Turtle isnt herself no more..

Nogoodnames

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Dec 4, 2019
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Colorado, Lakewood
Hi, ive had a russian tortoise for about three to three and a half years, her name is Basil and she used to be so energetic (for a tortoise at least) and she is my first tortoise- her tank has a log for her to sleep under- a small dish of shallow water just for humidity- three big glat rocks under her light- she has a lamp that works as two so i can use a uv bulb and a regular 100 watt bulb- she has some sand and coconut shavings for bedding and she has a medium-ish bowl for food. Usually she eats everyday at around 5pm- she usually gets kale and sometimes a mix of kale and endive with maybe a very small slice of apple very very rarely- ive started to try and mix her kale with timothy hay which i heard by multiple sources was a good combination, recently however for the past four or five days she wont even smell her food, she will sit under her log and sleep all day and night and if i make a small change and move her only slightly she will just go back to her log and sleep- she wont even come out to bask anymore- i dont know whats wrong with her and im getting deathly afraid that shes sick and no matter where i looked no one seems to answer my question, she hasn’t had a uv bulb for a couple weeks however because im only 18 and have a lot of schoolwork to do so i forget to drive down to the store and get one-
Am i feeding her too much?
Does she need more than kale and hay?
Does she need more heat? (Her tank temp is 79 degrees throughout it)
Is she trying to hibernate..?
Please help
 

KarenSoCal

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Low desert 50 mi SE of Palm Springs CA
Welcome to TFO! You've come to the best place for help!

Yes, she needs a lot of different foods! Tortoises need a wide variety of foods, just like we do, to get all the nutrition their bodies require.

You say the water dish is "just for humidity". Do you have a water dish she drinks from and soaks in?

You speak of her tank...she should be in an enclosure that is at least 8ft x 4ft.

I'm giving you some links to care sheets, and a long list of good foods. Please read them carefully and then come back with questions. I suspect that there is a lot that you need to do differently to help Basil feel her best.

It would be great if you could post some pictures of Basil and her setup. I'm also going to tag someone who knows a lot about Russians in particular. @RosemaryDW

http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/beginner-mistakes.45180/

https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/russian-tortoise-care-sheet.80698/

You may need to rely on grocery store foods for now. 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
 

RosemaryDW

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Feb 17, 2016
Messages
4,144
Location (City and/or State)
Newport Coast, CA
Welcome @Nogoodnames!

While there are definitely some opportunities for diet improvement there, setup, particularly light and heat are what usually show a more immediate impact on tortoise activity. Please get us some pictures of the setup from the top and the sides, along with some particular focus on the lighting.

If she can’t get to 95 degrees under her basking bulb, it doesn’t matter what the overall temperature is; she won’t be warm enough to really eat or be active. For testing temperatures, a cheap heat gun is your best tool: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00837ZGRY/?tag=exoticpetnetw-20.

She’s not going to eat that hay—I know you may have read it’s a good food elsewhere but it’s not suitable for Russians—so remove it in case the smell is putting her off. Chuck the apple, it makes you feel good, not her. Otherwise I’d leave the food alone until we are sure the setup is correct; Russians can handle a poor diet much longer than poor setup. Hibernation fears, food concerns, sickness, none of these are going to be easy to consider or spot while the setup is off.

Setup is always first. :)
 
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