Hello! I am new to this forum and I hope I’m posting this at the right place. Basically, I just recently (yesterday) got a baby Russian tortoise. I did a lot of research and considered myself ready. Now here’s the problem; My Russian tortoise is not eating much, he didn’t want hay, nor cucumbers, bell peppers or anything really. I don’t know how big of a portion they eat but I’m pretty sure it’s not just a single little cube of cucumber per day. Thank you very much for the help and I will provide answers if anyone has questions about him.
New baby Russian Tortoise not eating much
- Thread starter Alloy
- Start date
welcome to the forum! not to denigrate the work you’ve done, but based on what you’ve already said the research you did was not good. Much of what you listed for food for Russian is not appropriate for them.
I suggest forgetting everything you’ve read and start here:
www.tortoiseforum.org
Russians don’t eat hay, they shouldn’t eat peppers or cucumbers, they need to eat weeds and leafy greens and there is no limitation of how much food you should give them. So I would just erase all that hard work you’ve done, sorry I know it’s a bitter pill to swallow, but just start here with an open mind
I suggest forgetting everything you’ve read and start here:
Info For New People. Please Read This First.
Hello and welcome to tortoiseforum.org! We are all glad you are here! There is no other forum like this anywhere. We have tens of thousands of members from all over the world ranging from kids with their first tortoise to people who have been breeding and keeping high end tortoises since the...
www.tortoiseforum.org
Russians don’t eat hay, they shouldn’t eat peppers or cucumbers, they need to eat weeds and leafy greens and there is no limitation of how much food you should give them. So I would just erase all that hard work you’ve done, sorry I know it’s a bitter pill to swallow, but just start here with an open mind
Oh thanks for the link! I’ll read it!welcome to the forum! not to denigrate the work you’ve done, but based on what you’ve already said the research you did was not good. Much of what you listed for food for Russian is not appropriate for them.
I suggest forgetting everything you’ve read and start here:
Info For New People. Please Read This First.
Hello and welcome to tortoiseforum.org! We are all glad you are here! There is no other forum like this anywhere. We have tens of thousands of members from all over the world ranging from kids with their first tortoise to people who have been breeding and keeping high end tortoises since the...
Russians don’t eat hay, they shouldn’t eat peppers or cucumbers, they need to eat weeds and leafy greens and there is no limitation of how much food you should give them. So I would just erase all that hard work you’ve done, sorry I know it’s a bitter pill to swallow, but just start here with an open mind
Also, I didn’t mean hay (I mainly speak French, bad translation), but I do give him weeds and greens. I have a mix that a store gave me, Its called “Freshly pressed Tortoise food (Optimised 52)” but he hasn’t touched that at all. I rehydrate the food by soaking it in water yet he still doesn’t want it. I did think that it might’ve been too big for him so I cut it up in smaller pieces/strands but still no difference.
Welcome! I can see you want the best for your little guy.
He's new and afraid. He won't eat until he gets comfortable. Make sure he's got something to hide under and give him time. Would you want to eat with a stranger watching you?!! It might take a couple of days, don't worry, he doesn't need to eat constantly like a mammal does.
Toss the bell pepper, it's bad for him in large amounts (too much sugar for his tummy) and he doesn't eat grass so toss anything that's like that, too. A little cucumber is okay on occasion but not a lot and not every day.
Setup is much more important than food right now so take a look at the baby Russian tort sheet: https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/b...or-other-herbivorous-tortoise-species.107734/. It looks like a lot at first but you can break it down after a read or two.
He's new and afraid. He won't eat until he gets comfortable. Make sure he's got something to hide under and give him time. Would you want to eat with a stranger watching you?!! It might take a couple of days, don't worry, he doesn't need to eat constantly like a mammal does.
Toss the bell pepper, it's bad for him in large amounts (too much sugar for his tummy) and he doesn't eat grass so toss anything that's like that, too. A little cucumber is okay on occasion but not a lot and not every day.
Setup is much more important than food right now so take a look at the baby Russian tort sheet: https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/b...or-other-herbivorous-tortoise-species.107734/. It looks like a lot at first but you can break it down after a read or two.
Thank you so so so much for the sheet, it’s really interesting and I’ll work on it a lot! Also, I don’t know if it’s a dumb question but will my tortoise be stressed when I soak it? And do I just place it in some lukewarm water and go or do I watch it? (I just want to make sure that I’m not hurting it somehow…)
Not a dumb question. Yes, it will stress him a little, but dehydration will kill him. A little stress once in a while is okay. The baby will get used to it.
