RT Christmas Present

[daddykirbs]

Well, we managed to keep the RT a secret till the big morning. My son is so pleased with his gift, but...

I noticed that her eyes are watery. I'm not certain if she's eating... if she is, it's not much. I'll have to attach a pic later of she and her enclosure.

There is a 14 day health guarantee on the RT's at Petco. Are watery eyes enough to return her to the store for? I hate to do that to her, but I also hate spending $90 on a sick RT.

She was at my daughters house for 5 days in a large rubbermaid container with alphafa pellet substrate, a UV light, ceramic heater and a water dish. I hope I didn't do something to make her sick.

 

[jlyoncc1]

Have you changed her to a different enclosure? The alfalfa pellets are not a great substrate. Take some pics and include the temps that you have. Do you have a basking light? Maybe it is not warm enough.

 

[daddykirbs]

Ok, I'll change the substrate. I'm getting the impression here that the best substrate is the 50/50 sand soil. Is that correct?

Do they still need the basking light with the ceramic heater? I'll have to invest in a thermometer as well.

 

[egyptiandan]

Soil and sand is usually the best thing for Russians.
You only really need a ceramic heat emitter if your night time temperatures are to low. During the day tortoises need as much visable light as you can possibly give them.
A regular incandescent or combined heat and UV bulb is best for a day time basking spot.

Danny

 

[daddykirbs]

Ok, I'll take that advise and fix up her enclosure. I did notice that we we had her outdoors today she seemed much more perky.

I'm in the process of fixing up an outdoor play pen for her.

 

[jlyoncc1]

Outdoor sunshine is always best, but when not available you have to get that heat and light up inside. I think you will find that might make all the difference.

 

[stells]

i would use more topsoil than sand in the mix 60/40 or even 70/30 is fine

 

[daddykirbs]

Thanks, I'll keep that in mind. Regular soil that you buy in bulk at a garden place, or does it have to be special? I know that it shouldn't be potting soil.

 

[jlyoncc1]

If you can find organic, that is ideal. You can usually find it at garden centers.

 

[daddykirbs]

well, now her outdoor play and indoor tub is lined with top soil and sand. I also moved the heater a little closer so the temp would rise a bit in one corner of the tub. I put a thermometer at one end and it's reading somewhere around 80-85.

She (sorry, not named yet) instantly stuck her face in the dirt when I put her on it. I don't know how to read the emotions of a RT yet, but somehow it seemed like she was a little happier.

Thanks for your help, I'll keep you posted.

 

[cvalda]

Try to get the basking spot up even a little higher - 85 is the lowest, mine love it at more around 90-95!

Good luck!

 

[jlyoncc1]

You are on the right track. As Kelly said, that basking spot has got to get up a bit higher. Mine is usually between 95-100. As long as they have their cool side, they will move away if they need to.

 

[Cam]

Maybe I missed this but:
What are you offering her for food?
About how old is she/how long?

Good luck! You are doing a great job tweaking as you go

 

[daddykirbs]

We've been offering romaine lettuce and green bell peppers.

She is (I'm guesstimating) 4 inches long. Don't really know how old she is. Petco said 5 years, but everything else they told me has turned out to be wrong.

 

[daddykirbs]

I think she is trying to hibernate. I put her outdoors today in her play pen that now has topsoil/sand in it. I also planted some pansies in one corner for her to munch. She was only interested in going to a cold corner and burying herself. She stayed buried for about an hour when I decided that the sun was to low, so I brought her in.

 

[Cam]

http://www.russiantortoise.org/russiantortoisediet.htm
Here are some other food ideas for you

I know nothing about hibernation in tortoises. Perhaps someone else can chime in. I know our guy is inside (we are in MN), when the sun starts to go down...even with his uva/uvb light blaring...he starts to dig in for the night....
How warm is it where you are?
Any name yet?

 

[jlyoncc1]

I know we talked earlier about getting temps up. That very well may be what she is trying to do. I just took a rescue in that had been kept in a cold basement. All he wanted to do was hide. So, I just warm bathed him and kept his lights and warmth going. It took almost a week to get him to start eating. So I think if you get those temps up, you will start seeing some success.

 

[barbie69]

She (sorry, not named yet) instantly stuck her face in the dirt when I put her on it. I don't know how to read the emotions of a RT yet, but somehow it seemed like she was a little happier.

The visual of this in my head made me smile this morning...how sweet!! Sounds like she is very happy with her new family!!

 

[daddykirbs]

Well, good news... Our little girl ate this morning.

I moved her rubbermaid tub upstairs where it's a bit warmer. She got a warm bath this morning as well.

We plucked some Hibiscus leaves and Pansy leaves and she grubbed. It's good to see.

I also got a new lamp this morning that I haven't plugged in yet, we'll see if she likes that later.

 

[Cam]

Yay! She's ready for the New Year