Russian Tort Doesn’t Eat Every Day

[ChrisKi]

Hi all. I have 2 Russian tortoises that I house separately. I’m not sure how old they are, pet store said a few months back when I got them, but I think they’re probably a couple years old. One is very active and devours everything I feed him. The other doesn’t come out of his burrow much and doesn’t eat every day. He’ll usually eat once every 2 or 3 days. I’ve had them for about 4 months and he’s always been like this. I take them outside on nice warm days and he loves walking around for a bit and eating different weeds in the yard, but it’s getting colder now and I don’t take them outside. So, is he just a light eater or should I try something different to get him to eat every day?
Thanks for any help you can provide.

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

Hello and welcome to the forum!

First off just want to say how refreshing it is seeing a new member say they have two tortoises but they are housed separately! That’s honestly wonderful, too many people house them in pairs which isn’t good.

Would you mind trying to answers these questions? Don’t worry if you can’t get all of them, just do your best, it’ll help with folks advising you

Are they both each in an indoor set up? What size?
What are your temperatures like? Ie basking spot(directly under the bulb) overall day and night temps?
What kind of lighting&heating are you using specifically? Packaging pics are good if you have any!
Do you use indoor uv? If so what kind are you using?
How’s your humidity reading? What do you use for substrate?
Do you do weekly soaks?
How’s their diet been with you?

Any answers to those would be great along with a photo of your full set up and tortoises

 

[wellington]

From the pet store they are likely wild caught and older than 5 years, likely around 10 years
So, because of their real age, they take longer than a hatchling to adjust. Some are slower than others to do this
What are you feeding them?
How often are you soaking them?
Do they have a clay saucer water dish they can fit into?
They each need a 4x8 minimum enclosure. Basking area with an incandescent flood bulb that reaches basking temps of 95-100.
Over all temp should range from 75-80.
Night temps around 65. Be sure to have their enclosure brightly lit.
Feed every day and try different foods.
Other than collecting any seeds you have that are tort safe, try arugula, escarole, endive, spring mix, riddichio.

 

[The_Four_Toed_Edward]

How long have you had them? Has their eating behavior been like this the whole time?

 

[COmtnLady]

Welcome to the Forum!

 

[ChrisKi]

Hello and welcome to the forum!

First off just want to say how refreshing it is seeing a new member say they have two tortoises but they are housed separately! That’s honestly wonderful, too many people house them in pairs which isn’t good.

Would you mind trying to answers these questions? Don’t worry if you can’t get all of them, just do your best, it’ll help with folks advising you

Are they both each in an indoor set up? What size?
What are your temperatures like? Ie basking spot(directly under the bulb) overall day and night temps?
What kind of lighting&heating are you using specifically? Packaging pics are good if you have any!
Do you use indoor uv? If so what kind are you using?
How’s your humidity reading? What do you use for substrate?
Do you do weekly soaks?
How’s their diet been with you?

Any answers to those would be great along with a photo of your full set up and tortoises

They are both indoors. The set up about
3 1/2’ x 2’ (my understanding now is that it’s about half the size it should be). Temps are 90’s under the lamp and 70’s in the other side. The lighting is 100w UVA on a timer that goes off at 8pm till 6am, and 100w infrared light that stays on all the time. Substrate is natural bark with a layer of loose coconut fiber underneath. I don’t know the humidity but I’ve ordered a gauge to help me get that where it should be. I just learned about the soaking so I’ve started doing that now. I’ll be doing it twice a week.
Tort Mustang eats just about anything I put in front of him… dandelion, carrot, kale, and he looooves cucumber. I stater giving yellow squash maybe twice a week too (loves it).
Tort Maynard pretty much only eats dandelion and some kale.
When I take them outside they both go for dandelion and clover and certain types of grass although I’m not sure what it is.
Maynard eats great when he’s outside wandering around but only every 2-3 days when inside.
Thank you for your help! I really want to give them the best possible life they can have in captivity. They are wonderful and really brighten my day.

 

[ChrisKi]

Hello and welcome to the forum!