Tortoises don't eat unfamiliar foods right away. They need a lengthy introduction period of weeks or months. Find out what the previous owner was feeding it and duplicate that for a while. Add in tiny tiny minced up bits of new foods and give the tortoise time to get used to the new smells, tastes ad textures.
Read those threads! They will help you.
Welcome and all the best wishes for you and your little tortoise. You can stop looking for a good tortoise forum right now as you are already in the best one! And try to relax and remember he has to have time to adjust. Just make sure that all the conditions of his enclosure and diet are correct and that he gets soaked daily.
You want to place him into a bowl of water that is slightly higher than room temp; not quite luke warm; if you have a thermometer check that it's not higher than 90 degrees or a bit. If you don't have one, just get it very slightly warmer than your hand.
What I do is soak mine in the morning, before she's really woken up and is still slow. You want the water up to where the bottom and top shell meet. Soak until he gets grumpy about it, which is hopefully fifteen minutes. You may or may not notice him drink, that's fine.
Use a container or bowl he can't see out of and don't stare down at him. So you can be close by but not in his face.
When you have a chance get yourself one of these so you can check the water temp: https://www.amazon.ca/Etekcity-Thermometer-Temperature-Non-contact-58℉-716℉/dp/B00837ZGRY/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?keywords=etekcity+gun&qid=1687270664&sr=8-1-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9hdGY&psc=1. You can use it to check the heat in his box as well, as the little clip in ones aren't very accurate. Plus they are fun to play with!
Hello Alloy, and welcome to the tort Forum.
There are a lot of smart folks here that have YEARS of experience caring for and raising different tort-turtles. Read the care sheets, and ask questions, the more questions the better.
One other helpful piece of info/suggestion is to get a Digital kitchen Scale.
My Tort's/turtle, get weighed before and after a soak, and I document the info. It helps to determine if they drank any water while they were soaking, and also the water helps facilitate the pooping. While they are in the "soak" they may try to actively try to get out, this is good as the activity helps to get their digestive tract going.
Can you tell us more about your Buddy? How old is it, have you named it? It will be a long time before you can tell if it is a boy or girl, but that's ok, as for the most part, the care is the same....Looking forward to hearing more about your new friend, & best of luck...
M.
There are a lot of smart folks here that have YEARS of experience caring for and raising different tort-turtles. Read the care sheets, and ask questions, the more questions the better.
One other helpful piece of info/suggestion is to get a Digital kitchen Scale.
My Tort's/turtle, get weighed before and after a soak, and I document the info. It helps to determine if they drank any water while they were soaking, and also the water helps facilitate the pooping. While they are in the "soak" they may try to actively try to get out, this is good as the activity helps to get their digestive tract going.
Can you tell us more about your Buddy? How old is it, have you named it? It will be a long time before you can tell if it is a boy or girl, but that's ok, as for the most part, the care is the same....Looking forward to hearing more about your new friend, & best of luck...
M.
Hey hey! Just for an update, he’s eating his weeds better now (I got fresh ones and some other types that were in the links that people sent) and yeah!
So my buddy’s name is Koopa Troopa (or just Koopa), he’s supposedly two months old although I have a hard time believing it since he was advertised on the site of the shop for around 4-5 months…
I soaked him this morning and he actually drank water which I am very happy of and he also pooped. (The poop looked very healthy and good)
Also, I had another question… Can I go outside to pick clovers, dandelions and such? Or is there pesticides that I need to be careful of? (And thank you so much for all the help, you guys are awesome!)
Well, YES! You need to be careful of pesticides. If YOU haven't sprayed any herbicides/pesticides and it has been a year and you know no one else has, I honestly don't think picking weeds out of your yard is necessarily bad.
Like everything else...in moderation.
Can you post a picture of Koopa (we love pictures of the kids), We might be able to give you a better idea of how old he might be......
Oh, and that is wonderful news, that he is eating, pooping & drinking...all good signs.
I wrote this up a while back, on how to find safe weeds. As mentioned above, if it's your own yard and you know it hasn't been sprayed in a year, go for it!
If it's not your yard, this might let you get more comfortable finding plants elsewhere.
Tips and photos for checking if your weeds are "safe." Photo heavy!
I often see questions from new members wondering how to tell if the weeds they've found are free of pesticides. I took a few pictures that might help. We've had heavy rains this spring in California and weeds are exploding everywhere; it's an excellent time to go out and about. As always, use...
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