Hi, it's me again...

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Thank you all for being there.
two issues:

1. Eating. My russian tort Vova only eats romaine lettuce or a similar leafy lettuce. ALL has been tried. Including pureeing romaine and putting over other greens. No go. If I leave say turnip greens, kale, dandelion greens - he won't eat, period. Introduce romaine back - crunch-crunch.

2. Activity. If I don't take him out in the morning to bask and/or soak then bask, he will just stay burried or in his hide. Should I let him be? I am afraid he is trying to brumate again. Or should I take him out every other day?

Also he does not walk much - used to be quite a traveler, in the big enclosure outside. Inside, he has a large pen, but won't walk it.

THANKS!
 

daniellenc

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Sounds like he’s still too cold which makes them sluggish. I know you also just redid his enclosure and new spaces take time to get used to. Post pics of his new home and temps. Also keep adding better foods to the romaine or ditch it entirely.
 
Joined
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What are your four temps? What do you have for an enclosure. Pictures for everything can help us diagnose the problem.
Well, the enclosure is all but perfect. 7.5 feet by 1.3 feet. wooden walls. Mixed substrate - hay, tort sand, tort chips. A slate plate for food, a pool, a hide. Dual lighting.
Temperatures fall at night inside, to almost 50 at times. during the day it is 70s. He has his basking light - 95-110F and his UV availble 14 hours per day, and he uses it for maybe 2-4 hours.
BUT i need to pull him out first.

WIth the foods, I kind of missed the train, should have done it when he was not stressed. I tried the same he was given at the pet store, but he did not eat anything but romaine. I think this - what do you think ? - I will keep dandelion greens etc in there, if he decides to have them fine, they don't rot like berries do, but I will give him his romaine until spring, when we take him to a vet and get a baseline on turtle health. I don;t even know how old Vova is. The pet store people were clueless.

THANKS!
 
Joined
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Messages
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Location (City and/or State)
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Sounds like he’s still too cold which makes them sluggish. I know you also just redid his enclosure and new spaces take time to get used to. Post pics of his new home and temps. Also keep adding better foods to the romaine or ditch it entirely.


I will post it soon, but it is as far as I know an almost perfect indoor pen. And he walks some, just not the length of it. He goes to bask, sits there for some time, then goes to eat, bask again, eat again, and when it is dark outside he tends to head for the hide for good.
 

Cheryl Hills

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I will post it soon, but it is as far as I know an almost perfect indoor pen. And he walks some, just not the length of it. He goes to bask, sits there for some time, then goes to eat, bask again, eat again, and when it is dark outside he tends to head for the hide for good.
Your temps are still way to low. They should never get down to 50. If I am not mistaken, this is a Russian? Temps should be no lower then 60 at night. And in the 80s during the day. Basking 95 to 100. The temps you have, he will get sick. As for the eating. It takes months to change a tortoises diet. Give the Romain with the other greens chopped up really fine. Use water so it will stick to the Romain. Keep increasing the good greens and decreasing the Romain every couple of days. He will not starve himself. You have to be more stubborn then him. If he is sick, temps should be 85 to 90 or better, all the time. Your substrate is not good ether. Hay should never be used, it will mold and does nothing for humidity. Sand, can and will irritate his eyes besides possibly causing an impaction which can kill him. Please read the care sheets for your tortoise. If you don’t make the changes, well, he will not survive long.
 

TechnoCheese

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I will post it soon, but it is as far as I know an almost perfect indoor pen. And he walks some, just not the length of it. He goes to bask, sits there for some time, then goes to eat, bask again, eat again, and when it is dark outside he tends to head for the hide for good.

Give these a read, and make changes ASAP. Namely the night temps and substrate.
Russian Tortoise Care Sheet https://tortoiseforum.org/index.php?threads/Russian-Tortoise-Care-Sheet.80698/

Beginner Mistakes https://tortoiseforum.org/index.php?threads/Beginner-Mistakes.45180/

Your Russian requires a minimum enclosure size of 8x4 feet, or 32 square feet. This is achievable by building a pen or table, or finding a mini pool around the same size.
 

turtles11756

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read the thread on "why does my tortoise stay buried" in russian tortoise section. my russian tortoises slow down toward the end of august when they are housed outdoors for summer. i have to gather them up before they bury themselves too deep for me to find . they know it's winter even when i bring them indoors and appetite falls off. if they don't want to bask under heat don't force them
 
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Your temps are still way to low. They should never get down to 50. If I am not mistaken, this is a Russian? Temps should be no lower then 60 at night. And in the 80s during the day. Basking 95 to 100. The temps you have, he will get sick. As for the eating. It takes months to change a tortoises diet. Give the Romain with the other greens chopped up really fine. Use water so it will stick to the Romain. Keep increasing the good greens and decreasing the Romain every couple of days. He will not starve himself. You have to be more stubborn then him. If he is sick, temps should be 85 to 90 or better, all the time. Your substrate is not good ether. Hay should never be used, it will mold and does nothing for humidity. Sand, can and will irritate his eyes besides possibly causing an impaction which can kill him. Please read the care sheets for your tortoise. If you don’t make the changes, well, he will not survive long.


