HELP !! Geneal Behaviour

[stacey1471]

Hi, new to all this forum business
I have a Horsefeild tortoise only had him 3 weeks ! Been trying everything to get him to eat, hasen't touched a thing since got him home. a friend told me to try him on tomato's! Just wanted to check this was ok? coz i tried it and he started munching away
Other concern was that he doesnt drink,hasent so far since ive had him. he doesnt really move at all ! quite active out of his table, but soon as he goes back in he just burrows ibn the corner and stays ther euntill i move him! is this normal??
stacey

 

[terryo]

Hi..Welcome. I can't help you with Horsefield, but someone will come along soon.

 

[stacey1471]

oh thanks
was excited bout some help tho

 

[ChiKat]

What types of lettuce have you tried to give him so far?
I wouldn't recommend giving tomatoes since they're so high in sugar.
I buy spring mix (make sure to pick out the spinach) and give him that as a staple in the winter, in addition to escarole, curly endive, radicchio, turnip greens, etc.
Here is additional information on diet.
http://www.russiantortoise.org/russiantortoisediet.htm

This is also a good care sheet for Russians:
http://www.russiantortoise.org/care_sheet.htm

Where did you get him from? If it's from a pet store then he is most likely wild caught, dehydrated, and may have parasites.
Have you been soaking him? You should soak him in chin deep water daily. This encourages them to drink.

Congrats on your new little tort, and don't hesitate to ask any questions!

 

[egyptiandan]

Hi Stacey,
Seeing as your in the UK have you tried crispy florette yet?
How is he set-up? What are the temperatures under the basking spot, warm end, cool end and night time? What do you have for lights and how long are they on?

Danny

 

[stacey1471]

Thanks!!
yes have been soaking every 3 days, but will start soaking every day! i brought him from a reptile shop!
Oh well ill takeaway the tomatos then? tried italian green leaf (shop told me to buy) rocket, norm lett. Whats a spring mix ???
not sure on his age either! my husband brought him for my birthday. the reptile place i got him from said 2, but i have a feeling that he may be older! he doesnt seem to active??

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crispy florette? is that a veg or salad?? never heard
he is in like a tortoise table. open with heat lamp and uv... i just turn uv off when i go to bed at night and switch off in morning! not sure of temps tho. what should they be?? ill get a thermometer tommrow.
thx

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi Stacey:

to the forum!!

Can you ask the previous owner what the tortoise was used to being fed? Sometimes they don't recognize different "stuff" as food. I was going to say that he might just be having trouble getting acclimated, but if he started right in on the tomato, then my guess would be that you aren't offering him what looks like food to him.

If its not possible to know what he's used to eating, then try offering him some zucchini or yellow squash. Just cut it in half lengthwise so there's a sharp edge for him to bite and put it in there. I know the current trend is to feed tortoises greens, but I offer my tortoises anything from the produce department. I put down a bed of, let's say, escarole, then some cut zucchini, yellow squash, broccoli and maybe a bit of bell pepper. Then the next day I'll only offer greens, maybe endive. The next day veggies again, and on and on.

When you bring him out of his "comfort zone," he seems active because he's scared and he's trying to find a safe place to hide. He also hides in the table because he's afraid. It might help if you were to close it off a bit, either with fake plants or a partial cover.

Quite a few Russians don't like the water. If you have a water dish in the habitat and he never uses it, once you get him started eating, you can sprinkle his food with water and that will help a bit.

 

[stacey1471]

yeah they said they fed him on italian leaf lett... i tried that plus other things that i found on website but nothing untill the tomatos today... but i hear they are too high in sugar for him? i will try both your recmendations tho.
Just worried bout him thats he is unhappy

 

[stells]

As you got him from a reptile shop and his history is unknown it might be worth taking a poop sample to the vets and asking them to test for worms AND protozoa....

Florette crispy salad is a bagged salad that can be found in most supermarkets....

 

[stacey1471]

ok good idea! would i call any local vets ?
Oh i know that salad lol..... Does anyone know 'The Tortoise Shop' you order online or by phone and get everything delivered including the hatchling!!! Was thinking i should of gone for this option!
I am growing concerned that i dont know much about my horsefeilds past bless him

 

[stells]

Any vets should be able to do the test on the poop sample... but if you wanted him checked over to i would find one that has a vet who specialises as most of your normal cat/dog etc vets won't be much help...

I wouldn't bother with the tortoise shop... there have been alot of problems with this establishment...

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What type of heat lamp are you using? if it gives out light as well then that also needs to go off at night....

 

[stacey1471]

sound stupid but i dont actually know what heat lamp it is... it had reptiles on the box was £8.50. and is red !!!!
Where is the best place to get a baby tortoise from ??? if i was to get a new hatchling would they be ok togeather ??

 

[stells]

Personally i would change the red bulb... you could just use a SPOTbulb... is it possible to see pics of your enclosure with lighting in place so we can get a better idea....

If you change to a spotbulb you would just have this and your UV on in the daytime... say 7am-7pm... then both off at night... it would put more light into the table during the day which can make all the difference in activity

Supplimental night time heat would be dependant on how cool your enclosure is getting at night....

If you were to get a hatchling you would be best off finding a breeder...any new tortoise would also need a quarantine period so two setups would be required....

It would probably be best to get what you have sorted out first before getting a new tortoise

 

[stacey1471]

so a spot bulb what is that just a different type of heat bulb?? or just a normal bulb, where would i get this from??
I will check all temps 2m and post 2m evening.. just gner post some pics now.

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HOW DO I ADD PICTURES ??

 

[stells]

you can use a normal spotbulb like you can buy in Wilkinsons etc... make sure its a reflector spot though not just a normal lightbulb or a halogen...

You can add attachments somehow lol... although i just do it via photobucket

 

[stacey1471]

do u have an email i can send to! lol

 

[stells]

If you want to email me the pics you can do so at xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

I will post them onto the forum for you...

 

[stacey1471]

do they not need heat bulbs then??

 

[stells]

A reflector spotlight will throw out heat

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http://www.lightbulbs-direct.com/product/1311/r80-reflector-spot-100w-es/

 

[stacey1471]

so its best i
>get him and poo checked out at vets
>chnage bulb to reflector spotlight
>both lights off at night
>bath daily
>try crispy florite
>buy thormator to check temps? would u post for me waht temps should be thx