Hi guys yup just me again. im woundering how long can a russian tort go with out eating? I turned her heat lamp down a little bit thinking maybe it was to hot and maybe thats why shes staying in hidy cave but it hasnt really made any difference...I put some of her food in the soaking tub when i took her out to soak hoping she would eat some that way but she just walked all around it and never even took a bite....When i put her back in her house i put her as far away from the hidy cave as i could hoping shed stay out for a little bit but she was back in her hidy before i even got her soaking tub empty.... I examined her real close when i took her out and she looks ok and she was walking around in the soaking tub fine. she likes having her head rubbed with the toothbrush and striches her head out so i can get all the way down her neck.....and i can hear her moving around in her hidy cave so like i said she seems fine except for not comming out of her cave and not eating....I havent had her long enough to really know what is normal....so figured id ask on here...although i like watching her when she came out im ok with her staying in the cave IF thats normal....and a lot of animals dont always eat everyday but its been close to a week now since shes eaten anything..... humm maybe she just dosnt like her house....in which case she will have to get used to it because i dont know what else we can do with it.....and she only ate the grass that one time....i put some danalion in with her greens today hoping that might get her to eat....but nope.....so figured id see what you guys think....
how long can a tort go with out eating?
- Thread starter Dragon
- Start date
What kind of tortoise?
Try to post a few photos of the enclosure.
Try to post a few photos of the enclosure.
- Joined
- Jul 16, 2014
- Messages
- 29,129
- Location (City and/or State)
- South Eastern Florida (U.S.A.)/Rock Hill S.C.
An adult tortoise that was previously healthy CAN go months without eating.
But it's neither normal or healthy for them.
The real question needs to be WHY is he not eating. And for that we need more information
But it's neither normal or healthy for them.
The real question needs to be WHY is he not eating. And for that we need more information
Try just placing her after a warm soak right next to her salad.with her nose near it and leave the area. My Tortoise will stop eating if he can see me. Then give up and go to bed. He has an ulterior motive and wants me to take him outside. Have you noticed her sniffing her food yet?
humm its late here now so i'll take some more pictures tomarrow.....i dont know where the pics i posted before are lol...humm maybe i should try putting her dish on the other side of her hidy.... that way she wont see me. right now its right in front of the plex glass.....and then tomarrow when i put her back in put her right up to the food.... the last few days she really hasnt even gone near her food....She used to come up to the windo and look at me ..... iv tried both putting her right at her food and then away from it....the food is right by the opening to her hidy....tomarrow i'll try just grass from outside....she really liked it the first time i put some in for her....im trying to take her out at least once a day....and maybe a second time in the evening....but so far the evening time hasnt happened....Iv been falling asleep in my chair lol I I think i might be catching a cold....or it could be allargys this time of year its hard to tell lol....she seems to like it when i take her out and soak her and when i sit her on my lap...she gets a bit more active then....my lap however is not very big lol next time spike goes to town i might get the round baby gate out and put down the plastic and towl and see how she does with that... of course i'll put the cat in the bedroom and the dogs out when i do eventually try that and see how she likes it. and now im off to get ready for bed, we dont go to bed until midnight but i like to lay around in my nightgown for a bit before we hit the hay lol
Im a little under the weather today but wanted to get these pictures of her house up Now when i put her food in for her today I put the food dish in the back right corner of her house , , on the that opened space on the right of her hidy hole and then I took her out of her hidy and put her face right next to her food dish...she didnt eat much but she did eat some, then she went right back into her hidy cave. Iv sprinkled some water on bedding....not much Im wounderingif i should take the rocks out its seems to me she started staying in her hidy after i put the rocks in I checked the temp and its 90 in her house not sure what else I can do going to lay down again for a bit and thanks in advance for all your wounderful help and support 
So Sissy is being a naughty girl, is she ? Zola gets moody sometimes, and doesn't eat much for quite a while - we put it down to weather changes - high and low pressure - it might be that ? As you say, she might not like the rocks for some reason -, you could try taking them out and replacing them with some alternative shelters, to give her a choice of hides, and a couple of safe plants in pots (even just grass) that would give her more to look at, and maybe eat. Tortoises can go without eating for a very long time, so don't worry about that.
You and Spike have done a great job making her house!
Angie
You and Spike have done a great job making her house!
Angie
Thomas tortoise
Well-Known Member
I met someone and he claimed his russian tortoise went 1 year without eating then it started eating and it was fine.
IvantheRussiantortoise
New Member
Some days my tortoise will be active and eat everything I put out, and some days he will not even move out from under his log. It just depends on the temperature and any other factors.