Wait, I was told that chips are not ideal and sand is good, as he is a desert guy genetically. I will remove the hay. though, thanks.
Are you saying I should wet the chips? How often should I soak him?

i can adjust the night temps by keeping his heat lamp on and focused on his hide. . Will try that tonight. I also got him a brick. he sat with his face up against it for two hours.
 
Joined
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Location (City and/or State)
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read the thread on "why does my tortoise stay buried" in russian tortoise section. my russian tortoises slow down toward the end of august when they are housed outdoors for summer. i have to gather them up before they bury themselves too deep for me to find . they know it's winter even when i bring them indoors and appetite falls off. if they don't want to bask under heat don't force them

Okay, I will put him near but not under a lamp after soaking. He sure did slow down. But he is eating, looks okay...
 
Joined
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Messages
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Location (City and/or State)
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Give these a read, and make changes ASAP. Namely the night temps and substrate.
Russian Tortoise Care Sheet https://tortoiseforum.org/index.php?threads/Russian-Tortoise-Care-Sheet.80698/

Beginner Mistakes https://tortoiseforum.org/index.php?threads/Beginner-Mistakes.45180/

Your Russian requires a minimum enclosure size of 8x4 feet, or 32 square feet. This is achievable by building a pen or table, or finding a mini pool around the same size.


I read all that several times. It is useful but to a point. We can increase the enclosure, get cedar chips, through out the hay ( although one of the latests post actually recommends hay!) i am reassured by the return of healthy appetite, if it is only for that silly romaine. I guess I will -
1. leave the basking light on overnight to make sure the enclosure does not coll down
2. change substrate to cypress chips
3. continue trying otehr foods
4. not let him hibernate at room temperature...
 

Tom

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Wait, I was told that chips are not ideal and sand is good, as he is a desert guy genetically. I will remove the hay. though, thanks.
Are you saying I should wet the chips? How often should I soak him?

i can adjust the night temps by keeping his heat lamp on and focused on his hide. . Will try that tonight. I also got him a brick. he sat with his face up against it for two hours.
You seem to be getting advice from multiple sources and mixing thing up. Pick a source that you trust to be accurate and follow ALL of that advice, and ignore the rest.

Sand is potentially deadly, and at least can cause skin and eye irritation. Who ever told you otherwise should not be listened to.

Desert conditions, and our human perceptions of what that means, are not good for tortoises.

Hay is not good as a substrate. It will mold if you get it damp, and the substrate needs to be damp.

Not sure what you mean by "chips" or who is telling you it is bad. Fine grade orchid bark is the best substrate for these guys. It should be a little damp.

It sounds like you are using a dual hood with a cfl bulb for UV? Those sometimes burn tortoise eyes, and many tortoises avoid them. They are also poor sources for UV, so not effective despite their risks. Use a long tube type for UV.

They need it dark at night. Not good to leave the light on.

Why is your house getting down to 50 degrees? Turn the heat on. If not, get a CHE and set it on a thermostat to 60-65 for night time. These emit heat, but not light.

Grocery store foods are not a great diet, and berries should never be offered. Do what you have to to get through the winter, but in spring his appetite should pick up and you'll have an easier time getting him on to new foods.

The length of your enclosure sounds okay, but its much too narrow. Two to three times that width would be much better.


Keep asking questions. We are happy to explain.
 

Cheryl Hills

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Wait, now I am confused. Is this a Russian tort or a desert tort because they require different settings orenclosures. Russian torts are not a desert animal. As an adult you only need about 50% humidity but as a baby, they require 80 to 100% humidity. It makes a difference on which one you have
 

Tom

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Wait, now I am confused. Is this a Russian tort or a desert tort because they require different settings orenclosures. Russian torts are not a desert animal. As an adult you only need about 50% humidity but as a baby, they require 80 to 100% humidity. It makes a difference on which one you have
She says she has a Russian, but refers to it as a desert type species, not an actual desert tortoise in the Gopherus genus.

Care for both species is the same. Babies of either species do not require humidity that high, or night temps in the 80s. Moderate humidity suits babies of both species and this can be achieved in an open enclosure with damp substrate and a humid hide. Both species need cooler nights, even as babies.
 

TechnoCheese

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Keep in mind that a “desert” does not automatically mean sandy dunes as far as the eye can see. It just means that a place doesn’t receive much rain. Antarctica, for example, is the worlds largest desert.
 
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