New owner

[Deontae]

Hey I got a tortoise about 4 days ago and he still hasn’t ate anything. He is a Russian tortoise and I’m offering him Romain lettuce, pellets, and hay. They lady at the store said he was eating the pellets but he hasn’t ate since I’ve got him. Is this normal?
Thank you

 

[Pistachio's Pamperer]

Diet:
Russian tortoises need broadleaf weeds. You will need to learn about the weeds near you and which ones are okay to feed or not. Pics can be posted here on the forum in the "Plant ID" section, or you can take samples to a local nursery. Look for dandelion, sow thistle, mallow, filaree, hawksbit, and many more. If you are not 100% sure that your source is free of pesticides and other chemicals, don't feed anything from there.
You can grow your own food too. Here is one of my favorites: http://www.tortoisesupply.com/TestudoMix
I also get lots of seeds here: http://www.groworganic.com
If you must use grocery store foods I like to favor spring mix, endive and escarole heavily. Also add in carrot tops, cilantro, mustard, turnip and collard greens, and lots of other leafy greens.
It is a good idea to add a product called "Salad Style" to grocery store greens to add some fiber: http://www.tortoisesupply.com/salad-style-food-topper/
This is a new food topper and I like it a lot so far: http://www.tortoisesupply.com/HerbalHay
You can also feed them grape, mulberry and hibiscus leaves, tender young spineless opuntia cactus pads, Mazuri tortoise chow and ZooMed Grassland tortoise food. Alternating and mixing up any of these foods will give your russian a good diet and meet its nutritional needs.

Supplements:
I like to have cuttle bone available for them to munch on at will. I also sprinkle some "MinerAll" on the babies food a couple of times a week and a reptile vitamin supplement once a week. I don't think adult males need any supplementation if they are getting a good varied diet, but I like to supplement egg laying females and babies with a pinch of calcium carbonate powder once or twice a week. I usually use either the ZooMed or RepCal brands.

from here:: https://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/russian-tortoise-care-sheet.80698/

Baby Russian Tortoise care sheet (also for other herbivorous tortoise species)

Baby Russian tortoises have very similar needs to adult Russian tortoises. A requirement of higher humidity and hydration is the main difference. With good humidity, UVB, and healthy food, your tortoise will grow healthily and smoothly. If kept too dry, they will have irregular, pyramided shell...

www.tortoiseforum.org

SUGGESTED GUIDE

REPRINTED WITH PERMISSION FROM "EVERYTHING-TURTLES.COM" ON fb

www.tortoiseforum.org

Here's a bunch of info condensed from all over the site...
Bare in mind.. Tortoises don't like change so "normal" behavior won't happen until they are comfortable.

Food wise.. Pellets are what kind? And are you soaking them? The only pellets I would feed would be Mazuri-- you can search that on this site as well.

Romain lettuce is not a good daily staple food. There is sooo much more they can and will eat.
Hay is not a Russian tortoise thing. I wouldn't even offer it.

In a yard that doesn't get chemicals, dandelions are your best friend. My Russian will eat handfuls.

Feel free to do some reading and ask more questions.
-Meg

 

[Tom]

Hey I got a tortoise about 4 days ago and he still hasn’t ate anything. He is a Russian tortoise and I’m offering him Romain lettuce, pellets, and hay. They lady at the store said he was eating the pellets but he hasn’t ate since I’ve got him. Is this normal?
Thank you

Not normal. If you bought it at a pet store then you likely have an adult wild caught animal. It takes time to acclimate them to their new life. The pet store probably gave you all the wrong info and sold you all the wrong products. A few pics can confirm or deny this. 40 gallon tank? Red bulb for night? Compact florescent for UV? Ramped water bowl?

Please read this for the correct care, housing and feeding info:

The Best Way To Raise Any Temperate Species Of Tortoise

I chose the title of this care sheet very carefully. Are there other ways to raise babies and care for adults? Yes. Yes there are, but those ways are not as good. What follows is the BEST way, according to 30 years of research and experimentation with hundreds of babies of many species. What is...

tortoiseforum.org

Your questions are welcome.

 

[saleena.lewis]

Welcome to the forum!

 

[Hutsie B]

Welcome to the forum, there is a lot of great advice and care sheets available. That said, I just recently got a new adult Russian that is probably wild caught, it took him a week to acclimate before he started eating. Now he is eating regularly and well. He just doesn't like kale, but he likes spring mix, yellow squash and cucumber. I add new foods every day to get him used to eating a variety.