First off just want to say how refreshing it is seeing a new member say they have two tortoises but they are housed separately! That’s honestly wonderful, too many people house them in pairs which isn’t good.

Would you mind trying to answers these questions? Don’t worry if you can’t get all of them, just do your best, it’ll help with folks advising you

Are they both each in an indoor set up? What size?
What are your temperatures like? Ie basking spot(directly under the bulb) overall day and night temps?
What kind of lighting&heating are you using specifically? Packaging pics are good if you have any!
Do you use indoor uv? If so what kind are you using?
How’s your humidity reading? What do you use for substrate?
Do you do weekly soaks?
How’s their diet been with you?

Any answers to those would be great along with a photo of your full set up and tortoises

They are both indoors. The set up about
3 1/2’ x 2’ (my understanding now is that it’s about half the size it should be). Temps are 90’s under the lamp and 70’s in the other side. The lighting is 100w UVA on a timer that goes off at 8pm till 6am, and 100w infrared light that stays on all the time. Substrate is natural bark with a layer of

From the pet store they are likely wild caught and older than 5 years, likely around 10 years
So, because of their real age, they take longer than a hatchling to adjust. Some are slower than others to do this
What are you feeding them?
How often are you soaking them?
Do they have a clay saucer water dish they can fit into?
They each need a 4x8 minimum enclosure. Basking area with an incandescent flood bulb that reaches basking temps of 95-100.
Over all temp should range from 75-80.
Night temps around 65. Be sure to have their enclosure brightly lit.
Feed every day and try different foods.
Other than collecting any seeds you have that are tort safe, try arugula, escarole, endive, spring mix, riddichio.

Thanks for the reply. I posted the details in a previous post. Looks like I can add some variety to their diet(thanks for the info). I need to adjust the temps a bit and get them bigger housing. What kind of seeds do you recommend for these Russians?

 

[ChrisKi]

How long have you had them? Has their eating behavior been like this the whole time?

I’ve had them about 4 months and their eating has been the same the entire time.

 

[ChrisKi]

Welcome to the Forum!

Thanks!

 

[wellington]

They are both indoors. The set up about
3 1/2’ x 2’ (my understanding now is that it’s about half the size it should be). Temps are 90’s under the lamp and 70’s in the other side. The lighting is 100w UVA on a timer that goes off at 8pm till 6am, and 100w infrared light that stays on all the time. Substrate is natural bark with a layer of

Thanks for the reply. I posted the details in a previous post. Looks like I can add some variety to their diet(thanks for the info). I need to adjust the temps a bit and get them bigger housing. What kind of seeds do you recommend for these Russians?

Yes, the enclosure is way too small. That can affect their health so needs to be addressed ASAP. The basking can go a bit higher, 95-100. The rest of the enclosure outside the basking area should range from 75 to 80 during the day, hence the need for a proper sized enclosure. At night 70 is okay. They need a uvb tube fluorescent for 4 hours a day, you didn't mention having one. During winter, when some will brumate, they don't need the uvb even the ones that don't brumate. However, additional lighting should be provided during the day to make it bright and keep them from wanting to brumate.

 

[wellington]

As for seeds to grow food, tortoisesupply.com has a seed mix just for the Mediterranean species.

 

[ChrisKi]

Some pics of the equipment and housing…

Yes, the enclosure is way too small. That can affect their health so needs to be addressed ASAP. The basking can go a bit higher, 95-100. The rest of the enclosure outside the basking area should range from 75 to 80 during the day, hence the need for a proper sized enclosure. At night 70 is okay. They need a uvb tube fluorescent for 4 hours a day, you didn't mention having one. During winter, when some will brumate, they don't need the uvb even the ones that don't brumate. However, additional lighting should be provided during the day to make it bright and keep them from wanting to brumate.

Thanks for the info! Do you have a place I can order a large indoor enclosure? Nowhere seems to have BIG ones, 8’x4’… I have the biggest one I could find but it’s apparently not even half the size needed. Any guidance is greatly appreciated.

