Russian Tortoise Not Eating, Not Active

[Eric True]

Hi, I've had my Russian Tortoise (Wrex) for about a year now, but a few issues have arisen with him that leave me a bit concern. Maybe my problem is I'm not well versed, and don't have a whole lot of experience with tortoises, but I really love this guy and I want him to be happy and healthy. That being said he really doesn't eat much. I generally feed him a couple baby carrots and various types of lettuce like kale, little gems, and collard greens, but he really only eats the carrots (and typically only half of them) and we've tried to expand his pallet before with blueberries and a little sweet potato (which the vet recommended). Wrex used to eat a whole lot more this last fall, and now it's summer and he eats a fraction of what he ate before. We've also tried to integrate the tortoise pellets into his food by wetting it and mixing it with the other foods, but he won't eat it. I need to expand his diet and get him to eat more, but I don't know how. As the temperature gauge image above shows, the warm side of the cage gets to around 90-95 degrees, so temp shouldn't be the problem.
And for most of the day now, he just rests in his little cave and does virtually nothing except scratch at the cave. I know the habitat is small and shouldn't be made of glass, but a new and bigger wood habitat is being made and is on the verge of completion. I just want to know how I can make him healthier and happier. Oh, and I usually give him a bath about once a week although I'm thinking it would be smart to up it up to two. So what should my next steps be? And thank you for any help you can provide. Oh, and the light shown gives out both heat and UV light.

 

[TechnoCheese]

Welcome! There seems to be a lot that could be the problem.

First, please give these a read and come back with questions-
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/

•Your tortoise should never be eating carrots, or any fruit or sweet vegetable. Your tortoise needs to be eating weeds and very little grocery store food, and he cannot digest the sugars that are in carrots and fruit.

To get him to eat weeds, blend some carrots, chop some very finely, or take carrot baby food and mix it into some weeds like dandelion, henbit, hawksbeard, filaree, thisle, and many more. Check thetortoisetable.uk to see what weeds are edible. Only take weeds from your yard if you don’t use any pesticides or other chemicals. Over time, use less and less carrots until you aren’t using any at all.

•You are using a very inaccurate temperature gauge. You need t9 be using a digital one with a probe, or my favorite, a cheap digital temp gun. Your basking temperature likely isn’t 90-95(and should be 95-100).

•you said that you’re building a new enclosure, but how big is the new one? Your tortoise needs a minimum enclosure size of 8x4 feet.

•You need 4-6+ inches of damp substrate.

Please give those links a read and come back with questions

 

[Minority2]

Constantly feeding the wrong types of food to tortoises can result in various complications and health issues. What type of light bulb are you using for that single light fixture? Depending on the wattage, the fixture may likely be too low for the tortoise. That enclosure is way too small to allow different temperature zones of 95-100 basking, 75-70 cool end on 12 hour cycles. That setup is most likely dehydrating your tortoise's shell.

Follow TechnoCheese's advice. Mainly weeds, flowers. Some succulents and greens. No fruits.

 

[DARKFIRE007]

I agree, larger enclosure needed, check the basking spot temps, and creating a few visual barriers like logs/rocks won't look so bland or boring to him. For instance would you feel more like taking a hike in the mountains around trees and rock formations or just a staircase? I fully believe they get bored with the same environment especially if it is bland, I try to change it up on a regular basis. Making mounds in the substrate seems to please mine.

I disagree a bit on the food part...I feed mine a strawberry say once a month as a treat with no issues. Just be sure their diet is 95 to 98% of the things listed here. Also, I don't see a cuttle bone in there. Get one if possible.