Russian tortoise not eating...

[daniellakatie12]

Hi!
I have increased his temp! I changed his bulb to 100w instead of 75. He still isn’t eating. He has his baths every other day and humidity is 50-60. If I put apple infornt of him, he takes a bite, but usually not by himself. Depends on the day. Is this normal? Is it part of hibernation? I’m wondering if I need to take him to the vet and get a shot of calcium. He does have a UVB bulb and he does have calcium on his food. Really not sure what I can do for this little guy I feel
helpless.

 

[franklin444]

what have you been feeding him normally.

 

[daniellakatie12]

what have you been feeding him normally.

I feed him kale and apple with calcium!

 

[franklin444]

you should not feed them apple on a daily basis it is too high in water and in that large amounts it can be fairly bad for them. once in while like once every two weeks is fine though. Also you could give him or her a little bit more variety and they might want to try it and eat it because it is new to them.

 

[iAmCentrochelys sulcata]

I agree with @franklin444 don't feed apples to a Russian tortoise... their primary food source would be Weeds & succulents try having a variety not just Apples & Kale.
Collards, mustard, spring mix, star berry leaves, rocket, etc. I find also find that my tortoises will not eat the food with calcium.
What kind of UVB do you have?

 

[KarenSoCal]

Are we talking about an adult Russian? How long has he been in your care?

Most of the time not eating is caused by being too cold. I'm glad you increased his heat! But do you know the exact temp in different parts of his enclosure?
Basking spot, coolest area of enclosure, and overnight low? And don't forget...you want to measure at your tort's height. This is where a digital temp gun is perfect.

How about his enclosure? How big is it? I'm thinking he's still inside since it's probably still pretty cold where you live. But when you have warm days, does he go outside into a safe enclosure?

I asked you a lot of questions, I know. But answers to them will go a long way toward figuring out what's going on.

Oh yeah, the other posters are right about the apples. Torts are not able to process sugar. Too much of it can really mess up their GI system. Have you been feeding lots of apple lately? Or any other fruits? Maybe he has a stomach ache.

Here's a list of good tort foods. It's a very long list, but you should find it helpful.

Good foods for tortoises are "chicories," types of lettuce that are likely to be on the far side of the more common floppy green heads of lettuce most people buy. Anything labeled as simply "chicory" is good, as are radiccio, frisee, escarole, and endive; you might even find something labeled as dandelions. You may find a bag of "Spring" or "Spicy" mix that is good, just check the label to be sure it has some of the chicories I just mentioned. The leaves (just the leaves) of turnips and radishes are also good, as are carrot tops. Collards, mustard greens, bok choy, and other dark, leafy greens are okay as well. If you have any kind of Mexican/hispanic market near you, they will sell cactus, labeled "nopales." Cactus is a great food to rotate in the diet, as it is high in calcium. You don't need to feed all of these at one time, just make sure your tortoise is getting access to different types of food. As you get more experienced, you can find the better types of food listed on the care sheets. Here are a whole bunch of non-grocery store suggestions. Mulberry leaves Grape vine leaves Hibiscus leaves African hibiscus leaves Blue hibiscus leaves Rose of Sharon leaves Rose leaves Geraniums Gazanias Nasturtium 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 Ones that you can buy in every store: Arugula Lambs lettuce Chicory Kale Mustard greens Organic kohlrabi leafs Organic carrot leafs Organic radish leafs Dandelions Radiccio Their main diet should be broad leaf weeds, succulents and grasses. Store bought foods are okay, but not the best. Collards and dandelions are a good food, but neither should be used every day. Check out the plant ID section for lots of ideas on weeds to feed. You can get spineless opuntia cactus pads from most Mexican grocery stores, or grow them yourself. You can also easily grow grape leaves, african hibiscus, regular hibiscus (if it will survive in your area), and mulberry leaves. You can try red apple, ice plant, and jade plant too. Also look into Gazania, pansies, nasturtiums, carnations, geraniums and many others. At the grocery store, favor endive and escarole, but also use cilantro, carrot tops, mustard and turnip greens, bok choy, radiccio, swiss chard, watercress, parsley, all the lettuces, etc. Lots of variety is best. There are also tortoise "weed" seed mixes that you can grow. I like the "Testudo Mix" from Tortoisesupply.com. Buckwheat; cactus; vetch; Mohave aster; creosote bush; desert four o’clock; tacoma stans; bladderpod; globe mallow; goldenhead; burro weed; so many things.