New Russian that is lazy and only eating grass

[CritterKeeper]

Hi everyone, I am a new tortoise owner.
I have a Russian female that I house in a 54 gal Rubbermaid drum.
substrate is dirt and bark chips
Dirt and sand
Dirt and rock
( three separate areas)
there is a water bowl to bathe in and a log dome to hide in. There is also a grass patch that I brought in from outside.
I have a 125watt heat lamp that I keep on during the day approx. 6 hours.
I take her outside for approx. 1/2 hour which she seems to LOVE ( moves around, basks and eats grass and flowers)
Other than the outside outing, she digs under the dirt in her log dome and hides ALL day. she does not eat her food that I give her ( variable lettuces and some tomato )
when we first got her on Saturday 7-18, she was more active.
her poops are also a bit watery and some white stuff in it.
I am not sure of what I should expect or if this is normal?

 

[leigti]

Welcome to the forum. Check out the Russian tortoise section, at the top of the section is a care sheet that will give you lots of great information. Tortoises seem to always do better outside so if your claimant allows I would strongly suggest building an outdoor enclosure. 125 W bulb may be too warm depending on how far away from your tortoise it is. You should not give your Russian tortoise fruit, tomato is considered a fruit. Also tortoises stools will often be runny when they are fed grocery store greens. I recommend getting rid of the sand because it can cause impaction. You haven't had your tortoise very long so it does take them a while to get used to things. Do you have an indoor UVB source? Such as a mercury vapor bulb? The white stuff in the stool is probably urates which is normal. I'm surprised you were Russian eats grass, many of them don't. But they love weeds. At the grocery store you can get endive, escarole, turnip greens mustard greens dandelion greens cactus etc.
OK, that was a totally disjointed answer to some of your questions read up on the care sheets and come back with any questions. By the way we love pictures around here of tortoises and their enclosures.

 

[Tom]

You need to be soaking daily for a few weeks to insure good hydration. Then taper down to two or three times a week.

You need to make a safe and secure outdoor enclosure and leave your tortoise outside during nice weather.

If your tortoise is inside, the "sun" needs on for 12-14 hours a day, not six.

One substrate is fine. Sand should not be a part of that substrate.

Lettuce is not a very good food for them.


Please read these:
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/russian-tortoise-care-sheet.80698/
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/beginner-mistakes.45180/


Very sorry for the loss depicted in your avatar. My hat is off in deference and respect for your fallen soldier.

 

[Joe Cut Off]

Spike eats grass as well. But right now he is killing the aloe I planted in his enclosure.

 

[CritterKeeper]

Im afraid that she is too cold at night. Maybe I should put an under tank heater for night?

 

[Tom]

Unless you live in a refrigerator, its not too cold at night. Russians need a cool down period at night and under tank heaters are dangerous for tortoises.

They do, on the other hand, need it warm during the day. The whole day. This way they can move in and out of "the sun" as needed to maintain their correct temperature.

 

[CritterKeeper]

Unless you live in a refrigerator, its not too cold at night. Russians need a cool down period at night and under tank heaters are dangerous for tortoises.

They do, on the other hand, need it warm during the day. The whole day. This way they can move in and out of "the sun" as needed to maintain their correct temperature.

THANK YOU! This has been one of my concerns. I will upload images and updates soon!

 

[Tidgy's Dad]

Hi, and a very warm welcome to Tortoise Forum to you and your Russian girl.

 

[Blakem]

Welcome!

 

[CritterKeeper]

Thank you everyone! Turns out that Ms. Cupcake has a bad case of pneumonia. Vet confirmed that it was brought on by transport, Nothing I did ! He actually said my husbandry was the best he had seen in quite a while.
Glad to let everyone know she is eating grass and kale once again!

 

[Grandpa Turtle 144]

Hello