Russian Tortoise Not Eating/Head Bobbing/Biting

[Lindsay79]

Hi Everyone!

I am fairly new, although I do troll and learn a lot from everyone

I have a male Russian Tortoise that I have had for over 6 years. He is a healthy guy, gets lots of UV/Sun, has a varied diet and gets out of his enclosure to roam in his outside enclosure frequently (when the weather is nice as we live in Indiana)

In the last week or so he has stopped eating by himself. When I hand feed him he will eat reluctantly but he still eats. He has regular bowel movements.

Then in the last few days I noticed his has been chasing me as fast as he can, with his head bobbing like he is super angry. Then he starts biting me and now my husband. He bit my thumb and my husbands leg.

He has plenty of food in his dish, lots of UV light, nice warm temperature. His bowel movements look super normal.

Is this a hormone thing? Is he sick? I have never seen him like this. (He also bangs to get out of his enclosure for hours, then I let him out and he bangs to get back in. Its like hes constantly mad.

Help!

 

[ZEROPILOT]

I think you might be describing a cranky adult male Russian tortoise who is suddenly sexually mature and is confused

 

[wellington]

I agree with ZEROPILOT.
I'm not sure if this is a bad thing or a good thing, but some will put an appropriate size ball or round smooth rock in the enclosure for the tort to get his frustration out on. Like I said though, not sure if it makes thing better or not or if it's the best thing to do. Could try it and see if it helps and remove it if it doesn't.

 

[Tom]

Hi Everyone!

I am fairly new, although I do troll and learn a lot from everyone

I have a male Russian Tortoise that I have had for over 6 years. He is a healthy guy, gets lots of UV/Sun, has a varied diet and gets out of his enclosure to roam in his outside enclosure frequently (when the weather is nice as we live in Indiana)

In the last week or so he has stopped eating by himself. When I hand feed him he will eat reluctantly but he still eats. He has regular bowel movements.

Then in the last few days I noticed his has been chasing me as fast as he can, with his head bobbing like he is super angry. Then he starts biting me and now my husband. He bit my thumb and my husbands leg.

He has plenty of food in his dish, lots of UV light, nice warm temperature. His bowel movements look super normal.

Is this a hormone thing? Is he sick? I have never seen him like this. (He also bangs to get out of his enclosure for hours, then I let him out and he bangs to get back in. Its like hes constantly mad.

Help!

The solution is simple. Just triple or quadruple your enclosure sizes and add 3-4 large adult females. BOOM! Problem solved, and you can enjoy your new hobby of raising and selling baby russian tortoises.

You're welcome.

 

[Barbecue]

Hi Everyone!

I am fairly new, although I do troll and learn a lot from everyone

I have a male Russian Tortoise that I have had for over 6 years. He is a healthy guy, gets lots of UV/Sun, has a varied diet and gets out of his enclosure to roam in his outside enclosure frequently (when the weather is nice as we live in Indiana)

In the last week or so he has stopped eating by himself. When I hand feed him he will eat reluctantly but he still eats. He has regular bowel movements.

Then in the last few days I noticed his has been chasing me as fast as he can, with his head bobbing like he is super angry. Then he starts biting me and now my husband. He bit my thumb and my husbands leg.

He has plenty of food in his dish, lots of UV light, nice warm temperature. His bowel movements look super normal.

Is this a hormone thing? Is he sick? I have never seen him like this. (He also bangs to get out of his enclosure for hours, then I let him out and he bangs to get back in. Its like hes constantly mad.

Help!

I think he is feeling frisky, if u get my drift

 

[Lindsay79]

Thank you everyone for your comments.

I ended up taking him to the vet and they saw his beak was a bit long and trimmed it. Apparently he had some food stunk under it, which was causing him some pain. He is now back to his old self. Apparently he was just hungry and couldn't tell me his mouth hurt. I had no idea their beaks get long and need to be trimmed. I have had him for 6+ years and I have never had to do this for him.

He now has some pellets and hay that the vet said will help his beak. Although he doesn't touch the stuff, I will keep feeding it in hopes that one day he will LOL

THANK YOU all again for your quick responses. I am now going to research hormonal tortoises...also didn't know that was a thing.