My tortoise is not eating

[Celticgyrl]

Hi all, my almost 2yr old tortoise is hardly eating. He has always been fussy but the last few days he has hardly eaten anything. He loved his pak Choi and his tortoise food with very occasionally other leaves added. We have tried lots of different foods with him and he is refusing everything. Help plz

 

[The_Four_Toed_Edward]

Are there any other symptoms?

It could be that due to the time of the year he is preparing for brumation. There are steps you can take to prevent this (outlined by @Tom ):
"Here are steps to take if you don't want to brumate your temperate species:
1. Add bright LED lighting in the 5000-6500K color range. Lots of it. Make it look like daytime outside looks.
2. Set light timers to be on for 13-14 hours.
3. Bump all ambient temperatures up a bit.
4. Keep night temps warmer. Shoot for no lower than the 70s over night.
5. Pull the tortoise out of hiding and soak it often. Don't let it stay hidden in a cool hide box all day.
6. I usually run HO UV tubes for 2-3 hours mid day. To keep a tortoise up, I might bump them up to 6-8 hours a day."

Tom's Brumation Thread

Every fall we get bombarded here on the forum with all sorts of questions and problems regarding hibernation and tortoises "slowing down" for winter. The purpose of this thread is to talk about all aspects of this subject, to dispel some of the myths and mysteries, and give a "how to" list of...

tortoiseforum.org

 

[Celticgyrl]

Are there any other symptoms?

It could be that due to the time of the year he is preparing for brumation. There are steps you can take to prevent this (outlined by @Tom ):
"Here are steps to take if you don't want to brumate your temperate species:
1. Add bright LED lighting in the 5000-6500K color range. Lots of it. Make it look like daytime outside looks.
2. Set light timers to be on for 13-14 hours.
3. Bump all ambient temperatures up a bit.
4. Keep night temps warmer. Shoot for no lower than the 70s over night.
5. Pull the tortoise out of hiding and soak it often. Don't let it stay hidden in a cool hide box all day.
6. I usually run HO UV tubes for 2-3 hours mid day. To keep a tortoise up, I might bump them up to 6-8 hours a day."

Tom's Brumation Thread

Every fall we get bombarded here on the forum with all sorts of questions and problems regarding hibernation and tortoises "slowing down" for winter. The purpose of this thread is to talk about all aspects of this subject, to dispel some of the myths and mysteries, and give a "how to" list of...

tortoiseforum.org

His led lights are 6000. He seems warm to the touch and is active. His light is a 150 wat UVA/UVB BULB. his humidity is about 85-90%

 

[The_Four_Toed_Edward]

His led lights are 6000. He seems warm to the touch and is active. His light is a 150 wat UVA/UVB BULB. his humidity is about 85-90%

This is not necessary related, but in the future you want to switch to seperate UVA and UVB lights.

How long are your lights on per day? How are the temperatures like? (basking, ambient, cold side)

 

[Celticgyrl]

We have 2 lights at separate sides, he loves to walk between them, we also have a level that he walks under that is cooler but still warm. His temps are all within the range that is advised on here. I got some puréed baby food for him and he is refusing it. I gave him a warm bath and let him have a wander around the house for half an hour to try and let him get hungry but he still won’t eat

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

His led lights are 6000. He seems warm to the touch and is active. His light is a 150 wat UVA/UVB BULB. his humidity is about 85-90%

Yeah this isn’t necessarily related as said, but there are things I’d look into with your lighting set up and substrate, I believe you’re using hemp? That won’t hold your humidity that high, if it is I’m surprised it’s not moulding.

What kind of humidity gauges do you have? 85-90 is pretty high for this species as an adult, if your temps are a bit off, this high humidity could make him sick.

Could we get an enclosure photo by any chance? Is this open topped? If so it’s highly likely you can’t keep ground temps where they should be now our uk weather is turning

In terms of lighting, It’s best going with a separate uvb and heat set up(this doesn’t mean two different basking uvb bulbs, or separate leds), having combined heat and uv, means when adjusting your height to create the desired basking temperature, you’re messing with your UVI zone, they are much more desiccating on the shell and their uv output often very unreliable.
There’s the added fact of uv timing, with the uv timing, every other source of information will tell you 12hours of uv. This is essentially an old fashioned rule that has stuck with a lot of keepers, it stems from the presumption that once the basking light or ambient lighting is on, ie the ‘sun’, that uv must coexist the same amount of hours. Fact is, uv rays only peak for a few hours a day, anyone with a uv meter will confirm this. No tortoise is blasted with 12 hours of uv in the wild, therefore it’s not necessary in captivity. Whilst not necessarily dangerous, it’s potentially annoying to the tortoise to have 12hours on uv in the enclosure.
The right uv bulbs are much more expensive to replace once their uv strength diminishes, so it’s definitely best having it on a 4 hour timer that provides them with all the uv they need, saving your bulb life.
Then some cheaper led lighting for your ambient 12 hour light cycle as well as the basking light on the same 12hrs, your ceramics(if needed) will run 24/7 on a thermostat, hope that all makes sense
The most recommended up to date indoor uv option is t5 tube fluorescent bulbs, they disperse the uv light over a much wider area. Recommended brands are Arcadia proT5 kit 12% or zoo med reptisun t5 10.0(hood usually sold separate)

