how long to adjust to new home?

loveovercomes

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Hello!

I've been researching tortoises for a few months now and brought home a russian tortoise this weekend (saturday). She is VERY active, moving around a lot during the day, but has yet to eat anything. I'm offering fresh green veggies, the pellets the store suggested, and a blueberry. Is it ok she hasn't eaten yet? How long before I should be worried? Ideas on enticing her to eat? Thanks!

Ariel
 

T Smart

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loveovercomes

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Thanks for the quick response. I'm currently at work and do not have a picture of the enclosure on my computer. However, it has a ceramic heat emitter on one end, the basking light in the center, and the UV light on the other end. There is a hide in the middle, food on one end, water on the other. It's coconut bedding and I should add that I was also told to give her a little timothy hay, which I have done. I'll add a picture when I'm able to, and remove fruit. Thanks again!
 

Tom

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Hello and welcome.

Sounds like you got the typical bad pet store advice and a wild caught pet store tortoise. This is a tough way to go, but we'll try to help.

They can take more than month to adjust to a new territory. Wild caught adults sometimes never settle in and get comfortable. Most pet stores also sell enclosures that are much too small, which compounds the problem. An adult Russian needs at least 4x8 feet of floor space. Most pet stores sell them with a 40 gallon tank.

Russian don't eat hay. If your substrate is properly moist, then it will mold and become a hazard. You should remove that and either toss it or return it to the store. Or give it to someone with an adult sulcata. :)

Heat light and UV should all be to one end of the enclosure so that the tortoise can move away from it to the cooler maker side, when it wants to. In most cases, you shouldn't need a CHE for an adult Russian, unless your basking bulb isn't making enough heat to do the job.

What type of UV bulb did they sell you? The cfl screw-in type are not effective UV sources and some of them burn their eyes. This could be a contributing factor in the restlessness and lack of appetite.

Coco coir is not harmful or dangerous, but it is very messy. I prefer fine grade orchid bark.

Have you soaked the tortoise yet? Pet store tortoises tend to be dehydrated. I'd soak it in warm shallow water for 30 minutes every other day for a couple of weeks to ensure good hydration. This will also get the GI tact moving and often increases appetite. Some of them will act like you just dropped them into a vat of acid. Don't worry about that. The hydration is necessary and good for them, and all of them get used to their soaking routine in time. Plus the exercise is not a bad thing either.

This is the wrong time of year for a Russian to be up and about. In the wild, they'd still be hibernating under the snow right now. This might be why your tortoise shows no interest in food. In time with longer, brighter and warmer days, the appetite should return.

Questions and conversation are welcome! :)
 

loveovercomes

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Hello and thanks for the information! According to the shell, she appears to be about 8 years old. Would that be considered adult? I will definitely make the changes you suggested when I get home and check to see what kind of bulb they sold me, but it is made by zoo - med, I believe. I DID soak her for about 10 minutes on Saturday, the day I brought her home, but I got nervous about it because the water seemed to cool so quickly, I was afraid she was cold. At first, I didn't have the ceramic heater, but she was hiding, not moving around, and was cold to the touch. I live in Michigan, so it's like 20 degrees outside. We keep the house about 70 degrees. I will be soaking her again this evening. I need to get a deeper tub to do so, but that's no big deal. Is it too early to be concerned enough to seek veterinary advice? When she was soaked saturday, she actually got much more active afterwards. She seemed to really enjoy it.

Ariel
 

Yvonne G

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Hi Ariel, and welcome to the Forum!

It may take a couple weeks to a month for your tortoise to realize she's in a safe place, and settle down and claim the territory. Yes, it's too soon to go to the vet. Most vets can help you with illness or injury, but really don't know that much about husbandry or day-to-day care, so I wouldn't worry about going to the vet unless the tortoise shows signs of illness.

To keep the water warm I use a small bowl with tall sides and I set the bowl containing the tortoise back inside the enclosure right NEXT to where the light shines down on the floor.

