Question about New Russian Tortoise hiding

tcjones

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Hello, I'm a long time lurker, first time posting.
We brought our little Russian Tortoise home on Thursday night. The first thing he did was head straight to the basking rock and warm up. Then he headed to the back corner on the hot side and buried himself in the substrate. where he stayed until sometime on Friday where he moved the cool side in the opposite corner and buried himself under the half log and he's been there ever since. He hasn't eaten any greens we're leaving in there or gotten into his water dish. For the most part we've left him alone. We did move the log to check if he was alive yesterday and put it back over the top of him. He's still there this morning (on Sunday) with no signs of moving. Is this normal? The people at the reptile shop said that he was a very active tortoise and a voracious eater. He seemed very feisty when I held him and looked him over. They also said to leave him alone for 3 days to adjust.
We're all worried about the little guy and want to do what is best. I'm afraid he's stressed and we don't know what to do. My husband suggested we soak him today since he isn't drinking. I'm not sure if we should or if we should leave him alone until he's moving about his home on his own. Suggestions on adjustment periods, please?
 

Maro2Bear

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Greetings and welcome to the Forum.

Sometimes it’s just easiest to take a pix of your entire setup so everyone can see how you have things. I’m sure he’s just scared, traumatized a bit by the move, doesn’t want to be preyed upon by some roaming animal. Once they explore, feel at ease, no predators, they will be back to normal activity. I’m sure a warm soak will be appreciated per info found on the Russian page. Just handle gently, easy your new buddy.
Good luck...and come back often with updates.
 

tcjones

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Thanks Maro2Bear. We did soak him but he just sat there like a cute little lump. He would occasionally poke his head half way out of the shell and then retract it. When we put him back in his home he passed the bowl of greens and buried himself in the back corner on cool side and he's been there ever since. I've attached pics of our setup and of one of Darwin right after he came home on Thursday. And yes, he's in glass. Yes, I know it's not optimal but we have cats. They're not allowed in the room he's in. But, they do get in because they're not allowed in they make it their mission some days to infiltrate the room and hide under my sons bed. So, for the tort's safety his indoor enclosure has to be glass. Yes, he will get plenty of outdoor time and we're going to build him a nice place to play outside. No, he couldn't live outside year around here.
However, we're now up to Monday and he's still hunkered down in the corner with no food or water since at least Thursday night when we picked him up- I've attached a photo. File Apr 02, 11 07 20 AM.jpeg File Apr 02, 11 07 36 AM.jpeg File Apr 02, 11 13 58 AM.jpeg

Thanks
 

DARKFIRE007

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I can't really tell the age, but he looks to be 2 or 3 inches....so you can get away with that tank for now, but as an adult, 4x8 feet is minimum for an enclosure with 1 or 2 feet under that not being preferable but acceptable I think. Also consider some kind of visual barrier around the edges half way up the glass like tape, torts don't understand glass and get very stressed trying to go through it...and they won't stop.

As for activity, it may just be the new home. I would soak him daily, dug down in the substrate or not. Also wouldn't hurt to put him in a box/bin with greens afterward while he is awake for say an hour away from the tank instead of giving him a chance to race to dig down, he might eat. he will acclimate fairly quick once he realizes he isn't in danger.

Cute lil guy...
 

tcjones

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Thanks! I did block off the bottom part of the front of the tank. I soaked him yesterday and tried to put him in a box with greens. He came out a little bit more in his soak. But still refused the eat in the box with the greens. He spent the entire time in one corner of the bin continuing pawing at the corner like he was trying to walk through it. I thought I'd be smart and put his bowl in the corner he was pawing at, but he just moved the bowl out of the way and continued on. He didn't move to any other part of the bin. Yesterday afternoon we took him outside and he walked all over the back yard (supervised) but still didn't find anything to eat and immediately buried himself in the corner once back in the enclosure. So at this point he still hasn't eaten or noticeably drank anything since Thursday before we brought him home. How long can they go without eating or drinking? Should I be concerned?
 