 

[The_Four_Toed_Edward]

We have 2 lights at separate sides, he loves to walk between them, we also have a level that he walks under that is cooler but still warm. His temps are all within the range that is advised on here. I got some puréed baby food for him and he is refusing it. I gave him a warm bath and let him have a wander around the house for half an hour to try and let him get hungry but he still won’t eat

Are there any other symptoms? Discharge from the nose or the eyes? Swollen eyes? Rubbing eyes? Open mouth breathing? Any weird breathing sounds?

If your lights are on for 12 hours and off for 12 hours for example, you can pump that up to on for 14 hours and off for ten. This could trick your tortoise into thinking that it is still summer. For the time being, try to raise the night time temperatures to 21 C or above. Try offering food right after soaking.

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

I don’t think I’ve linked these to you before, so I’m going to pass them on for you to double check everything

I made this thread based on the forums care information and added visual aids, it covers correct equipment(uvb, heating bulbs, lighting etc), correct levels, sizing(which can also effect activity), appropriately maintaining the humidity, safe substrates, there’s lots of visual examples for everything, and a really handy diet link to check out! I go over an open set up here, but if you don’t brumate in winter, an enclosure topper is a really good idea in the uk, I’ll add ideas below

Housing adult Russian and Hermans indoors

Hello there! In this thread I’m going to include some information an example of an appropriate indoor set up for an older Herman/russian. As much as it’s encouraged to have tortoises in a safe outdoor enclosure, I understand being from the uk myself, that some climates make it difficult to...

tortoiseforum.org

This includes potential topper ideas to help lock heat in, I’d up lighting times as suggested too

Visual inspiration

Hi guys! I’ve had some lovely messages complimenting me on my care sheets I made for all the visuals they include! That makes me so happy because as a visual learner myself, that was my goal🥰 I’ve recently had some requests for some more visual inspiration for set ups that can house babies/...

tortoiseforum.org

This includes lots of inspiration for an adult set up both indoors and out! The indoor bit has some good ideas to tackle indoor space whilst still providing the needed roaming room! Check comments too, I’m always adding to it. I know the recommended adult size is intimidating to some, especially if you’ve been lead into thinking he’ll be fine in a smaller set up(very common) but tortoises long term health really does rely on lots of roaming room

Enclosure inspiration

Howdy folks! Hope everyone is well! As you all know, I’m a big fan of making threads that cater more towards visual learners like myself, I’ve really been wanting to create a thread full of adult enclosure inspiration for a while now, I’ve managed to find some great references over time! I do...

tortoiseforum.org

Lastly, this one here is good to go over and keep on hand, it’ll help you avoid the wrong bulbs, substrates, housing etc, I always encourage double checking purchases on the forum too before buying

Common keeping errors

Hello everyone! I’d been a long time lurker on this site long before joining just under a year ago now, over that time I’ve seen these husbandry issues come up time and time again, sometimes with dire consequences☹️ I thought this thread might serve as a good visual guide for these common...

tortoiseforum.org

Hope they help! Hopefully we can get more specifics from you to help step by step, I think this is a winter slow down we need to address if you aren’t going to brumate this year, it’s a bit too early to start just yet anyway

 

[Celticgyrl]

Are there any other symptoms? Discharge from the nose or the eyes? Swollen eyes? Rubbing eyes? Open mouth breathing? Any weird breathing sounds?

If your lights are on for 12 hours and off for 12 hours for example, you can pump that up to on for 14 hours and off for ten. This could trick your tortoise into thinking that it is still summer. For the time being, try to raise the night time temperatures to 21 C or above. Try offering food right after soaking.

There are no other symptoms, he looks perfectly fine. His eyes are bright and he comes over when I talk to him.

 

[The_Four_Toed_Edward]

There are no other symptoms, he looks perfectly fine. His eyes are bright and he comes over when I talk to him.

Sounds like he isn't ill, but just preparing for brumation. Do you plan on brumating him?

 

[RainsOn]

There could be a more simple answer.
I know you are in UK with different climate BUT these guys are a world unto themselves.
I can only relate what I know from my Russian:
The warmer his temps, the more appetite he has.
They can eat whatever you put in front of them for days then, get picky. Or, even stop eating altogether.
I just went through this with Digger. He was eating fine and then, for about 4 days would not have anything I put in front of him.
His weight was fine. No change in temps or light. Bright eyes, active, hydrated and soaked.
Yesterday, he was back to eating - even a couple new items from the yard.
He also has favorite foods that are not particularly good for him to eat regularly. If he gets them too often, he can get very picky and refuse other foods that are healthier. This means a battle of the wills. I have to be more stubborn than he is - and this is doing something.
Just a thought.