My little Russian did show me once that he hated a little hacienda that I made all fancy for him.😜 It was a plain old wood one and he loved it. He used it for sleeping every day From his very first day. Well... Then I put him outside one day and decided I would finally finish his cute little fancy hacienda all decorated cute 🥰 when I brought him in he caught sight of his plain little wooden hide, " made fancy" he took a second, third, and fourth 👀👀👀he stayed there with his neck stretched out up and looking for about 2 hours. I stayed out of eyesight. Well... when he made up his mind 😜he strolled right past the door and decided to sleep beside it. Hahaha 🤣 The 🐢 made up his mind 😜 of course you know what I had to do. Immediately.😁
Thanks for the reassurences.....I'll take the rocks out tomarrow humm and i'll look around here and see what else i can find that i could use as another hidy..... Theres not much for her to do in there....but other then getting her a cat toy with holes in it that i can stick some of food into I havent found anything she could play with? huum I dont think any of the plants i have here are safe for torts.....spider plants and aloe....and some kind plant i dont know what it is lol now i do have some empty flower pots...I wounder if i put some dirt in one of them and then dug up a patch of grass...complete with roots if it would grow? cant hurt to try....i know theres a sight listed on here somewhere where you can buy seeds and or plants that are safe....its still to cold to start planting anything new in the yard now but maybe i can find some stuff to order to plant in small pots....Im feeling a bit better now if i feel up to it tomarrow i'll take the rocks out and maybe rack her bedding a bit so she can make more piles here and there.... and then just wait and see ....she'll have her food water and a cuddle bone in there....and i'll see what i can find to make a second hidy....and im sure spike will dig up some grass and roots for me to try to grow in a small pot for her..... any other suggestions from anyone to help make her house a home she will be comfortable and happy in would be greatly appreachated...
oh my!! well lets hope sissy dosnt do that!!! I dont know if I could survive it! lol Im sorry if i drive you guys nuts I do try to keep my anxity under control but until I actually know what im doing and what is and isnt normal...im afraid i might become a bit of a bother..... I have learned however not to panic lol I checked to see if she had any wounds her eyes are clear as is her nose....she LOOKS fine Im going to see if we can weigh her on our bathroom scale....the only other scale i have here is a small kitchen scale.... if she dosnt regester on the bathroom scale i'll try that and then i'll be able to tell if she starts loosing weight....
lol yes undecorate his little wooden hacienda... im going to take the rocks out tomarrow and see if that will make her happy we are still getting to know each other so its going to have to be trail and error until we find what she likes...and if she perfers to stay in her hidy most of the time then as long as it not harmful to her......so be it.... I will take her out every day or so for awhile and when i put her back in i'll put her under her uv lamps and hopefully she will get the uv rays she needs.
Thomas tortoise
Well-Known Member
Its no bother. Just make sure you wash your kitchen scale if you end up using it.
I would just use the kitchen scale for weighing. It will be more accurate. As far as the rocks my Russian loves his rocks. He'll prop him self up sideways on them. It's so funny 🤣 but they are small. I haven't seen your rocks so I wouldn't be able to give any advice on yours. I also have some large flat rocks that he likes to sit on. I don't like to use those rock type hides because Sapphire could possibly use them to climb out or end up on his back by trying. I've always used something I just throw together with wood. The 2 sides are approximately 8" wide by 10" tall. The roof being wide enough to put a 2" or 3" wide board down one of the sides for the door. The roof needs to be wide enough for the Tortoise to walk through his door. Then a 2"or 3" board across the top of the front to stabilize the hut. There's no back or floor. It takes me about 15 minutes to complete and most of that is finding tools, screws, and glue. I use scrap wood to do it. He can't climb it. If I want to pick him up I can just tip it forward and get him. I've found it's best to use at least 10" tall for the two sides because anything shorter and he'll find a way to get himself in trouble by climbing. I know you don't bother any of us at all. You have the same reasons all of us have for being on this site. It helps to have people to talk with about our Tortoises. And experts in case something is really wrong. It's as much support for us Tortoise caregivers as it is for our animals. That's just as important because we are the ones that take care of them.🤗
I think everyone here likes to talk about their tortoises, and they know people here will be interested, and also they appreciate the fact that everyone is trying to do their best to keep their tortoises well and happy.You are not being a bother - you just want to make things perfect for Sissy.
My husband took this photo with his long distance camera today, from our upstairs window - I thought you would like to see it - such sweet little lambs - I know you love them.
