Does she like her new substrate?

[Spikedatortoise]

Hi!
I recently got a Russian tortoise and I’ve changed her soil now 3 times. Previous was top soil and it dried out so fast. She was not eating or soaking.
I changed it to coco choir and she loved it for 3 days and I’ve been adding moisture (not enough. I will be adding a top to her enclosure soon)
After those first 3 days she has been digging in the corner for a week now. Doesn’t move to her dark hide at all. Digs and digs like never before but is not active on her other items (logs). Her head lays low like her next is limp. She goes to get heat and basks but does not do much more like usual.
She is excited to eat when food is placed but has been only eating half her usual serving.
Is she not acclamating to the soil? Should I change it or give her a week more to feel more comfortable?
SOS worried mom here

 

[Tom]

Hi!
I recently got a Russian tortoise and I’ve changed her soil now 3 times. Previous was top soil and it dried out so fast. She was not eating or soaking.
I changed it to coco choir and she loved it for 3 days and I’ve been adding moisture (not enough. I will be adding a top to her enclosure soon)
After those first 3 days she has been digging in the corner for a week now. Doesn’t move to her dark hide at all. Digs and digs like never before but is not active on her other items (logs). Her head lays low like her next is limp. She goes to get heat and basks but does not do much more like usual.
She is excited to eat when food is placed but has been only eating half her usual serving.
Is she not acclamating to the soil? Should I change it or give her a week more to feel more comfortable?
SOS worried mom here

There are many other factors to look at besides the substrate. From your description it sounds like something is bothering here and she's trying to escape.

-What are your four temperatures? Warm side, cool side, basking area, and overnight low?
-What type of UV bulb are you using?
-Its good that you removed the soil. That should not be used as tortoise substrate. It is made from composted yard waste and all sorts of other weird stuff you've never heard of. The manufacturers and sellers do not make it with the intention of small animals living on it.
-Any substrate will need water dumped into it to keep it damp. How much water and how often varies tremendously from enclosure to enclosure, and seasonally too.

Most of the care info you find from most sources is all wrong. Its been wrong for decades and it keeps getting parroted to each new generation. Here is the current and correct care info:

The Best Way To Raise Any Temperate Species Of Tortoise

I chose the title of this care sheet very carefully. Are there other ways to raise babies and care for adults? Yes. Yes there are, but those ways are not as good. What follows is the BEST way, according to 30 years of research and experimentation with hundreds of babies of many species. What is...

tortoiseforum.org

Questions are welcome.

 

[Spikedatortoise]

There are many other factors to look at besides the substrate. From your description it sounds like something is bothering here and she's trying to escape.

-What are your four temperatures? Warm side, cool side, basking area, and overnight low?
-What type of UV bulb are you using?
-Its good that you removed the soil. That should not be used as tortoise substrate. It is made from composted yard waste and all sorts of other weird stuff you've never heard of. The manufacturers and sellers do not make it with the intention of small animals living on it.
-Any substrate will need water dumped into it to keep it damp. How much water and how often varies tremendously from enclosure to enclosure, and seasonally too.

Most of the care info you find from most sources is all wrong. Its been wrong for decades and it keeps getting parroted to each new generation. Here is the current and correct care info:

The Best Way To Raise Any Temperate Species Of Tortoise

I chose the title of this care sheet very carefully. Are there other ways to raise babies and care for adults? Yes. Yes there are, but those ways are not as good. What follows is the BEST way, according to 30 years of research and experimentation with hundreds of babies of many species. What is...

tortoiseforum.org

Questions are welcome.

Hey! Thanks for the reply
1. The temps are

-warm side: 80 - 50% humid

-cool side: 72 - 82% humid

-basking: 93 - 45% humid

-overnight low: 70 - 87% humid
2. UV light is 5.0 UVB
3. I have been watering everyday with a spray bottle. I do a hard spray or a mist. Today I added a lot more water and she became curious and came out. She also ate a lot more today. I also mixed up the soil to make sure the water was circulated
She usually goes in that corner after a bath or when I move her items around. I guess it gives her comfort. She hasn’t been digging as much since last night. Her pee and poop look good and normal.
She gets aggravated when I touch her which she used to never.

 

[Tom]

2. UV light is 5.0 UVB

What type of bulb? Long tube? CFL? The cfl type sometimes irritate or burn their eyes. This could be your problem. I would turn that off, and replace it with a LED in the 5000-65000K color range and see what happens. Also, the 5.0 bulbs proceed almost no UV at all. They are a waste of money. If you rely on indoor bulbs for UV, you need to get the HO type tubes. ZooMed makes a HO 10.0 tube that works. I prefer the Arcadia 12% HO tubes. They sell a "Pro T5" kit that comes with bulb, fixture and reflector, all-in-one. With any UV bulb, you need a meter to set the height correctly. If the bulb is too high, you are getting no UV to the tortoise. If the bulb is too low, you can burn their eyes.