Maro2Bear

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I’d keep up the daily warm water soaks, and keep up the same daily routine. Just to double check, what are the temperatures inside your enclosure. You will note that your tort is choosing to bury and dig in an area as far away from the heat and light source. No coincidence in my opinion. So, check temps, since your bulb could really be heating up the area a lot more than you think. Secondly... there’s hardly any hiding area there... even the hide’s entrance is in the brightly lit area.
They can go a long time without food, but let’s hope we can get your guy to start nibbling...
  • What kind of gauges are you using to test your temps?
  • What were they feeding in the pet store where u purchased?

Good luck...
 

tcjones

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Thanks. He's actually been burying himself on the hot side for a couple days now. After his soak and unsuccessful attempt at getting him to eat this morning, he's on the basking stone where I put him. It's 83 on the hot side and 70 on the cool end. I'm using zoomed probe thermometers on each end. The girl at the reptile store said she was feeding him greens that she brought from home and didn't use the pellets that they sold there. The hides entrance was very dark and I thought my UV bulb was not getting to him, so I changed out my lighting from the bulb UV on just one end to a tube that ran the length because I was afraid the dark corner was bad for him.

I'm considering buying a seed mix for tortoise and trying to grow him some greens. Is there a recommended good brand?
 
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TechnoCheese

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Thanks. He's actually been burying himself on the hot side for a couple days now. After his soak and unsuccessful attempt at getting him to eat this morning, he's on the basking stone where I put him. It's 83 on the hot side and 70 on the cool end. I'm using zoomed probe thermometers on each end. The girl at the reptile store said she was feeding him greens that she brought from home and didn't use the pellets that they sold there. The hides entrance was very dark and I thought my UV bulb was not getting to him, so I changed out my lighting from the bulb UV on just one end to a tube that ran the length because I was afraid the dark corner was bad for him.

He’s burying himself on the hot side because he’s too cold. You need a basking spot of 100 degrees.
 

tcjones

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He’s burying himself on the hot side because he’s too cold. You need a basking spot of 100 degrees.
Thanks, I'm not exactly sure the current temp of the basking rock. Before we brought him home, it was registering about 95. Should I increase the wattage of the heat bulb? I believe the one in there is 75, I'd have to go check the package.
 

Maro2Bear

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Ok, just so @TechnoCheese and I are clear, is your tort burying himself in the cold side or hot side of your enclosure? From your first pix, it looks to be far left, away from the heat?
 

tcjones

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Ok, just so @TechnoCheese and I are clear, is your tort burying himself in the cold side or hot side of your enclosure? From your first pix, it looks to be far left, away from the heat?

Yes, initially he was buried on the cool side. After his first soak on Sunday, when I put him back in the tank, he went to the hot end and that's where he's been holed up every since. Every time I put him back in the tank yesterday and now today, he's made his way to the back corner of the hot end.
 

tcjones

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@Maro2Bear Update: He moved to the cool side on his own. He must have walked directly over his food, cause it's strewn about. I can't confirm if he nibbled any of it, or just trampled it. But he's sitting on the cool end and not digging a hole- although he probably will soon. So temps may not be issue?
 

tcjones

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@Maro2Bear I think we're making progress with Darwin. During this mornings soak, he stretched his head and legs out straight and appeared like he was basking- so maybe he's enjoying it. I didn't spend the entire time with him, just checking every now and then. I found a white goopy looking thing in the water, so urates, I guess. So does that mean he actually drank some water? Then after I put him back in his enclosure he must have eaten some of the collard greens off the top of the mix I left for him! He didn't eat everything offered, but he did eat something. I did make him a vet appointment for next week for a check up.
 

Taylor T.

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Your tortoise looks like he is a wild caught adult, likely 5-10 years old. He really needs a bigger enclosure than that.

The screen on the top of your enclosure will block a significant portion of the UV going through.
 

tcjones

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This morning he was on the cool end. Now he's buried on the hot side. I've noticed he doesn't ever use his basking stone. I took a thermometer probe and tested the stone and it was 109. Is that too hot for the basking rock? The hot end is at 82. The cool end is 71. Nighttime temp is 68.
 
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