Russian Tortoise isn't being Active at All

CarlieMae

New Member
Joined
Oct 28, 2015
Messages
1
Hey all! I'm new here, and need some help with my Russian Tortoise, Frankie. I got him in April 2015 and have loved caring for him. He's seemed to be very happy and content until recently. About a week ago, I changed out his substrate (ReptiBark) and added a tub to his previous enclosure to give him more room to wander around. He was okay for the first 12 hours or so, but then he kind of freaked out. He began digging and trying to climb up the walls of his enclosure. He would climb for hours at a time, even through the night. Then one night, about three nights ago, I checked on him after I had turned out his lights for the night, and he was sitting in his basking spot as if he was cold. So i turned it on and left it on at a lower power all night to keep him warm. But these last two days he has been very inactive. He hardly moves, and when he does, he moves very slowly and only to bask or eat. Wherever he stops, his legs are sprawled out and his eyes are closed. And if I take him out of his enclosure to socialize, he wont move at all, though he used to wander around like crazy... He does still eat pretty regularly. His diet consists of chopped iceburg lettuce, spinach, carrots, tomatoes, cucumbers, and his tortoise pellets. His enclosure is inside, and my house never gets below 60 degrees. His basking spot stays between 80 and 90 degrees for about 14 hours a day. The cooler end of his enclosure stays right around 70 degrees. However, I have read that sometimes Russian Tortoises hibernate, and was wondering if maybe the changing weather up here in Washington was triggering him to hibernate? Or do you guys think he's sick? I don't know what to do and I'm very worried about him!!! Please help me!! I want my Frankie back to himself!
Thanks for your help!
Carlie Mae
 

Yvonne G

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Hi Carlie Mae, and welcome to the forum!

I'm so glad you've decided to join, because I see some mistakes that might eventually make your tortoise sick.

The diet needs to be changed drastically. Iceberg lettuce is not good at all. Spinach binds calcium and makes it unavailable to the body. Carrots contain quite a bit of sugar and should not be fed. Tomatoes are fruit and fruit is not a part of your tortoise's diet, same with cucumber. Since this tortoise is used to eating these foods, you may have trouble getting him to eat what he's supposed to eat. Pick and choose from this list, but not the same things all the time:

dandelion, sow thistle, mallow, filaree, hawksbit, spring mix, endive and escarole, carrot tops, cilantro, mustard, turnip and collard greens, and lots of other leafy greens.

As far as the temperature goes, think of your own body. Your inner core temperature is 98.6F degrees. So you need to have a spot in your tortoise's habitat where he can get his inner core up into that general area too. I like to have the temp directly under the light be around 100 to 110F degrees, fading way to room temperature on one end and about 80-85F on the other end. In order to be able to reach a gradient like that, you need a pretty large habitat.

I have a sneaking suspicion that he's not warm enough, but it could also be that he's a little upset you've changed out his territory. Warm him up and see if that makes a difference.
 

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