 

[wellington]

Pop up green houses work good. The kind in the pics come 3 wide but 6,9,12 and maybe bigger long. You can also search for raised garden beds.
Also do not use red bulbs, it can cause them to eat things they shouldn't. A ceramic heat emitter is needed for any needed added day heat and for night heat, it produces heat no light.
They need uvb light in a tube flourescent. A basking area should be with an incandescent flood bulb.

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

Some pics of the equipment and housing…

Thanks for the info! Do you have a place I can order a large indoor enclosure? Nowhere seems to have BIG ones, 8’x4’… I have the biggest one I could find but it’s apparently not even half the size needed. Any guidance is greatly appreciated.

Thank you for your replies! Yes as wellington has said enclosure size is too small and lighting needs amending, never use those red bulbs.
Those analog gauges are also notoriously inaccurate.

I think you’ll hopefully find these threads useful(I’m including both the adult and baby one cause I’m still unsure what you have?) I cover correct equipment, levels, appropriately maintaining humidity, how to build a larger enclosure, there’s lots of picture examples for everything and a good diet link to check out

Housing young Russian/Herman

Hello there! In this thread, I’m going to include some information on an effective way to tackle a starter set up/a way you can build a bigger size once your baby is an adult. I know it looks a lot to go over, I like to make sure all bases are covered, I’m happy to break down any information...

tortoiseforum.org

Housing adult Russian and Hermans indoors

Hello there! In this thread I’m going to include some information an example of an appropriate indoor set up for an older Herman/russian. As much as it’s encouraged to have tortoises in a safe outdoor enclosure, I understand being from the uk myself, that some climates make it difficult to...

tortoiseforum.org

This one is also really good to get familiar with! It will help you avoid the wrong bulbs, substrates, housing etc moving forward

Common keeping errors

Hello everyone! I’d been a long time lurker on this site long before joining just under a year ago now, over that time I’ve seen these husbandry issues come up time and time again, sometimes with dire consequences☹️ I thought this thread might serve as a good visual guide for these common...

tortoiseforum.org

Hope they help! Please feel free to ask more questions if needed

 

[ChrisKi]

Thank you for your replies! Yes as wellington has said enclosure size is too small and lighting needs amending, never use those red bulbs.
Those analog gauges are also notoriously inaccurate.

I think you’ll hopefully find these threads useful(I’m including both the adult and baby one cause I’m still unsure what you have?) I cover correct equipment, levels, appropriately maintaining humidity, how to build a larger enclosure, there’s lots of picture examples for everything and a good diet link to check out

Housing young Russian/Herman

Hello there! In this thread, I’m going to include some information on an effective way to tackle a starter set up/a way you can build a bigger size once your baby is an adult. I know it looks a lot to go over, I like to make sure all bases are covered, I’m happy to break down any information...

tortoiseforum.org

Housing adult Russian and Hermans indoors

Hello there! In this thread I’m going to include some information an example of an appropriate indoor set up for an older Herman/russian. As much as it’s encouraged to have tortoises in a safe outdoor enclosure, I understand being from the uk myself, that some climates make it difficult to...

tortoiseforum.org

This one is also really good to get familiar with! It will help you avoid the wrong bulbs, substrates, housing etc moving forward

Common keeping errors

Hello everyone! I’d been a long time lurker on this site long before joining just under a year ago now, over that time I’ve seen these husbandry issues come up time and time again, sometimes with dire consequences☹️ I thought this thread might serve as a good visual guide for these common...

tortoiseforum.org

Hope they help! Please feel free to ask more questions if needed

Thank you for the guidance. My research has shown lots of contradictory results and it’s been very confusing and somewhat frustrating. I feel like you all are giving me the straight answers I’m looking for. I’ll keep you all updated on the progress of my boys.

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

Thank you for the guidance. My research has shown lots of contradictory results and it’s been very confusing and somewhat frustrating. I feel like you all are giving me the straight answers I’m looking for. I’ll keep you all updated on the progress of my boys.

No problem at all! It’s an absolute minefield out there when it comes to care information, made all the more confusing when there’s sources that offer both good and bad information, at least here you know you’re getting the most up to date answers. Look forward to hearing how you’re getting on!