My Tortoise is not eating

Hello everyone,

I am new to the forums. I'm currently living with a Russian Tortoise, which I bought from petsmart (I believe). I live in Massachusetts, I've had my small tortoise for about about 3 months.

So my tortoise hasn't been eating much lately. I haven't been to the vet yet to check on it. Recently, I have been feeding her (as always) romaine lettuce in a medium-sized bowl I bought specifically for tortoises. She has been avoiding the food and would either stare at the food or turn around. Yes, I feed her fresh food, they are not expired or old, and they are zipped in packages. I buy them from Market Basket.

I tried to feed her other kinds of food such as strawberries, leaves, freshly chopped carrots, etc. She wouldn't eat anything! Something you might want to know about my light is its a little bit far away from the ground. That may be the case. She's always been sitting in the light ever since I have pushed the light higher.

Please respond asap! I don't want her to die. Thanks

- Elma (Russian Tortoise)

Welcome to the forum! It appears that there is a lot that needs to be changed, any of which could be the cause of your problem.

-that is not an adequate diet for any tortoise. Romain lettuce has almost no nutritional value, and your tortoise cannot digest the sugars in fruits and carrots. Your tortoise should be eating weeds from outside and very few grocery store foods.

-your tortoise could be too cold. Do you have any way of measuring temps? What is the basking spot temperature?

-are your lights on a timer? How long are they on every day?

-your enclosure is too small. This is an adult tortoise that requires a minimum enclosure size of 8x4 feet. This is achievable by building a tortoise table or outdoor pen.

-what substrate are you using? Is it any kind of sand? You should be using a thick, damp layer of orchid bark, cypress mulch, or coco coir. Get rid of the hay. They won’t eat it, and it molds when damp.

-do you have any hides? Any humid ones?

-you should be using a terra cotta saucer for water.

Can we have a picture of the whole enclosure?

Please give this a read and make changes ASAP-
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/

Hi, and welcome!

All of the things TechnoCheese has told you are correct, but I'd like to add that I think the main reason the tortoise has stopped eating is because you've moved the light, making her day seem like Autumn, when the real world sun is at a different angle, and that is telling the tortoise it's time to stop eating so she can clean out her system getting ready to brumate.

You'll need to place the light so it hangs straight up and down, and lower it so it's about 12" from the top of her shell. Leave it on for 14 hours a day, and make sure the overall temperature in the whole enclosure is summer time warm.

Hello TechnoCheese-

- My mistake. I've been feeding her romain lettuce a lot, thank you for the alert.

- My windows are usually closed, also I do not own anything to measure the temp with so I'm not able to know the temperature. My dad is pretty picky about everything and he won't allow me to buy all of that

- I'm buying a new enclosure soon. It will be much larger than before.

- I'm using sand, currently. My dad agreed on using sand because these reptiles come from the desert- and although we use to have one of the most common substrate, bark just made a lot of mess. I plan on adding dirt, but I'm afraid a lot of bugs and flies will start attacking the place. I'll get rid of the hay, no worries! My tortoise for some reason enjoys digging in the hay much more than the sand for some reason, and she doesn't eat it. But I will absolutely remove it as soon as possible.

- I own a Zoo Med Habba Hut (largest size I could possibly find from the store)- and yes

- I'll get one. Are these for them to soak in?

- May I send you one privately?

Tell your dad that a big of orchid bark or coco coir (for substrate) is a whole lot cheaper than a vet visit to have the vet maybe perform surgery to remove the sand from the tortoise's blocked intestines. Yes, there is sand in some deserts (not all), and some deserts have hard, compacted earth. But tortoises do not eat off the ground. They pick the food off stems that are up off the ground.

You might also show him this picture of the steppe, the area where Russian tortoises come from:

Yvonne G said:

Tell your dad that a big of orchid bark or coco coir (for substrate) is a whole lot cheaper than a vet visit to have the vet maybe perform surgery to remove the sand from the tortoise's blocked intestines. Yes, there is sand in some deserts (not all), and some deserts have hard, compacted earth. But tortoises do not eat off the ground. They pick the food off stems that are up off the ground.

You might also show him this picture of the steppe, the area where Russian tortoises come from:

View attachment 260891

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Here

Thank you. I understand that you're limited in what you can do because of your age and what your dad will allow. But if at all possible, try to get him to go for a longer tub, or another tub of that same size so you can cut out the opposing ends and put two tubs together. He also needs to be off the sand. You run the risk of impaction as he accidently eats sand that is stuck to his food. They die from impaction.

Now back to your original question. He's wanting to brumate. The light needs to be a bit lower (12" off his back) and keep it on for 14 hours a day. To make him forget about brumating, take him out and soak him in warm water daily for about a half hour. Then place him in front of the food when you put him back.