You can start her out on Spring Mix and SOAKED pellets. Spring Mix is a packaged salad mixture containing healthy and tasty (to the tortoise) greens and should encourage her to eat. Once she's up and running you can slowly start adding broad leaf greens and weeds to the Spring Mix.
 

RosemaryDW

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Welcome!

You can’t really tell age from the shell size but if you got her at a pet store she’s an adult or nearly so. Russians don’t typically love being soaked, although they get used to it. She might have been thirsty and/or cold. At any rate, another one will do her good.

You’ll get more accurate temperatures with a laser thermometer, they’re inexpensive and easy to use: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00DMI62HM/?tag=exoticpetnetw-20. Plus they make a great conversation piece!
 

loveovercomes

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Wow, the laser thermometer is really cool, RosemaryDW! I'll have to get one.

I read somewhere about a soak to help them stay hydrated so they WILL eat, so I did the 50/50 plain Pedialyte and warm water soak and she really liked it. She came out of her shell, let me stroke her, etc. And good news: I came home today and her food was gone! I left two soaked blocks for her, and both were gone. So I added in the spring mix and a couple more soaked pellets for her. I also cancelled the vet appointment since she's doing so well. She's already letting me stroke her while being out of her shell and seems to enjoy the attention. I'm happy she's settling in. :)

Thanks for the advice, everyone. Also, she has a name: Journey.

~Ariel
 

Lyn W

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Hello and thanks for the information! According to the shell, she appears to be about 8 years old. Would that be considered adult? I will definitely make the changes you suggested when I get home and check to see what kind of bulb they sold me, but it is made by zoo - med, I believe. I DID soak her for about 10 minutes on Saturday, the day I brought her home, but I got nervous about it because the water seemed to cool so quickly, I was afraid she was cold. At first, I didn't have the ceramic heater, but she was hiding, not moving around, and was cold to the touch. I live in Michigan, so it's like 20 degrees outside. We keep the house about 70 degrees. I will be soaking her again this evening. I need to get a deeper tub to do so, but that's no big deal. Is it too early to be concerned enough to seek veterinary advice? When she was soaked saturday, she actually got much more active afterwards. She seemed to really enjoy it.

Ariel

Hi and welcome, you'll get all the right up to date advice here and if you take it on board you'll have a happy healthy tort for life - hopefully!
I soak my tort in a cat litter sort of tray and when the water is cooling I take some out and top up with warmer water to keep the temp nice and even.
 

tcstewart1980

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Hello and welcome.

Sounds like you got the typical bad pet store advice and a wild caught pet store tortoise. This is a tough way to go, but we'll try to help.

They can take more than month to adjust to a new territory. Wild caught adults sometimes never settle in and get comfortable. Most pet stores also sell enclosures that are much too small, which compounds the problem. An adult Russian needs at least 4x8 feet of floor space. Most pet stores sell them with a 40 gallon tank.

Russian don't eat hay. If your substrate is properly moist, then it will mold and become a hazard. You should remove that and either toss it or return it to the store. Or give it to someone with an adult sulcata. :)

Heat light and UV should all be to one end of the enclosure so that the tortoise can move away from it to the cooler maker side, when it wants to. In most cases, you shouldn't need a CHE for an adult Russian, unless your basking bulb isn't making enough heat to do the job.

What type of UV bulb did they sell you? The cfl screw-in type are not effective UV sources and some of them burn their eyes. This could be a contributing factor in the restlessness and lack of appetite.

Coco coir is not harmful or dangerous, but it is very messy. I prefer fine grade orchid bark.

Have you soaked the tortoise yet? Pet store tortoises tend to be dehydrated. I'd soak it in warm shallow water for 30 minutes every other day for a couple of weeks to ensure good hydration. This will also get the GI tact moving and often increases appetite. Some of them will act like you just dropped them into a vat of acid. Don't worry about that. The hydration is necessary and good for them, and all of them get used to their soaking routine in time. Plus the exercise is not a bad thing either.