There are four elements to heating and lighting:

1. Basking bulb. I use 65 watt incandescent floods from the hardware store. Some people will need bigger, or smaller wattage bulbs. Let your thermometer be your guide. I run them on a timer for about 12 hours and adjust the height to get the correct basking temp under them. I also like to use a flat rock of some sort directly under the bulb. You need to check the temp with a thermometer directly under the bulb and get it to around 95-100F (36-37C).
2. Ambient heat maintenance. I use ceramic heating elements or radiant heat panels set on thermostats to maintain ambient above 80 degrees day and night for tropical species. In most cases you'd only need day heat for a temperate species like Testudo or DT, as long as your house stays above 60F (15-16C) at night.
3. Ambient light. I use LEDs for this purpose. Something in the 5000-6500K color range will look the best. Most bulbs at the store are in the 2500K range and they look yellowish. Strip or screw-in LED bulb types are both fine.
4. UV. If you can get your tortoise outside for an hour 2 or 3 times a week, you won't need indoor UV. In colder climates, get one of the newer HO type fluorescent tubes. Which type will depend on mounting height. 5.0 bulbs make almost no UV. I like the 12% HO bulbs from Arcadia. You need a meter to check this: https://www.solarmeter.com/model65.html A good UV bulb only needs to run for 2-3 hours mid day. You need the basking bulb and the ambient lighting to be on at least 12 hours a day.

Your temps sound good, but the basking area should be a few degrees warmer.

 

[Lyn W]

Pictures of the enclosure will help.

 

[Spikedatortoise]

What type of bulb? Long tube? CFL? The cfl type sometimes irritate or burn their eyes. This could be your problem. I would turn that off, and replace it with a LED in the 5000-65000K color range and see what happens. Also, the 5.0 bulbs proceed almost no UV at all. They are a waste of money. If you rely on indoor bulbs for UV, you need to get the HO type tubes. ZooMed makes a HO 10.0 tube that works. I prefer the Arcadia 12% HO tubes. They sell a "Pro T5" kit that comes with bulb, fixture and reflector, all-in-one. With any UV bulb, you need a meter to set the height correctly. If the bulb is too high, you are getting no UV to the tortoise. If the bulb is too low, you can burn their eyes.

There are four elements to heating and lighting:

1. Basking bulb. I use 65 watt incandescent floods from the hardware store. Some people will need bigger, or smaller wattage bulbs. Let your thermometer be your guide. I run them on a timer for about 12 hours and adjust the height to get the correct basking temp under them. I also like to use a flat rock of some sort directly under the bulb. You need to check the temp with a thermometer directly under the bulb and get it to around 95-100F (36-37C).
2. Ambient heat maintenance. I use ceramic heating elements or radiant heat panels set on thermostats to maintain ambient above 80 degrees day and night for tropical species. In most cases you'd only need day heat for a temperate species like Testudo or DT, as long as your house stays above 60F (15-16C) at night.
3. Ambient light. I use LEDs for this purpose. Something in the 5000-6500K color range will look the best. Most bulbs at the store are in the 2500K range and they look yellowish. Strip or screw-in LED bulb types are both fine.
4. UV. If you can get your tortoise outside for an hour 2 or 3 times a week, you won't need indoor UV. In colder climates, get one of the newer HO type fluorescent tubes. Which type will depend on mounting height. 5.0 bulbs make almost no UV. I like the 12% HO bulbs from Arcadia. You need a meter to check this: https://www.solarmeter.com/model65.html A good UV bulb only needs to run for 2-3 hours mid day. You need the basking bulb and the ambient lighting to be on at least 12 hours a day.

Your temps sound good, but the basking area should be a few degrees warmer.

Okay thanks! I’ll try those options! Nothing with her lighting has changed. just the soil but she was so happy at first

 

[Spikedatortoise]

Pictures of the enclosure will help.

 

[Tom]

Okay thanks! I’ll try those options! Nothing with her lighting has changed. just the soil but she was so happy at first

The substrate is much too dry. When its dry like that is gets dusty and very messy. Keep it damp and and pack it firmly.

Those ramped water bowls are great for snakes and lizards, but totally unsuitable and dangerous for tortoises. I'd remove them right away ad replace with terra cotta plant saucers sunk into the substrate.

What type of bulb is your 5.0? Long tube or cfl?