Rescued tortoise, looking for a bit of advice

[FV Reptile Rescue]

Hello all!
I took in a surrendered Russian tortoise, male, approximately 6 years old. He came from a home that had not handled him in 3 years. He seems otherwise fairly healthy. The previous owner had him on a diet of bagged salad mix consisting mostly of iceberg. I haven't had him in long, but he's had at least one bowel movement. I have yet to get him to eat though. What is a good way to boost appetite?

 

[Yvonne G]

The most common cause of a tortoise not eating is because he's not warm enough. Also, real UVB from the sun boosts appetite too.

 

[wellington]

Hello and Welcome. Also, a new environment will take some time for them to get used too, which can also make them not want to eat.
Although he does need a better diet, don't just cold turkey change it. Add new stuff to his old diet and slowly take away the old diet leaving more of the better diet, until he is used to eating all sorts of things.

 

[lismar79]

Some time to adjust is needed, you can't go wrong following the above advice. He will need a basking spot of 90-95 degrees to warm up and a cool are at about 75. Torts are really stuborn so a fast diet change will not go smooth.

 

[FV Reptile Rescue]

I've had a lot of experience with reptiles of all kinds, but this little tortoise has really thrown me for a loop! I added some extra heat, boosted the hot spot up a bit and raised the height of the spot by the UV light so he can get closer. It's already made a difference in his activity. We'll see how it goes from here. Thanks for the tips so far!