Russian tortoise not eating

[Bulbabye.]

Hello everyone,
I was hoping I could get some advice!
I have a 3 year old Russian tortoise (horsfield) . And for the past 3 weeks her appetite has diminished, some days she will just have a few bites of one leaf or she will not eat at all for several days despite giving her fresh weeds everyday, I also have plants in her enclosure ( praying plant and fern plant ) which she can eat but she has not eaten. I have also started to let her soak everyday since her lack of appetite so she is not dehydrated. Her temp is in normal range even at night . Current temp under her lamp is 35 for basking and her cold side is 17.

She is not showing any signs of illness either which is a positive and she is active .
But i am just concerned about her lack of eating as normally she ravishes everything in sight.

Her enclosure is also over 4ft and she has a water dish and a slate where her weeds go on.
She also has a hide .

I have tried to tempt her with food and she is eating currently when someone else gave it her …
Any advice on why she has stopped eating?
Is she trying to hibernate or brumate ?
The last time I weighed her she was around 400g but she feels a lot lighter now since shes stopped eating.

 

[Lyn W]

Hi and welcome,
My tort isn't eating as much at the moment either, but I always make sure its available. You're lucky to find weeds already they haven't made an appearance in my area yet.

If you post a picture of her enclosure and give details of what you are using for light, heat and uvb them members may be able to see if something could be affecting her.
Do you give her luke warm soaks?

 

[Bulbabye.]

Hi and welcome,
My tort isn't eating as much at the moment either, but I always make sure its available. You're lucky to find weeds already they haven't made an appearance in my area yet.

If you post a picture of her enclosure and give details of what you are using for light, heat and uvb them members may be able to see if something could be affecting her.
Do you give her luke warm soaks?

Thank you for replying!
Yes, weeds are very hard to find but they are starting to grow now, but I have been purchasing plants for her during the winter which have helped like Alovera . And thank you for the advice I will do just that . And yes I do give her luke warm baths.

Hi and welcome,
My tort isn't eating as much at the moment either, but I always make sure its available. You're lucky to find weeds already they haven't made an appearance in my area yet.

If you post a picture of her enclosure and give details of what you are using for light, heat and uvb them members may be able to see if something could be affecting her.
Do you give her luke warm soaks?

hello Lyn, thank you for replying and for the welcome!
It has been hard this winter to get weeds but they are starting to slowly crop ip, I have been purchasing plants for his to eat in the winter like alovera which has helped. i do soak her in luke warm water also. I use the arcadia D3 basking lamp and bulb with a thermostat and at night I switch to a Ceramic heater bulb which is also Arcadia with a thermostat. And thank you for the advice I will attach photos here .

She does have water I am just changing it for the night as she has gotten it dirty lol

 

[Lyn W]

During the winter I use shop bought for my leopard; Aldi sell a crispy salad bag which has a good mix of leaves. (as do Morrisons and Asda) I take out all the white stalky bits which have little nutritional value and add things like pak choy, lambs lettuce, kale, or spring greens to add variety. I can't wait for the weeds to come back!
This is a good guide to tort safe foods and plants for enclosure - www.thetortoisetable.org.uk

The mercury vapour all in one lamps like the D3 aren't recommended anymore because they have been found to dry and damage tort shells. The uvb tends to fade quickly too so they need replacing more often - and they aren't cheap!!
Many of us now use the T5 HO tube kits for uvb, with separate flood basking bulb and a che run through a thermostat for night and extra heat when needed.

Is that topsoil you have as a substrate? That's not really tort safe if bought, because you don't know if any plants that are toxic to torts are in the mix. Also avoid sand and anything with white bits.
Have a read through these threads which will explain all the do's and don'ts and up to date methods for temps, diet, humidity and substrate as well as heating and lighting, then ask as many questions as you like

Info For New People. Please Read This First.

Hello and welcome to tortoiseforum.org! We are all glad you are here! There is no other forum like this anywhere. We have tens of thousands of members from all over the world ranging from kids with their first tortoise to people who have been breeding and keeping high end tortoises since the...

tortoiseforum.org

and

The Best Way To Raise Any Temperate Species Of Tortoise

I chose the title of this care sheet very carefully. Are there other ways to raise babies and care for adults? Yes. Yes there are, but those ways are not as good. What follows is the BEST way, according to 30 years of research and experimentation with hundreds of babies of many species. What is...

tortoiseforum.org

 

[Bulbabye.]

During the winter I use shop bought for my leopard; Aldi sell a crispy salad bag which has a good mix of leaves. (as do Morrisons and Asda) I take out all the white stalky bits which have little nutritional value and add things like pak choy, lambs lettuce, kale, or spring greens to add variety. I can't wait for the weeds to come back!
This is a good guide to tort safe foods and plants for enclosure - www.thetortoisetable.org.uk

The mercury vapour all in one lamps like the D3 aren't recommended anymore because they have been found to dry and damage tort shells. The uvb tends to fade quickly too so they need replacing more often - and they aren't cheap!!
Many of us now use the T5 HO tube kits for uvb, with separate flood basking bulb and a che run through a thermostat for night and extra heat when needed.

