Tortise Not Eating

[sourcaffeine]

Had this guy for about 8 years since he was a hatching. Been a happy healthy eater with lots of activity.

This Winter is the first in a new house, and for some reason around a week ago, he stopped eating. Still mildly active, not as much as usual, but not eating. Soaked him in warm water for about 20 minutes where he popped a small amount but still hasn't eaten anything.

Day time temps are around 80-85F in the warm areas and 95F in the basking spot. Humid hides stay around 40% humidity and around 80F. Cooler spots get to 70F low. Night time temps highest is 85F (in the spot he is in the picture) and low is 65F.

Stays on a diet of mostly mustard greens, but offer botanical hay every so often. He's a picky eater who doesn't take to much else besides those, although everything from bell pepper to dandelion are offered but seldom eaten.

 

[LaLaP]

The temperatures all sound good. Is there any chance your temp gauge is broken or inaccurate? How do you measure temps?

Is it darker in the new house? Less light could cause him to want to hibernate.

Any visible symptoms? Like swollen eyes? Snot bubbles from nose? Wheezy or squeaky breathing? Open mouth breathing or gasping?

Did his enclosure change when you moved? Different substrate? Different lights? What kind of UVB light do you have?
Sorry that's s lot of questions, I know. Just trying to troubleshoot.

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi, and welcome!

Russian tortoises aren't all that interested in eating hay. Here's a list of edible weeds. Maybe you can find something growing outside that interests him:

https://www.treehugger.com/lawn-garden/eat-dandelions-9-edible-garden-weeds.html

 

[sourcaffeine]

The temperatures all sound good. Is there any chance your temp gauge is broken or inaccurate? How do you measure temps?

Is it darker in the new house? Less light could cause him to want to hibernate.

Any visible symptoms? Like swollen eyes? Snot bubbles from nose? Wheezy or squeaky breathing? Open mouth breathing or gasping?

Did his enclosure change when you moved? Different substrate? Different lights? What kind of UVB light do you have?
Sorry that's s lot of questions, I know. Just trying to troubleshoot.

Temperature gauge is a temp gun which is calibrated against two other digital thermometers housed in other vivariums.

The new house is significantly different, but it's been about a year now since he's been here with no issues. It is not darker at all, brighter if anything. The environment is less stressful is anything as there are no cats, dogs, etc.

No physical symptoms. Physically he looks good aside from a little dry skin which seems normal with the lack of eating.

Enclosure, substrate, and lighting all changed when he moved. Originally he was owned by my girlfriend who did not know how to take care of him very well. He was on play sand without so much as a UVB bulb and fed only romaine lettuce. He is now on a mix of Terra Firma/Terra Sahara substrate by The Bio Dude, mixed with spagnum moss and leaf litter with a PowerSun 100W UVB.

Hi, and welcome!

Russian tortoises aren't all that interested in eating hay. Here's a list of edible weeds. Maybe you can find something growing outside that interests him:

https://www.treehugger.com/lawn-garden/eat-dandelions-9-edible-garden-weeds.html

Yeah have definitely tried all sorts of different edibles for him but will go uneaten for several days before offering back hay or mustard greens which he typically goes straight for. Recently I have tried to take more proactive measures to feed a variety like crushing up other foods in mustard greens but have had little luck so far.

 

[LaLaP]

Well we've exhausted my knowledge (doesn't take long). I hope a more experienced member can help.

His diet has been bad for a long time. He needs a better variety so I wonder if he has an issue stemming from poor diet. It can be tough to re-train a picky eater but don't give up.

Here are some half baked ideas... kidney stone? Not sure the symptoms or how to tell but I know it is a common ailment.
Sepsis? Look at the bottom of his shell for pink or red bruise-like spots.

I would soak him everyday while he's not eating. Torts can go a long time without food so he's not in danger of starving yet but dehydration could become a problem. Plus hydration helps with lots of ailments.

Hopefully someone else has some advice...

 

[sourcaffeine]

Wanted to give an update:

He still isn't eating and is sleeping most of the day away. I've been soaking for 15-20 minutes nightly to keep him hydrated and offered several different food items and tried to feed in the basking spot, cool spot, and inside his hide with no such luck.

I've been misting the tank to provide around 30% humidity for the past several days and have checked the temps again and repositioning the lights to provide even more of a gradient. Now, one of the hides in one corner gets to 85F inside and the other stays at 75F with the basking spot hitting 95-100 F.

Recently switched his water dish to a ceramic pot saucer to make it easier to get in/out of the water and placed this in his cool side.

Not sure what else to do. The short amount of time he does come out he seems energetic and moves quite a bit. Also when he is soaking he's quite active. At this point I think I will schedule a trip to the vet although since he has not eaten in so long I don't think they'll be able to get a fecal sample to test for parasites and the like.