Can anybody give me advice (not eating, hiding all the time)

[cpl1307]

Hi all,
I've just come back from a 10 day holiday. My friend took care of my Tortoise why I was away, even though it's taken me 2 years to get her in a routine and the Viv in the right condition. I controlled all her lighting by alexa and smart plugs while I was in Turkey. My concern is, that since ive been home she hasn't eaten any fresh weeds or greens. All she does is stay buried in her hide. The temp hasn't changed, but she will eat pellets about an hour before bed. It has been quite hot in the uk of late which has made the Viv a few degrees hotter. I've tried turning her basking UVA Bulb off thinking maybe she's too hot. I literally have been digging her up and putting her in front of her food. She has a couple of bites and a drink of water and will go straight back under the substrate which is coco coir. She didn't know the neighbour at all. Is it possible she has fallen out with me? I don't know what to do. I've been mixing her vitamin powder in with her pellet water, So I know she's still getting some. Can anybody help me. I've thrown 9 plates of fresh weeds and greens away. She will be 3 in November and a Russian.
Thank you for taking time to read this!
Colin ❤️

 

[The_Four_Toed_Edward]

What are your temperatures? (Basking, cool side, ambient)

While she isn't eating or soaking much on her own it is important that you do daily soaks.

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

Hello and welcome! I’m going to include a bunch of information below on the correct kind of indoor set up, usually if something is off with their housing, it can contribute to problems, hopefully you can apply the information and make amendments where needed if needed🙂
It could well be the change in routine from when you left has stressed her a bit.

As much as it’s encouraged to have tortoises in a safe outdoor enclosure, I understand being from the uk myself, that our climate makes it difficult to house outdoors full time, an outdoor enclosure is great for them to enjoy in summer though! I would generally discourage free roaming outside of a safe enclosure.
Care advice for these guys is painfully behind, fb pages, YouTube, pet stores, they’re all repeating the same outdated advice, this forum is made of people who have spent years finding the best ways to care for them that actually result in healthy tortoise.

As adults they need a minimum of an 8x4 enclosure, roaming is vital to tortoise health, it aids digestion and strengthen their muscles.
Don’t think they can get away with smaller if allowed to free roam, I’d highly discourage indoor free roams, being away from their heat source means they’re being exposed to temperatures that are too low quite often, smooth surfaces like laminate flooring will wreak absolute havoc on their hip joints over time.
There’s just numerous reasons it isn’t a good idea unfortunately, harmful floor cleaners, foreign objects being swallowed, getting stuck under things they shouldn’t like shelving or sofas, low temperatures, no uv, getting hit by doors, one member has mentioned they knew someone who’s tort got their head crushed in a door jam😣, flipping hazards, smooth services, the list goes on and is endless.
They feel most comfortable and safe in a space that best mimics their natural environment, so an appropriate sized enclosure is always the ultimate goal, hopefully we can help🥰

I’m going to include some information below on an example of an appropriate indoor set up, it includes the correct levels and equipment etc, including the appropriate indoor uv, you may know/have some of it already, but I cover all basis for any new members reading the threads, hopefully you find the information useful!😊

Basking light should be an incandescent floodlight(example attached) on a 12 hour timer.

Basking temperature directly under the floodlight should be 95-100f, The rest of the enclosure should be ranging 75-80 during the day.

You may also wish to add ambient lighting on the same timer, providing shady areas with hides and safe plants.

Then CHE/CHE’s(ceramic heat emitters) always on a thermostat, for night heat if your house drops below 60’s at night. Set the thermostat for a night temperature place the probe in their cooler end, plug the che into it and the thermostat into the mains, it’ll be plugged in 24/7 but will only turn on when the temperature drops. We’re a cooler climate so I think you’ll most likely need these.

Large wide domes will help project the heat down, just don’t rely on the clamps that come with them, always hang securely.

Indoor Uv should be a t5 fluorescent tube, avoid the compact and coil uv bulbs, they don’t give out enough uv and can hurt the tortoises eyes. The uv can be on a 4 hour timer from noon. I’ve attached examples of the two brands to go for and some examples of how to mount them. I’d personally go with Arcadia as it comes with the reflector fitting

With lighting always avoid anything labelled halogen or mercury vapour.

For substrates, either coco coir, dampened and packed down by hand as a base, with a layer of orchid(fir not pine) bark or forest floor on top, or just the orchid bark/forest floor. Never use anything with sand mixed in, no top soils and no kinds of moss. The problem with top soil is unless you’ve composted it yourself, you don’t know what kind of plants have gone into it, it could be something toxic. Sand can irritate the eyes and be an impaction risk, moss is an impaction risk too.

You want to aim to have the bottom layer of substrate damp, to do this pour lukewarm water into the corners, not loads but enough to dampen the entire bottom layer. To stop that top layer getting a little too dry/dusty, mix the substrate now n then. Check your monitors and substrate to do the pours as and when needed.

I’d personally recommend you make your own base to go as big as you possibly can for the space you have. The closer you can get to an 8x4 size the better.

When making your base, just make sure the material is safe, some use flower beds, or take a large bookcase, take out the shelves and lie flat, or just make their own, for all these options I’d line with cheap pond liner to protect the base, making sure the liner goes up the sides too and make sure those sides are deep enough! They can be professional escape artists😂

I’ve also included examples of stands people make/buy to hang their lighting, use a temperature gun to determine how high the basking bulb needs to be, the uv I suggested needs to be mounted 18-20 inches from the top of the torts shell.

For a water dish a shallow terracotta saucer sitting flush with the substrate is considered safest, they have grip in the event your tortoise flips themselves, most pet store options are a known hazard.

