New tortoise owner with question!

[Catrina]

Hi,
I live in Southern Texas and acquired an adult Russian (my son named him Stampy!) 5 weeks ago.

He seems very unhappy. He stays under his hide 90% of the day. He comes out to eat, and he basks for a short while and then hides again. His indoor enclosure is 3' x 5'. He has a really large enclosure outdoors and he goes under the same bush every time and burrows deeply under it and stays there for hours. He doesn't walk around and explore. Ever.

He was among three other Russians at the shop where we got him. They had been together for about six months. Is Stampy lonely? I thought he just needed time to acclimate, but now I don't know.

Help! I feel really badly for the little guy. I don't want him to be miserable.\

Thanks!

 

[Gillian M]

Welcome to the forum! take it easy, it takes animals (as well as human beings) to adapt to a NEW environment. one thing i concentrate on is the....SUN. is the poor thing seeing enough of that? good luck and hope to hear good news soon.

 

[Ideraway]

Welcome, Ihoope all works out with Stumpy, you will get loads of help the guys are great on this forum and willing to pass on lots of usefull and upto date info. Good luck.

 

[Carol S]

Welcome to the forum. He will become more friendly as time goes on. If he was wild caught he has been through a lot and needs time and patience for him to learn that he is safe and loved. Also with my Russian tortoises some are more shy than others. When he starts to become more friendly feed him a little by hand so he learns that he does not need to fear you.

 

[Tom]

Hello and welcome. Good info and advice above.

He is NOT lonely. They don't like the company of other tortoises. Other tortoises are territorial interlopers, resource competitors or combatants. They are happiest as the sole king of their own castle.

Are you using any UV indoors? What type?

Here are some threads for you:
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/russian-tortoise-care-sheet.80698/
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/beginner-mistakes.45180/

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi, and welcome to the Forum!

One thing to be aware of - wild caught Russian tortoises have to hurry up and eat a lot during their awake months because they spend a half a year and sometimes even longer hibernating. So when they see the days are getting shorter and the nights are getting cooler, they start to think about getting ready to hibernate.

Because your tortoise is new-to-you, its not a good idea to allow it to hibernate this winter. Keep it up and may he will be ready to hibernate next winter. Bring him into his indoor habitat and keep the lights on for 14 hours a day. If possible, make his indoor digs a little bigger.

 

[ALDABRAMAN]

Welcome!

 

[Grandpa Turtle 144]

Hello and welcome to the TFO from AZ .


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[pam]

Welcome