New to us Russian, some concerns

[TortoiseDad]

Hi all. My son received a Russian Tortoise for Christmas and I have a few questions/concerns as it seems the pet-shop was not very accurate in the information they provided. We have been doing a ton of research and I have been trying to make adjustments accordingly.

I built a roughly 5'X 3' table with a removable upper deck. The substrate is about 3.5" deep and a mix of coco coir and topsoil with a covering of mulch. The temp gradient is 100 under the basking lamp and UVB bulb and 65-70 (using a infrared thermometer) under the deck where he burrows. It has been a challenge to keep the temp up as it's winter here in NY and we keep the house about 62 - 65. We have a 100W Powersun on order from Amazon and I plan on moving the mini-dome to the middle of the table.

My concern is that he spends all of his time burrowed and only comes out if we take him out to soak. I do not believe he has eaten in a number of days, close to a week, and then only a little. There is some sphagnum moss under the top, could he be eating that? We offer fresh escarole or spring mix daily and change his water daily.

It also seems as if he was not cared for very well as he has a large discolored/damaged? ring around his shell and his beak seems extremely long to me. Could the beak be hindering his ability to eat?

Anyway sorry for the long post, any help/suggestions would be appreciated!

 

[Cheryl Hills]

Wow, that area almost looks like a giant growth ring. But I am not sure of that.

 

[Maro2Bear]

Since it’s hibernation time, I’m wondering how long you have your lights on? And, are there extra lights that we don’t see? I’ll defer to others on the ring, it does look like a growth ring.

 

[Yvonne G]

It's a very nice table, however, for an adult russian tortoise, it's just not big enough. Also, it's impossible to keep an open table warm enough for a tortoise, especially when your house is 60-65F degrees. You're going to have to figure out a way to cover it so the warm air from the light stays in the table and not cooled off by the room air.

Russian tortoises don't have access to a lot of food in the wild. They have to wander great distances to find enough food to stay alive. So, in that regard, they are hard wired to wander great distances. Because food was scarce for that wild caught tortoise, when he was captured and set up in an environment where food is now plentiful, he grew. You see those disproportionate growth rings a lot on wild caught tortoises that have been now fed well.

In the wild tortoises' beaks are worn down naturally from the way they graze. In captivity we tend to offer softer foods, cut up foods, and the beak grows and doesn't get trimmed naturally. So we have to trim it. A vet can do that for you.

 

[Yvonne G]

I meant to refer you to our care sheet:

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

 

[TortoiseDad]

Since it’s hibernation time, I’m wondering how long you have your lights on? And, are there extra lights that we don’t see? I’ll defer to others on the ring, it does look like a growth ring.

The room is pretty dim, but we keep the UVB on for 12 - 14 hrs. I plan on making a new hanger for it that will suspend it a bit more over the middle of the table.

 

[TortoiseDad]

It's a very nice table, however, for an adult russian tortoise, it's just not big enough. Also, it's impossible to keep an open table warm enough for a tortoise, especially when your house is 60-65F degrees. You're going to have to figure out a way to cover it so the warm air from the light stays in the table and not cooled off by the room air.

Russian tortoises don't have access to a lot of food in the wild. They have to wander great distances to find enough food to stay alive. So, in that regard, they are hard wired to wander great distances. Because food was scarce for that wild caught tortoise, when he was captured and set up in an environment where food is now plentiful, he grew. You see those disproportionate growth rings a lot on wild caught tortoises that have been now fed well.

In the wild tortoises' beaks are worn down naturally from the way they graze. In captivity we tend to offer softer foods, cut up foods, and the beak grows and doesn't get trimmed naturally. So we have to trim it. A vet can do that for you.

Thank you so much for replying. In the spring I hope to make a larger outdoor enclosure however just too cold here right now. Would a sheet of plastic suspended over the table work to create a "greenhouse" effect? Is i relatively normal for him to spend so much time asleep and not eat? Should we just leave him alone to do his thing?

 

[Yvonne G]

Yes. That's what I use:



Your tortoise is probably trying to hibernate. You should get him up and mess with him several times throughout the day to make him not want to sleep. Disturb him. Make sure the whole habitat is above 70F degrees, with a hot spot directly under the light - and 12 to 14 hour days so make him think it's summer. Several times a day, place him in front of the food and walk away. Several times a day, pick him up and try to rub his head and neck.

 

[TortoiseDad]

Yes. That's what I use:

View attachment 226963

Your tortoise is probably trying to hibernate. You should get him up and mess with him several times throughout the day to make him not want to sleep. Disturb him. Make sure the whole habitat is above 70F degrees, with a hot spot directly under the light - and 12 to 14 hour days so make him think it's summer. Several times a day, place him in front of the food and walk away. Several times a day, pick him up and try to rub his head and neck.

Thank you so much for the advice, will do! The plastic was exactly what I was thinking. With the new hanger I made for the light it will work as a perfect frame.

How often and how long should we soak him if at all?

 

[Yvonne G]

Full grown russians can be depended upon to get their own drinks when they're thirsty. I don't soak mine at all, but rather I keep a clay saucer of water in the habitat. Also, if I think they're not getting enough water, I spritz water over their food daily.

 

[TortoiseDad]

UPDATE:
So I have been following Yvonne's advice and not really letting him sleep during the day, I moved the hanger for the lamp and the 100W Powersun came in today. Within about 10 minutes of changing to the Powersun, our tortoise was munching away happily on some escarole and hasn't stopped yet! This may be the first time he has eaten in almost 2 weeks.

Thank you so much to everyone for the help, especially Yvonne!