I had my Russian tortoise for only a few months now, and his regular diet is Romain lettuce and sweet potato, and sometimes a sweet tomato. I recently noticed that he's been popping stiff orange balls, which isn't normal to his brown poop. Help? 
Help! My tortoise is pooping orange balls?
- Thread starter Siarra
- Start date
He sounds dehydrated and hats a horrible diet for him.
If you go to specific species section of this site you can find a care sheet with specific site needs.
Broadleaf weeds
Dark green veggies
Dandelion flowers
If you go to specific species section of this site you can find a care sheet with specific site needs.
Broadleaf weeds
Dark green veggies
Dandelion flowers
@Siarra, as tortdad says, that is a very poor diet for your Russian. You need to stop feeding tomato immediately and stop the sweet potato for a while. A healthy Russian can have a bit of sweet potato on occasion but it's not a regular food. There is way too much sugar in tomatoes for him to digest properly; he's just not built to for sugar.
If you haven't already read it, check the Russian care sheet, it has a section on food near the bottom: http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/russian-tortoise-care-sheet.80698/.
Also read the beginner's mistakes thread: http://www.tortoiseforum.org/Thread-split-Beginner-Mistakes#axzz1tG8s05M5
You're in a large city and will likely have access to all kinds of good foods from ethnic grocery stores but for now, start with what you can find in a "regular" American market:
Good foods for tortoises are "chicories," types of lettuce that are likely to be on the far side of the more common floppy green heads of lettuce most people buy. Anything labeled as simply "chicory" is good, as are radiccio, frisee, escarole, and endive; you might even find something labeled as dandelions.You may find a bag of "Spring" or "Spicy" mix that is okay, just check the label to be sure it has some of the chicories I just mentioned.
The leaves (just the leaves) of turnips and radishes are also good, as are carrot tops. Collards, mustard greens, bok choy, and other dark, leafy greens are okay as well. If you have any kind of Mexican/hispanic market near you, they will sell cactus, labeled "nopales." Cactus is a very good food for tortoises.
You don't need to feed all of these at one time, just make sure your tortoise is getting access to different types of food. As you get more experienced, you can find the better types of food listed on the care sheets.
I also suggest soaking the tortoise; you'll find that information in the Russian care sheet as well. Russians don't love being soaked but he'll live. I'd soak every day for a couple of weeks while you get the diet normalized.
If you haven't already read it, check the Russian care sheet, it has a section on food near the bottom: http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/russian-tortoise-care-sheet.80698/.
Also read the beginner's mistakes thread: http://www.tortoiseforum.org/Thread-split-Beginner-Mistakes#axzz1tG8s05M5
You're in a large city and will likely have access to all kinds of good foods from ethnic grocery stores but for now, start with what you can find in a "regular" American market:
Good foods for tortoises are "chicories," types of lettuce that are likely to be on the far side of the more common floppy green heads of lettuce most people buy. Anything labeled as simply "chicory" is good, as are radiccio, frisee, escarole, and endive; you might even find something labeled as dandelions.You may find a bag of "Spring" or "Spicy" mix that is okay, just check the label to be sure it has some of the chicories I just mentioned.
The leaves (just the leaves) of turnips and radishes are also good, as are carrot tops. Collards, mustard greens, bok choy, and other dark, leafy greens are okay as well. If you have any kind of Mexican/hispanic market near you, they will sell cactus, labeled "nopales." Cactus is a very good food for tortoises.
You don't need to feed all of these at one time, just make sure your tortoise is getting access to different types of food. As you get more experienced, you can find the better types of food listed on the care sheets.
I also suggest soaking the tortoise; you'll find that information in the Russian care sheet as well. Russians don't love being soaked but he'll live. I'd soak every day for a couple of weeks while you get the diet normalized.
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