Riddle me this

[fajita]

As most of you guys know this tortoise adventure for me has been a frustrating and rough one. With multiple iterations of tortoise homes to make it more natural to what Fajita would have in the wild. I've come to terms with the fact that she does not feel 100 percent comfortable around me at all and I'm fine with that. I'm just concerned that I might not be providing the best home for her to feel comfortable in. At first she lived in a 4 by 2 foot enclosure. I followed the advice of everyone on here and made it bigger. She now lives in a 6 by 3.5 foot home. I changed out her soil for a 50 50 mixture of coco coir and top soil. I changed out her ramp water bowl for a Tera cotta one and then upgraded to one that she would actually fit in. I build her a nice stable house out of rocks. I changed out her smooth plate for a rough patio stone. I up graded the light to an mvb and took down two of the lights because it was getting to hot in the room. I've added plants that offer cover and other things to look at. I've added obsticles and other objects to add variety and some amount of intestine things at eye level for her. The Temps never drop below 65 at night and never about 75 during the day. She has a variety of food which I sprinkle with tnt powder and I provide a calcium cake that she never even look at. I have done all of these things and somehow her rock hide is the only place she likes to go. This has caused many problems for me and I'm still trying to understand her. I have made some progess. She likes the sides of her shell rubbed and will let me pet her there. I've even taken note of the fact that she does nit like the back of her shell rubbed. Moments like that have only happened 2 times. I just need to know what I am doing wrong. I truly do care about this tortoise even though when take her out to soak she gives me the stink eye. I'm attaching a picture of her most recent iteration of a house if anyone wants to provide me with any insight on how to get her to come out of her hole and be active.

 

[wellington]

You do have the basking spot reaching 95-100 right? They need to warm up under those temps to properly digest their food. I would also raise the day temps to 80. I also don't let my temps go below 75 at night.
At this time of year, when temps outside are getting cooler and days shorter, my Russian and even my leopards seem to slow a bit until they get adjusted to the time of year. I notice this in fall and usually once during winter. Yours maybe going through this now also. Otherwise just give her time. My Russian took quite a while before he would acknowledge that I was the food queen and someone he should like.

 

[fajita]

Yes the basking spot reaches 97 to 100. The main thing I want to stress is that I'm not looking for the process to be quick I understand that it will take time. I'm just worried there might not be enough enrichment in her habitat to make her want to come out.

 

[fajita]

Also here is a good picture of her eating. She loves escarole.

 

[Yvonne G]

It just takes time, lots of time. Don't forget, tortoises are not domesticated, they are still wild animals. And since your tortoise is a Russian, that means it is probably a wild caught wild animal. It's going to take a long time for this wild animal to come to realize that you're the food god and you mean him no harm.

 

[Tortoise_Wrangler]

Every tortoise is different, you may have a very anti-social anti-hooman tortoise. I have a few wild caught I rescued that follow me around their enclosure, I also have a captive bred breeder that was born in the early 90's and has always been around people, she's terrified of me. I've also had some of my tortoises be friendly for a long time and then one day they were terrified of me. Try hand feeding her one of her favorite foods, a lot of mine have become more comfortable with me through hand feeding.

Also, one thing you have to consider about this specific species is that where they are from is extremely inhospitable for most life. On average these animals are only above ground for a couple months out of the year, most desert/dryland/grassland types are burrowers so they can escape the heat. A red foot on the other hand doesn't dig because it's climate is consistent most the year. In my opinion, Russians prefer being in their burrow or hiding place just due to instinct alone. What you'll need to accept and learn to understand about your tortoise is it's natural behavior. I think if you do that, you'll find your peace with your pet.

Odds are, she comes out when you're not around. I have two colonies and both have similar schedules. They come out for 20-30 minutes in the morning, 5-10 minutes in the afternoon, and another 20-30 before dusk. They're not particularly active and mine are breeding like crazy, they're thriving, growing, but yeah, not much activity considering how many eggs I got this season.

 

[Crzt4torts]

Patience. Her home looks great, all the changes along the way may have thrown her. She will settle in, give it time.

 

[Gillian M]

As @Crzt4torts mentioned; give your tort time as torts do NOT like change, therefore they take time to adapt to it.