Russian tortoise diet

[delaine85]

Hello! I'm new to tortoise care. Just got one from a guy who had been keeping him in a 12" x 24" enclosure and feeding nothing but romaine lettuce for 5 years... He seems healthy enough despite the circumstances but I'm curious how a person would go about expanding his diet after so long. I've included red and green leaf lettuce with success but he won't touch premade tortoise food. He's also never been given a water bowl doesn't seem to like drinking water straight. They did tell me they soaked him every week or so but he really seems to hate that. I've just got him the Tortoise House to give him more space. He's also had no heat at night. Is that healthy?

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi, and welcome!

Take a look at our care sheet here: https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/russian-tortoise-care-sheet.80698/

He speaks about what you can feed them.

Russians, in my experience, don't seem to be too fond of being soaked, or of a water dish. I keep a plant saucer of water in their yard for them, but I've never seen them drinking out of it. So when I put food down (not very often because their yard is way overgrown with weeds) I spritz water over it so they get a bit of water that way.

I know the weather isn't right to have him outside now, but be thinking of getting him outside this summer in a well planted, safe and escape-proof yard. Then next winter you won't need to keep him indoors because he can hibernate.

 

[TechnoCheese]

Welcome to the forum! Most of your questions might be answered by these-
Russian Tortoise Care Sheet
https://tortoiseforum.org/index.php?threads/Russian-Tortoise-Care-Sheet.80698/
Beginner Mistakes
https://tortoiseforum.org/index.php?threads/Beginner-Mistakes.45180/
You’ll likely have to mix the things he likes with the things he doesn’t, and slowly increasing the amount of what he doesn’t like.
The problem with the zoo med tortoise houses is that they’re too small, and that they rot easily, so you can’t have a damp substrate with them. Your tortoise needs an 8x4 foot enclosure, which can be easily achieved with a table, a large book case with the shelves taken out, set on its back, or several large tubs linked together.
Thank you for rescuing him!

 

[RosemaryDW]

Welcome! Thank you for taking over the care of your tortoise.

My outdoor Russian only drinks coming out of hibernation. She gets soaks every week but mostly so I can check her over; it’s pretty humid where I live.

I am afraid that ZooMed tortoise house is too small. Take a look at the info TechnoCheese mentioned about other housing options.

Heating and lighting is the most important thing to get right so do look over the care sheets and see about that first. Diet changes are going to take a while after five years; help us help you get the setup right first. No night heat is fine if you don’t have temps below sixty-five degrees at night. A CHE (ceramic heat emitter) can help at night if it’s too cold.

 

[Tom]

Hello and welcome. Nothing to add. The posters before said everything I would say.

Thanks for rescuing this poor tortoise and giving it a better home.