Angie
Thanks everybody....and your right i just want to make things the best i can for my little sissy.... I took the rocks out today when i got her food and water replaced and then i took her out of her hidy and put her way back in that airea on the other side of hidy...she did stay out for a few minutes....kind of digging and scratching in her bedding....then she retreated back into her hidy...I didnt get her out today poor girl because what ever bug iv picked up decided it wasnt finished with me yet lol so i spent most of the day in bed and sitting up in my chair today. Spike insists I take it easy for a few days before i decide to get up and start doing again lol Hes such a doll that man of mine, he spoils me rotten of course I love it!! lol but he sure can be a bit of a worry wort...it s just a slight bug I dont really feel all that bad as long as i dont eat and i dont try to start doing thing and im slowly increaseing one of my stomich meds again to see if i can get things settled down , I miss the young healthy person I used to be who could eat anything, at any time run my kids down and catch them and lift and haul things all over the place lol ahh well when you live hard and play hard when your young you have to pay the pipper when you start getting old....lol BUT i still have my sense of humer and everybody knows as long as i have that theres nothing to worry about!!! lol ok im off to bed everyone have a great evening and a wounderful tomarrow@
Well I think everybody was right about the rocks....I dont know if she thought they were other torts or just didnt like her house cluttered up but when i went to changed her food and water this morning I noticed she wasnt in her hidy....and at first I didnt see her at all, I had to get the flash light out even though her lights were on before i found her.....she has dug out a small circle wall of bedding around her in that space in the back left corner of her hidy shes not quite buried in it.....I can see the top of her shell....Im pretty sure i read they will do that....so its nice to see her acting more like a normal tort! lol im not going to change anything in her house for awhile and see if she gets more active like she was before i put the rocks in....now i think i read somewhere around here that someone put a branch in there torts house an he loved climbing on it....now when we moved in here there was a huge mound of sticks and good sized branches in the pile and not only is it still here we've added to it over the years. now i know some people wounder why we dont just get rid of them...the answer I work in wood lol and i have all kinds of ideas of things i can do with sticks and branches lol I even have a few small logs i have ideas for IF i can figure out how to cut the logs in half to make flower beds or get a big enough drill bit so i can drill holes in it and then find strong good sized branches or smaller logs to make legs neck head and tail and maybe some antlers....anyway im off topic again lol what im woundering is are there any kind of branches that would be bad to put in her house? or that would be toxic for her? i ask because even though i work in wood I cant tell one kind of wood from another...I know theres some pine branches and apple tree branches but i have no idea what the other types of trees in the yard are....and now im going to go do some reading for a bit before i start watering the plants in the bedroom so spike dosnt yell at me for not taking it easy!! but im feel a bit better today and do want to get a few things done here and there....thank you again everybody for all the wounderful advice !!! someday I hope to be able to help other newbies with question about there torts....but right now all i can advise people is look on this sight theres a list of foods for your tort and other good information as well as all the wounderful people here heres hopeing evey one has a great woundeful day!!!!
"Dragon", I've been following your threads (Posts) for some time, since late January. Trust me, we/I LOVE to hear of your exploits with Sissy.
I think you have been doing the best job you can with the care of Sissy
, If you think something isn't right, you ask questions and we try to give you the best advice. As mentioned above, Tort's can go for quite a while w/o food. Is it good for them?, maybe not, BUT they are complex creatures, and we can't read their minds as to why they act they way they do. We can have theory's that are developed from experience (This is where all the other Tortle Lovers come in). But my Leopard is very haphazard, No two days are the same. Some days he stays in his "bed" others he comes out and wanders, and I provide food. Some day's he walks right by it. . .some days he has a voracious appetite, and I feed him several times. I have a Kitchen scale that I weight Seymour, Befor a soak, and after a soak, and I document the dates and time's. So I get an indication of how much he poop's when he's in his soak, less the amount of water he may consume, before pooping. This way, I don't worry, if he goes for a time w/o eating.
What I'm trying to say is, you are not a bother!, you and Spike are doing a fine job caring for Sissy, sometimes you just gotta stop . . and take a breath. . . and Tort's don't care for change.
I hope you feel better, and getting old sucks, I can't do things that I once did either, but with that comes wisdom....
All my best....
Marsha
I think you have been doing the best job you can with the care of Sissy
, If you think something isn't right, you ask questions and we try to give you the best advice. As mentioned above, Tort's can go for quite a while w/o food. Is it good for them?, maybe not, BUT they are complex creatures, and we can't read their minds as to why they act they way they do. We can have theory's that are developed from experience (This is where all the other Tortle Lovers come in). But my Leopard is very haphazard, No two days are the same. Some days he stays in his "bed" others he comes out and wanders, and I provide food. Some day's he walks right by it. . .some days he has a voracious appetite, and I feed him several times. I have a Kitchen scale that I weight Seymour, Befor a soak, and after a soak, and I document the dates and time's. So I get an indication of how much he poop's when he's in his soak, less the amount of water he may consume, before pooping. This way, I don't worry, if he goes for a time w/o eating.What I'm trying to say is, you are not a bother!, you and Spike are doing a fine job caring for Sissy, sometimes you just gotta stop . . and take a breath. . . and Tort's don't care for change.
I hope you feel better, and getting old sucks, I can't do things that I once did either, but with that comes wisdom....
All my best....
Marsha