This is the wrong time of year for a Russian to be up and about. In the wild, they'd still be hibernating under the snow right now. This might be why your tortoise shows no interest in food. In time with longer, brighter and warmer days, the appetite should return.

Questions and conversation are welcome! :)
Thank you so much for allll of this! I too just brought a russian for my son and had no idea outside of what the store told me-- I researched AFTER instead because mostly we had went in for an aquatic turtle but changed our minds in store. We love Leo and dont want anything to happen to him so we are trying to make the most of this. I don't even know what kind of bulb we have but can you recommend one and I will but it. we have whichever one came with the bearded dragon kit. Its is a double lamp.

We are going to soak in water or I read on here somewhere pedialyte is a good soak??
 

tcstewart1980

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Also how can we gauge the age? the petsmart rep said he was a baby but now Im not so sure *enter hmmm emoji*
 

Tom

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Thank you so much for allll of this! I too just brought a russian for my son and had no idea outside of what the store told me-- I researched AFTER instead because mostly we had went in for an aquatic turtle but changed our minds in store. We love Leo and dont want anything to happen to him so we are trying to make the most of this. I don't even know what kind of bulb we have but can you recommend one and I will but it. we have whichever one came with the bearded dragon kit. Its is a double lamp.

We are going to soak in water or I read on here somewhere pedialyte is a good soak??
Pedialite baths would only be for ailing tortoises in failing health. Regular water will work just fine for any normal situation.

You almost certainly have two of the wrong bulbs in the double fixture. No spot bulbs and no cfl bulbs. You want a flood bulb for basking.

There is no way to tell the age unless you know the hatch date. If the tortoise is more than 4 inches and purchased from Petsmart, then its a wild caught one. Could be 5 years old, could be 25 years old.
 

tcstewart1980

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Thanks! So disappointed but becoming less surprised daily :-( here I told the kids it’s a baby!

I did the soak this morning, he hated it and ended up pooping twice so I dumped the water but will keep trying:)

Is there a particular flood lamp you prefer? I’m not looking to reinvent any wheels lol! ? tell me what works.

If he keeps moving his food bowl (see photo) should I just leave it in the middle? Also what’s your take should I ditch the terrarium/I bought and what should we get instead if we do? I feel like I need a tutor ;-( sorry to bother you so much but thanks for being so awesome and sharing!
 

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Maggie3fan

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Thanks! So disappointed but becoming less surprised daily :-( here I told the kids it’s a baby!

I did the soak this morning, he hated it and ended up pooping twice so I dumped the water but will keep trying:)

Is there a particular flood lamp you prefer? I’m not looking to reinvent any wheels lol! ? tell me what works.

If he keeps moving his food bowl (see photo) should I just leave it in the middle? Also what’s your take should I ditch the terrarium/I bought and what should we get instead if we do? I feel like I need a tutor ;-( sorry to bother you so much but thanks for being so awesome and sharing!
Please don't be disappointed. An adult is so much easier to care for, you're going to be glad you did get an adult.
To me, Russians have a Sulcata brain in a small compact body. You have to think faster than he...I'd get rid of that food 'bowl' and feed him on a piece of slate available at any big box store for a buck. He really needs more room and he WILL try to escape, they are hard wired to do that. So cap the corners. They are masters of escape and will climb up a corner. Enjoy him, but think fast...lol
 

tcstewart1980

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That’s true I think you are right, lol! And he has started trying to escape this last day or so. I hadn’t capped the corners so I will do that but really I think we need to move him, should it still be a tank or more like the open plastic bins we see on here? Heck I really should return the kit, literally NOTHING I need is in there!!!!ugh
 

tcstewart1980

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Are these ok to purchase? See below:
The ones i have from the kit are Reptisun 10.0 and ZooMed 100w basking lamp

1606855102403.png

1606855291377.png
 

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