I’d also always recommend getting your hands on a temp gun, they’re SO handy when setting up a new environment or for checking your monitors are correct🙂

For the diet side of things, avoid fruits, You want to stick with leafy greens and weeds for these guys, perhaps you’ll find this link below useful, in the wildflower section there’s so many plants that grow perfectly in our climate! Perhaps you could get some seeds offline and plant into organic soil(no fertilisers or chemicals) in a planter the tortoise doesn’t have access to, forage them as they grow😊be very wary foraging elsewhere, you can’t be sure there’s no chemicals and they’re toxic lookalikes so always double check.

The Tortoise Table - Home

The Tortoise Table plant database and resource site for Tortoise owners

www.thetortoisetable.org.uk

Hopefully some of this helps and you see improvement soon!

 

[cpl1307]

What are your temperatures? (Basking, cool side, ambient)

While she isn't eating or soaking much on her own it is important that you do daily soaks.

If I get her out of the hide and put her next to her food. She eats straight away. Before I went away she was fine. I'm giving her daily baths. She not off her food, but she needs promting to eat it. It's like she's not happy I went away and a stranger took care of her. It took me a long time to learn everything and my neighbour who cared for her knew nothing. I just said feed her, bathe her and change and was her water daily. There's so much more, but she done her best to care for her.

 

[cpl1307]

Her UVA bulb is partly over her hide. It's never bothered her before. Do you think I should move her hide down the cool end? In UK terms 25c cool end. 34c middle section and 42c basking spot. I only use a 50w basking UVA floodlight because the height of the vivarium isn't 30cm away because of the bracket

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

Her UVA bulb is partly over her hide. It's never bothered her before. Do you think I should move her hide down the cool end? In UK terms 25c cool end. 34c middle section and 42c basking spot. I only use a 50w basking UVA floodlight because the height of the vivarium isn't 30cm away because of the bracket

I’d move the hide down the cooler end yes, the middle temperature and basking temperature sound a bit too high, you want to try and aim for the temps mentioned in my previous response🙂could explain why they’re tucking themselves away

 

[cpl1307]

I’d move the hide down the cooler end yes, the middle temperature and basking temperature sound a bit too high, you want to try and aim for the temps mentioned in my previous response🙂could explain why they’re tucking themselves away

I cant find your previous response for temperatures? How long do you keep your lights on for them. I always get a different response. Do I keep 1 on longer than the other? I've got the Arcadia T5 strip UVB and the Arcadia UVA 50W

 

[TammyJ]

Dear cpl1307. You've got the very good advice about how to keep your tortoise. Follow it as best you can, and don't for a moment keep blaming yourself or thinking your tortoise is mad at you for going away... that's just impossible and funny, so stop torturing yourself! You are obviously a good owner and your tortoise is very lucky 🙂.

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

If you scroll up it’s post #3 🙂

You want to aim for 95-100f directly under the basking bulb and the rest ranging 75-80f during the day(your cooler end is pretty spot on) your basking temp could just do with being a bit lower.

Your basking floodlight, along with any ambient lighting you have is to be on a 12hour timer.
Then your uv strip light can be on roughly 4hours from noon(or the time you notice yours basks)
There’s lots of people who say to have the uv on the same 12hour timer, it’s an old fashioned rule that has stuck with a lot of keepers, fact is no tortoise is blasted with 12hours of uv in the wild, uv rays peak for around 3-4hours, so it’s fine to mimic that in captivity and save your bulb life🙂

 

[cpl1307]

Dear cpl1307. You've got the very good advice about how to keep your tortoise. Follow it as best you can, and don't for a moment keep blaming yourself or thinking your tortoise is mad at you for going away... that's just impossible and funny, so stop torturing yourself! You are obviously a good owner and your tortoise is very lucky 🙂.

Awww Tammy thank you so much! Such a lovely thing to say. They keep you awake at night worrying ❤️

 

[cpl1307]

If you scroll up it’s post #3 🙂

You want to aim for 95-100f directly under the basking bulb and the rest ranging 75-80f during the day(your cooler end is pretty spot on) your basking temp could just do with being a bit lower.

Your basking floodlight, along with any ambient lighting you have is to be on a 12hour timer.
Then your uv strip light can be on roughly 4hours from noon(or the time you notice yours basks)
There’s lots of people who say to have the uv on the same 12hour timer, it’s an old fashioned rule that has stuck with a lot of keepers, fact is no tortoise is blasted with 12hours of uv in the wild, uv rays peak for around 3-4hours, so it’s fine to mimic that in captivity and save your bulb life🙂

Thank you so much for all you advise. I always though there's no tortoise that would lay in the sunshine for 12 hours. Thanks again. You have been great. I will make all them changes 😉

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

Thank you so much for all you advise. I always thought there's no tortoise that would lay in the sunshine for 12 hours. Thanks again. You have been great. I will make all them changes 😉

No problem at all! Best of luck, keep us in the loop and any further questions/any new purchases you want to double check, we’ll always be here to help😊

 

[Alex and the Redfoot]

Thank you so much for all you advise. I always though there's no tortoise that would lay in the sunshine for 12 hours. Thanks again. You have been great. I will make all them changes 😉

That's true, they don't spend all day basking. Most species avoid harsh midday sun. But basking lamp gives them some visual hint that "heat up point is here", so they can go and warm up whenever they need. And it's pretty close to natural sun timings. When you add ambient light and UVB to the mix with proper timings - you'll be closely imitating daylight (but still no match to outdoors light, unfortunately).