Still not eating

Laura starkey

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it's day 2 with Dave my Horsfield. Today she's refused food again and has been very sleepy in her enclosure.
We have now put her out in the sunshine and she is rummaging through the garden....
how long realistically can she go without eating?
 

wellington

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He can go quite a while if it's an adult. A baby not as long. Two days is nothing to worry about. Takes some a week or more to get adjusted to its new home. Important to keep him hydrated during this adjustment time. Warm soaks every day for 20-30 minutes.
What is your set up for him? Temps, substrate, size of enclosure diet? He has to be able to warm up under a heat light that the tort level temp reaches 95-100 or he can't properly digest his food which will make him stop eating and very sick as the food in him will start to rot.
 

Laura starkey

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He can go quite a while if it's an adult. A baby not as long. Two days is nothing to worry about. Takes some a week or more to get adjusted to its new home. Important to keep him hydrated during this adjustment time. Warm soaks every day for 20-30 minutes.
What is your set up for him? Temps, substrate, size of enclosure diet? He has to be able to warm up under a heat light that the tort level temp reaches 95-100 or he can't properly digest his food which will make him stop eating and very sick as the food in him will start to rot.
Thank you for getting back to me.
She's four years old, so don't know if she's considered as an adult or not.
She's in a large open top enclosure with coco coir and soil mix substrate. She has three hides, rocks and a bridge, and she chooses to sleep under the bridge instead of a hide.
She is currently outside asleep in the garden basking in the sun. She's not been very active today.
The temps in his enclosure are quite warm today because it's so hot here in London.
Her hot end is currently 97F and the cool end is 78.6F I'm trying to regulate it and I'm waiting for delivery of a temp gun. I'm using a digital thermometer at the mo.
I'm going to bath her again today, she hated it yesterday but I'm going to do it daily to make sure she is well hydrated. She doesn't go near the water in her enclosure
 

wellington

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The enclosure looks too small. An adult Russian needs a minimum of a 4x8. They roam great distances in the wild. For now get rid of some of the stuff in the enclosure to give more room to walk and add on the the enclosure to give proper room.
 

Tidgy's Dad

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Keep offering a nice variety of foods, leave plenty on pieces of stone, slate or tile about the enclosure, and she'll eat if the temps are right, but might take a while, as I said before.
And yes, I'm afraid you'll need a bigger enclosure.
 

Rt1jen

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My russian has a small enclosure and does fine. Some torts are just pickier than others! I purchased some tort food at a pet supply store yesterday and it wasn't very well received. Please continue to offer up new foods and see what happens. You will eventually hit the jackpot!
Radiccio is the favorite for mine. Chicory, escarole and endive are also good and collard greens on occasion.
 

leigti

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You should provide as large and enclosure as you possibly can. It is great that your tortoise gets to be outside. Like most animals they really enjoy the outdoors. You will notice much more activity once your tortoise gets into a larger in door enclosure.
I think that little hut is adorable by the way :) don't be offended, Russian tortoises always seem to sleep where they want to as compared to where you want them to :)
 

Laura starkey

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Thanks for all the advice.....: I will move a few things out of the enclosure and put some more stones down......
she's eaten clover in the garden today and that's it. She was very active outside, but as soon as she's in her enclosure, she just basks really, doesn't move around too much. The photo is quite deceiving, it's actually quite large, I couldn't get it all in the pic, but I'm sure I will have to extend it as she grows...
 

leigti

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Pick some of the clover and bring it into her when she's inside. Make sure the enclosure is nice and bright. Keep her outside as much as you can, that's the best place for them when the temperature is right.
 

Rt1jen

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Thanks for all the advice.....: I will move a few things out of the enclosure and put some more stones down......
she's eaten clover in the garden today and that's it. She was very active outside, but as soon as she's in her enclosure, she just basks really, doesn't move around too much. The photo is quite deceiving, it's actually quite large, I couldn't get it all in the pic, but I'm sure I will have to extend it as she grows...
Please don't worry so much about the size of your enclosure. It may be a bit crowded but it looks good in the pics:)
If she is eating clovers that's a very good sign:):tort:
 

Laura starkey

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My Russian didn't eat much for two weeks when I got him. It's hard , but it will eat when it's ready.
Thank you for the reassurance..... I think it's because I've taken her on from her previous owner and changed her enclosure a lot, and she's just getting used to it. Fingers crossed anyway.
 

Crzt4torts

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It takes time to settle in. But as mentioned before, daily soaks in warm water for 20 to 30 minutes is very important during periods when they are not eating.
 

Laura starkey

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We're on day three now...... I was out most the day and I know she had been in her water bowl because she had walked her soil into it and peed in it, but alas, she still refuses to eat. I put down some Romaine lettuce in the garden soaked in water because her previous owner told me she liked that lettuce all wet, and she ate three bits of it and then walked away..... but if I put any food in her enclosure, she just tramples all over it..... she refuses to eat any.
I've tried dandelion, clover, kale, her tortoise pellets.... nothing is enticing her. She doesn't move around in her enclosure too much, just basks and tramples her food.
She's a conundrum lol
 

Tidgy's Dad

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We're on day three now...... I was out most the day and I know she had been in her water bowl because she had walked her soil into it and peed in it, but alas, she still refuses to eat. I put down some Romaine lettuce in the garden soaked in water because her previous owner told me she liked that lettuce all wet, and she ate three bits of it and then walked away..... but if I put any food in her enclosure, she just tramples all over it..... she refuses to eat any.
I've tried dandelion, clover, kale, her tortoise pellets.... nothing is enticing her. She doesn't move around in her enclosure too much, just basks and tramples her food.
She's a conundrum lol
It's excellent that she ate something.
It's a start! :)
 

RosemaryDW

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I know it's very hard to understand from our perspective but three days without food is nothing for a tortoise; she could go for weeks without eating and she'd be fine. She will eat when she gets used to the space.

At four years old, she's about as big as she's going to get; an adult or very near to it. I'm not the second (or the third) to say this, the enclosure is too small. She needs 4x8. It's great yours can be made larger, don't wait. :)
 

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