You can ask your mom to buy you a bunch of turnip greens this week, then a package of spring mix (packaged salad) next week, than something else the following week. Even a head of romaine one week is ok, but not every day for the rest of his life.

tortoise.elma said:

Hello TechnoCheese-

- My mistake. I've been feeding her romain lettuce a lot, thank you for the alert.

- My windows are usually closed, also I do not own anything to measure the temp with so I'm not able to know the temperature. My dad is pretty picky about everything and he won't allow me to buy all of that

- I'm buying a new enclosure soon. It will be much larger than before.

- I'm using sand, currently. My dad agreed on using sand because these reptiles come from the desert- and although we use to have one of the most common substrate, bark just made a lot of mess. I plan on adding dirt, but I'm afraid a lot of bugs and flies will start attacking the place. I'll get rid of the hay, no worries! My tortoise for some reason enjoys digging in the hay much more than the sand for some reason, and she doesn't eat it. But I will absolutely remove it as soon as possible.

- I own a Zoo Med Habba Hut (largest size I could possibly find from the store)- and yes

- I'll get one. Are these for them to soak in?

- May I send you one privately?

Click to expand...

Temperatures are everything for a cold blooded animal that can’t regulate their own. You need a digital thermometer with a probe. I would recommend a digital temp gun from Walmart or Home Depot. Getting your basking spot temp up to 95-100 degrees will likely solve your problem.

-it may be larger, but be sure that you build an 8x4 foot table soon. If that’s not possible, even something like 6x3 or a 3x3 or 4x4 double decker might work.

-you need to get the sand out ASAP. It’s a huge impaction risk, as well as an eye, skin, nose, and cloaka irritant. You need a proper substrate like the ones listed above.

-you should always have a water bowl available and they do tend to self soak in it, but I would also recommend soaking them as much as possible in a tall container for 15-30+ minutes. The water should be about 90-97 degrees.

-I don’t think you can send pictures over private message without an imagur link, but I could be wrong.

Be sure to give those links a read

Yvonne G said:

Thank you. I understand that you're limited in what you can do because of your age and what your dad will allow. But if at all possible, try to get him to go for a longer tub, or another tub of that same size so you can cut out the opposing ends and put two tubs together. He also needs to be off the sand. You run the risk of impaction as he accidently eats sand that is stuck to his food. They die from impaction.

Now back to your original question. He's wanting to brumate. The light needs to be a bit lower (12" off his back) and keep it on for 14 hours a day. To make him forget about brumating, take him out and soak him in warm water daily for about a half hour. Then place him in front of the food when you put him back.

You can ask your mom to buy you a bunch of turnip greens this week, then a package of spring mix (packaged salad) next week, than something else the following week. Even a head of romaine one week is ok, but not every day for the rest of his life.

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Thank you!

tortoise.elma said:

Thank you!

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Also its 32 degrees out, but its sunny. Should I take her out?

tortoise.elma said:

Also its 32 degrees out, but its sunny. Should I take her out?

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32C yes go right ahead. 32F no way - it is far too cold.

Also can I get dirt from outside or should I buy it from a store?

tortoise.elma said:

Also can I get dirt from outside or should I buy it from a store?

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Dirt from outside can work as long as you are sure it is free from pesticides, herbicides and other chemicals. You do run the risk of bringing unwanted critters in with it.

I find it goes muddy when mixed with water as is necessary to raise humidity and prefer to use coco coir or fine grade orchid bark.

tortoise.elma said:

Also can I get dirt from outside or should I buy it from a store?

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It really would be better to buy or orchid bark or cypress mulch from a hardware store.
You should be able to find 100% organic cypress mulch at Home Depot or Lowe’s most times of the year. The dirt from outside might not be a suitable composition and you will definitely bring in some bugs if you don’t bake all of the dirt for a while.

Hello guys! Thank you so much for helping me.

So here is what's happening right now:

- I cleaned everything, and my dad is buying bark for the floor.

- I tilted the light so it would be directly straight

- I lowered down the light to 12"

- My tortoise is happy and healthy, and is eating her food!

Welcome to the site and thanks for caring for your adorable tortoise!

Read as much as you can find on this site (it has the best and most updated information) re the needs of this particular tortoise. Their recommended diet, temperature, humidity level and more. Keep us informed of your progress!

tortoise.elma said:

Hello guys! Thank you so much for helping me.

So here is what's happening right now:

- I cleaned everything, and my dad is buying bark for the floor.

- I tilted the light so it would be directly straight

- I lowered down the light to 12"

- My tortoise is happy and healthy, and is eating her food!

Click to expand...

I"m so pleased it all is working for you!