my new Russian tort
- Thread starter lil foot
- Start date
- Joined
- Jul 16, 2014
- Messages
- 29,991
- Location (City and/or State)
- South Eastern Florida (U.S.A.)/Rock Hill S.C.
Yes.
Especially if it is also not drinking.
We need some more information like the temperatures, lighting, heating and how it is being housed.
A few photos would be as good as a few hundred words.
Especially if it is also not drinking.
We need some more information like the temperatures, lighting, heating and how it is being housed.
A few photos would be as good as a few hundred words.
Your substrate is way to dry. You should dump water in it and mix by hand until all of the substrate is moist, throughout the enclosure. Spraying water will not keep the humidity up enough. Do you have a cover on the enclosure? If not, it should be covered also, to make it a closed system. That is the only way to keep the heat and humidity up to it’s proper levels. Without closing it up, when the water evaporates, it will take the heat and humidity right out the top.
How large is your tortoise?
Be sure to give these a read-
Russian Tortoise Care Sheet https://tortoiseforum.org/index.php?threads/Russian-Tortoise-Care-Sheet.80698/
Beginner Mistakes https://tortoiseforum.org/index.php?threads/Beginner-Mistakes.45180/
Be sure to give these a read-
Russian Tortoise Care Sheet https://tortoiseforum.org/index.php?threads/Russian-Tortoise-Care-Sheet.80698/
Beginner Mistakes https://tortoiseforum.org/index.php?threads/Beginner-Mistakes.45180/
He’s an adult, and requires a minimum enclosure size of 8x4 feet. This is achievable by building a tortoise table.
Here’s how to do it-
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B3XVjjTUbDNPUlhnVlN2bG0tUnc/view
Note that the dividers are completely optional, and you can just do it with two sheets of plywood. Instead of cutting the sides 15 inches tall, cut them 16 inches tall. Then just rout the sides and bottom as shown in the guide, press them together and glue/screw them in place, and you have a finished table. Then all you need to do is silicone around the edges, seal the inside(or half way up)with flex seal, dry lock, or some type of boat paint. After you do that, line the inside with a tarp where you want the substrate, I would recommend doing it at least 6-8 inches up.
Also note that the lamps should be coming straight down from a built in stand or detached one, and not clamped from the side. Clamps are extremely dangerous, and huge fire hazards. Learned that the hard way.(Curtis was named Lucky at first for a reason.)
Here’s how to do it-
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B3XVjjTUbDNPUlhnVlN2bG0tUnc/view
Note that the dividers are completely optional, and you can just do it with two sheets of plywood. Instead of cutting the sides 15 inches tall, cut them 16 inches tall. Then just rout the sides and bottom as shown in the guide, press them together and glue/screw them in place, and you have a finished table. Then all you need to do is silicone around the edges, seal the inside(or half way up)with flex seal, dry lock, or some type of boat paint. After you do that, line the inside with a tarp where you want the substrate, I would recommend doing it at least 6-8 inches up.
Also note that the lamps should be coming straight down from a built in stand or detached one, and not clamped from the side. Clamps are extremely dangerous, and huge fire hazards. Learned that the hard way.(Curtis was named Lucky at first for a reason.)
So my set up is not big enough. And what about him not eating for 10 days
This seems to be the most common problem when people get a tortoise ... It's the big one I made.
I covered Darwin's enclosure with a sheet of double-walled polycarbonate, sold at home depot as greenhouse panel.
It brought the humidity up to 99% and holds the temperature more steady than I used to be able to maintain.
Jamie
What are your temps in the enclosure? Him not eating could be a result of temps being to low. They have to have an area to bask at 95 to 100 degrees in order to digest food. As far as something to cover the enclosure, you can put plexiglass over it or build a small frame and put a shower curtain over that with the lights inside. Is this a Russian tort? If so please go to the Russian tort section and read the care sheet for Russians. It will explain these things to you.
Don’t freak out. It can all be fixed 
