More Help Please (Not eating, inactive)

CurtisM

New Member
Joined
Jan 3, 2023
Messages
11
Location (City and/or State)
Manchester
Me (again).

I've corrected most of the issues since first getting the Russian T. (12mth).

However she is still not eating and sleeping all the time. Sge seems to be loosing a lot of weight 1grm per week.

Basking temp 90, nighttime temp no lower than 60.

She has the MV Basking bulb but I have also introduced a T5H0

Coco Carl substrate.

2/3 of the table is covered with perspex to keep humidity up and I'm misting on a regular basis to keep this up

Bathing daily.

Offering dandilions, forget me not with some gem lettuce. She would eat from hand but has since stopped.
 

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wellington

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I would raise the basking to be 95-100. I also would not let the temps go below 70 as it's winter and they normally try to brumate which they will stop eating to get ready to brumate.
Also ditch the puck like temp gauge, they are unreliable and get a digital.
 

Tom

The Dog Trainer
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Jan 9, 2010
Messages
63,269
Location (City and/or State)
Southern California
Me (again).

I've corrected most of the issues since first getting the Russian T. (12mth).

However she is still not eating and sleeping all the time. Sge seems to be loosing a lot of weight 1grm per week.

Basking temp 90, nighttime temp no lower than 60.

She has the MV Basking bulb but I have also introduced a T5H0

Coco Carl substrate.

2/3 of the table is covered with perspex to keep humidity up and I'm misting on a regular basis to keep this up

Bathing daily.

Offering dandilions, forget me not with some gem lettuce. She would eat from hand but has since stopped.
1. MVBs should not be used. Some make no UV at all and other make too much UV which will urn their eyes, and make them lethargic and hide all the time. Swap that out for a flood bulb and get the basking temp up to 36-37C.
2. What type of UV bulb is that? 12%, 6%, 10.0? It might be too close. Whatever type it is, it needs to be mounted directly over head, not to the side of the enclosure, and you need a meter to check the UV levels under it.
3. You are still missing ambient light. That enclosure does not look like a bright summer day to me. It looks like a dim cloudy winter morning. Brighten it up.
4. 60F would normally be fine, but in this circumstance, the tortoise is telling us that, along with the other problems mentioned, that it is too cool. Like Wellington said, get the night temps up to no lower than 70F.

Any one of these things could be the cause of the problem. All of these things together, and its not at all surprising that your tortoise isn't coming out and eating.
 

Tom

The Dog Trainer
10 Year Member!
Platinum Tortoise Club
Joined
Jan 9, 2010
Messages
63,269
Location (City and/or State)
Southern California
Me (again).

I've corrected most of the issues since first getting the Russian T. (12mth).

However she is still not eating and sleeping all the time. Sge seems to be loosing a lot of weight 1grm per week.

Basking temp 90, nighttime temp no lower than 60.

She has the MV Basking bulb but I have also introduced a T5H0

Coco Carl substrate.

2/3 of the table is covered with perspex to keep humidity up and I'm misting on a regular basis to keep this up

Bathing daily.

Offering dandilions, forget me not with some gem lettuce. She would eat from hand but has since stopped.
There also appears to be moss in the hide area? If yes, that needs to be removed immediately as it will be eaten and can cause impaction, which would also create the symptoms you are seeing.
 

CurtisM

New Member
Joined
Jan 3, 2023
Messages
11
Location (City and/or State)
Manchester
I would raise the basking to be 95-100. I also would not let the temps go below 70 as it's winter and they normally try to brumate which they will stop eating to get ready to brumate.
Also ditch the puck like temp gauge, they are unreliable and get a
There also appears to be moss in the hide area? If yes, that needs to be removed immediately as it will be eaten and can cause impaction, which would also create the symptoms you are seeing.
Thanks for the help.

It's just coco Chorl in the hidden area. It's the fibreous one so may look a little like moss.

I've clipped the UV tube to the side until the flood bulb arrives. I was a little concerned about overdoing the UV.

I'll keep night temp up and lower the basking a little. I'm using a digital thermometer to spot check the temp and just using the puck thermo as a gauge.

I'll also have a look in to the UV meter

Thank for the help
 

CurtisM

New Member
Joined
Jan 3, 2023
Messages
11
Location (City and/or State)
Manchester
I would raise the basking to be 95-100. I also would not let the temps go below 70 as it's winter and they normally try to brumate which they will stop eating to get ready to brumate.
Also ditch the puck like temp gauge, they are unreliable and get a digital.
Thank you I've done as advised and put temp up, hopefully will wake her up a little.

I've been using a thermometer, I just keep the puck there as a guide.
 

Tom

The Dog Trainer
10 Year Member!
Platinum Tortoise Club
Joined
Jan 9, 2010
Messages
63,269
Location (City and/or State)
Southern California
It's just coco Chorl in the hidden area. It's the fibreous one so may look a little like moss.

I've clipped the UV tube to the side until the flood bulb arrives. I was a little concerned about overdoing the UV.

I'll keep night temp up and lower the basking a little. I'm using a digital thermometer to spot check the temp and just using the puck thermo as a gauge.

I'll also have a look in to the UV meter

Thank for the help
The coco fiber stuff is no good either. You want the plain coir without all the fiber. Orchid bark is better still, but the fiber stuff needs to go before it gets ingested or stuck in the mouth.

The flood bulb doesn't replace the UV. The flood bulb is for basking heat. The UV tube needs to be mounted over the top of the enclosure at the right height.

The Solarmeter 6.5, aka Solarmeter 6.5r, is the one you want. Other meters, and the little plastic cards do not work for our purposes.

You need to add some lighting. LEDs work well for this purpose and are energy efficient too. It can be the strip type, or the screw-in bulb type, just try to get it in the 6500K color range.
 
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