Is that topsoil you have as a substrate? That's not really tort safe if bought, because you don't know if any plants that are toxic to torts are in the mix. Also avoid sand and anything with white bits.
Have a read through these threads which will explain all the do's and don'ts and up to date methods for temps, diet, humidity and substrate as well as heating and lighting, then ask as many questions as you like

Info For New People. Please Read This First.

Hello and welcome to tortoiseforum.org! We are all glad you are here! There is no other forum like this anywhere. We have tens of thousands of members from all over the world ranging from kids with their first tortoise to people who have been breeding and keeping high end tortoises since the...

tortoiseforum.org

and

The Best Way To Raise Any Temperate Species Of Tortoise

I chose the title of this care sheet very carefully. Are there other ways to raise babies and care for adults? Yes. Yes there are, but those ways are not as good. What follows is the BEST way, according to 30 years of research and experimentation with hundreds of babies of many species. What is...

tortoiseforum.org

Thank you for all this info!
I have also been giving her romaine lettuce, kale, spring green and lambs lettuce,
If possible could you send me the links for what I need as I would not want to ruin her shell if the info I have is outdated regarding the D3 Vbs lighting. i would really appreciate that as it is very expensive with replacing the bulbs every few months.
I Use organic topsoil as that is what I was recommended ?

 

[Lyn W]

There is a lot of old and unsafe information still being passed around on the internet, so best not to rely on anything you've been told anywhere else and especially by pet shops who know little about tort care but are happy to sell unsuitable and unsafe equipment for profit like steep water dishes, unreliable thermometers etc. You'll only get advice here from keepers with decades of experience - some of whom have been involved in research and thankfully share best practices with us, so forget the rest and start again here. The caresheets here are the most up to date you'll find anywhere and will help you correct any mistakes and avoid future problems.

Any bought topsoil or compost etc could have plants in them that may be toxic to torts which is why it's not recommended. Also avoid sand, which could cause impaction in the gut if ingested with food, pellets, which are too dry and go mouldy, and anything with white bits which again could cause problems if eaten. The caresheets linked will give better options.

For lamps I like Arcadia products and if you Google their T5 HO tube kits, that will take you to various online sellers. Also avoid any coiled or cfl types of bulbs too as they could damage tort eyes. If you're not sure which you need check here or maybe ask in the heating and lighting or enclosures thread.

I can't quite see in the picture but if you are using the clamps for your bulbs be aware that they have been known to fail and start fires - they are safer hung so that you can raise or lower them to adjust temps.

 

[Bulbabye.]

There is a lot of old and unsafe information still being passed around on the internet, so best not to rely on anything you've been told anywhere else and especially by pet shops who know little about tort care but are happy to sell unsuitable and unsafe equipment for profit like steep water dishes, unreliable thermometers etc. You'll only get advice here from keepers with decades of experience - some of whom have been involved in research and thankfully share best practices with us, so forget the rest and start again here. The caresheets here are the most up to date you'll find anywhere and will help you correct any mistakes and avoid future problems.

Any bought topsoil or compost etc could have plants in them that may be toxic to torts which is why it's not recommended. Also avoid sand, which could cause impaction in the gut if ingested with food, pellets, which are too dry and go mouldy, and anything with white bits which again could cause problems if eaten. The caresheets linked will give better options.

For lamps I like Arcadia products and if you Google their T5 HO tube kits, that will take you to various online sellers. Also avoid any coiled or cfl types of bulbs too as they could damage tort eyes. If you're not sure which you need check here or maybe ask in the heating and lighting or enclosures thread.

I can't quite see in the picture but if you are using the clamps for your bulbs be aware that they have been known to fail and start fires - they are safer hung so that you can raise or lower them to adjust temps.

Yeah I definitely do not trust pet shops I research everything myself rather than ask a pet shop, I do not agree with them or think they should exist. Would Orchid bark be a better option if so what would be a reliable place to get it from is it safe? I have never used sand as I know that it is bad for any tortoise due to the risk of impaction. What type of T5 HO tube kit would I need length wise? And what would i use for night time? Sorry for all the questions I just want the best for Matilda.

 

[Lyn W]

Fine orchid bark is great which I think you'd get online. Pets at Home sell bags of orchid bark but I think it's a bigger chunks. Some people use OB as top layer over coco coir to try to reduce mess. You need to make sure the substrate is moist (not wet) for humidity so you'll need to line the base with something to stop it rotting. It's impossible to contain the heat and humidity in an open table but you could get a mini portable greenhouse to put over the top of it and hang the lights inside.
Russians like to dig so substrate should be deep enough for that but because the table is quite small you may not have room for that - especially since they are also great climbers so if you raise her floor she'll soon be up and over the top. They are the Houdinis of the tort world!
For a table your size you'd need the shortest tube, the watts change depending on the length you get. My tort is a leopard so you'd need to check which % you need.