself out, so hoping this will be the case again. I had his stool checked and it was fine. But it made me wonder if I should be giving him hay or some sort of roughage? He only gets a variety of grocery store greens, we live in a cold climate. Unless someone has ideas for growing plants indoors in cold climates? I do give him Mazuri but he only eats it once in awhile, he doesn't seem crazy about it.

Also, everyone says you need to turn his lights off at night so he can sleep...this could be a dumb question, but he sleeps all the time during the day when its light, why do they need darkness to sleep?

He tends to go through periods of being awake more during the day and sleeping most of the day...is that normal? Maybe he's bored? He has a rock to climb on, a log to hide under and two sets of fake plants...he tends to hang out under one fake plant most of the day. Anything else I can do for him? The basking side stays around 95 and he spends most of his time on that end, going to the other end only to eat. He gets soaked about 5 days per week.

The loose stools are likely due to your diet. Grocery store foods lack fiber. Add some "salad style" or some herbal hay to the diet.

Once they are fed and warm, they will often go sleep. No reason to expose yourself to predators when your needs are already met, right? They still need a day and night cycle. Best to use a timer.

Yes it is normal for them to change their activity periods. Especially in winter. Even though the temps are monitored, they still "know" its winter and they should be hibernating.

 

[Ninja's mom]

Thanks for the replies everyone. To answer some questions, I soak him almost every day...I aim for every day but occasionally miss a day here or there. I do try to mix up his diet, I typically alternate between buying "mixed greens" and one other type one week to two types of greens the next week. Would this be a good option? http://www.tortoisesupply.com/HerbalHay

Also, any tricks for calcium spray? I bought one and it clogs every single time I use it and now I can't get it unclogged. I've been pouring a tiny bit over his greens twice a week and just mixing it as well as I can and dabbing off excess with a paper towel since pouring it puts much more on the food then spraying it.

Thanks!

 

[Tom]

Thanks for the replies everyone. To answer some questions, I soak him almost every day...I aim for every day but occasionally miss a day here or there. I do try to mix up his diet, I typically alternate between buying "mixed greens" and one other type one week to two types of greens the next week. Would this be a good option? http://www.tortoisesupply.com/HerbalHay

Also, any tricks for calcium spray? I bought one and it clogs every single time I use it and now I can't get it unclogged. I've been pouring a tiny bit over his greens twice a week and just mixing it as well as I can and dabbing off excess with a paper towel since pouring it puts much more on the food then spraying it.

Thanks!

Your soaking routine sounds fine. There is no harm in skipping a day once in a while, even for a baby.

The herbal hay from tortoise supply.com is a GREAT product. I've been using it for years. You should also look for this one: http://www.chinchillas.com/estore/detail.aspx?ID=96

You can also get the "Grassland Tortoise Food" from ZooMed to add some fiber. Soak one pellet and mix it in with the days greens, so he can't eat around it. Over time, he'll get used to all this new stuff.

I don't use the calcium spray. I use the powder, so I don't have any tips for you here...

I also think you need more variety in your greens. Favor endive and escarole, but also use cilantro, turnip, mustard and collard greens, kale, carrot tops, celery tops, bok choy, etc… Lots and lots of variety. Here are some more tips on good food items:

Mulberry leaves
Grape vine leaves
Hibiscus leaves
African hibiscus leaves
Blue hibiscus leaves
Rose of Sharon leaves
Rose leaves
Geraniums
Gazanias
Lavatera
Pansies
Petunias
Hostas
Honeysuckle
Cape honeysuckle
Leaves and blooms from any squash plant, like pumpkin, cucumber, summer squash, etc...
Young spineless opuntia cactus pads

Weeds:
There are soooooooo many...
Dandelion
Mallow
Filaree
Smooth Sow thistle
Prickly Sow thistle
Milk thistle
Goat head weed
Cats ear
Nettles
Trefoil
Wild onion
Wild mustard
Wild Garlic
Clovers
Broadleaf plantain
Narrow leaf plantain
Chick weed
Hawksbit
Hensbit
Hawksbeard

Other good stuff:
"Testudo Seed Mix" from http://www.tortoisesupply.com/SeedMixes
Pasture mixes or other seeds from http://www.groworganic.com/seeds.html
Homegrown alfalfa
Mazuri Tortoise Chow
ZooMed Grassland Tortoise Food

 

[Mislilly]

Just stumbles across this....thank you tom. I have a young russian and I constantly struggle to find a varied diet for him. I've copied your list down

 

[Ninja's mom]

Thank you so much! I do have the Mazuri and the Zoomed but he isn't crazy about it. I will mix it in more and see how it goes. I will also order the hay from Tortoise supply and will look for the stuff from Oxbow. I work at a vet clinic (unfortunately one that doesn't treat tortoises!) so I might be able to get it through a distributor. And thank you for the list of food! Every week at the grocery store I look at all the greens and am trying to google what he can have etc, this will help immensely! I plan on trying to grow some food in the summer, but right now with no green thumb, little sun and it being cold and waiting for snow to drop on us, I have a feeling nothing will survive!