Russian tortoise not eating

[moorealanna1]

Hello, I have had my russian tortoise for about two years his name is Bruno’s I noticed that he’s not eating as much and tends to sleep most of the day. He used to eat all his food and be pretty active. He has a pretty big enclosure for being inside and he’s got three areas a warm area, an area to eat where his uv light is and a cold area that’s almost completely dark for him to sleep. He was also having troubling pooping so I gave him pumpkin every once in a while. His diet consist of dark greens, some lettuce (he’s very picky and if i don’t add lettuce he won’t eat) some rehydrated veggies and calcium occasionally. I also have been giving him more frequent soaks since he’s not eating much. I’d like to think I take pretty good care of him so just unsure of the issue. I am thinking of taking him to a vet but wanted to discuss on here first. Again i’m sorry if his enclosure is too small but he used to be in a way smaller tank at petsmart.

 

[TheTortoiseking]

He may be preparing for hibernation
talk to your vet

 

[moorealanna1]

He may be preparing for hibernation
talk to your vet

That’s what i’m thinking, I just don’t remember him doing this last year but maybe he was too young.

 

[TheTortoiseking]

There is the option of not hibernating/burmating. If you want to keep him up try soaking him and taking him outside to get sun on warm days.

 

[moorealanna1]

There is the option of not hibernating/burmating. If you want to keep him up try soaking him and taking him outside to get sun on warm days.

He hates soaking ahah I feel so bad every time but thank you I will try both more often!

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

Hello, I have had my russian tortoise for about two years his name is Bruno’s I noticed that he’s not eating as much and tends to sleep most of the day. He used to eat all his food and be pretty active. He has a pretty big enclosure for being inside and he’s got three areas a warm area, an area to eat where his uv light is and a cold area that’s almost completely dark for him to sleep. He was also having troubling pooping so I gave him pumpkin every once in a while. His diet consist of dark greens, some lettuce (he’s very picky and if i don’t add lettuce he won’t eat) some rehydrated veggies and calcium occasionally. I also have been giving him more frequent soaks since he’s not eating much. I’d like to think I take pretty good care of him so just unsure of the issue. I am thinking of taking him to a vet but wanted to discuss on here first. Again i’m sorry if his enclosure is too small but he used to be in a way smaller tank at petsmart.

Hello and welcome!

I’m noticing lighting could potentially do with some tweaks, starting with the uv, I believe you have some sort of compact bulb? Compact uv bulbs aren’t the best option unfortunately and uv needs to be mounted near the basking area. He could be avoiding the bulb, also are they on timers?

What are your temperatures like in the enclosure? Ie the basking spot, overall day temps and night temps? Do you have digital monitoring to measure this?

I’d give this thread a careful read, I explain the above points a little more in depth and go over correct equipment(lighting&heating, including the right uv!), correct levels, substrates, appropriately maintain humidity, enclosure sizing, there’s lots of visual examples for everything and a good diet link to check out!

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

If yours is still quite young, they might benefit from the higher humidity needed for babies

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

I’d also go over this one, again I explain some of the above points more in depth and it’ll help you avoid the wrong bulbs, substrates, housing etc, I’d definitely double check new purchases on the forum too!

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 this helps! Please come back with any further questions

 

[moorealanna1]

Hello and welcome!

I’m noticing lighting could potentially do with some tweaks, starting with the uv, I believe you have some sort of compact bulb? Compact uv bulbs aren’t the best option unfortunately and uv needs to be mounted near the basking area. He could be avoiding the bulb, also are they on timers?

What are your temperatures like in the enclosure? Ie the basking spot, overall day temps and night temps? Do you have digital monitoring to measure this?

I’d give this thread a careful read, I explain the above points a little more in depth and go over correct equipment(lighting&heating, including the right uv!), correct levels, substrates, appropriately maintain humidity, enclosure sizing, there’s lots of visual examples for everything and a good diet link to check out!

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

If yours is still quite young, they might benefit from the higher humidity needed for babies

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

I’d also go over this one, again I explain some of the above points more in depth and it’ll help you avoid the wrong bulbs, substrates, housing etc, I’d definitely double check new purchases on the forum too!

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 this helps! Please come back with any further questions

Unsure about the bulb i’ll look into getting different ones. His basking temp is about 90-96, his UV area is about 75-78 and his sleeping area is around 67-70 and yes we have it on timers we take daily temps on our digital temp and always adjust as needed. Like I said he normally thrives in these temps so that’s why I was a bit confused but thank you I will read your other post more in depth.

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

Unsure about the bulb i’ll look into getting different ones. His basking temp is about 90-96, his UV area is about 75-78 and his sleeping area is around 67-70 and yes we have it on timers we take daily temps on our digital temp and always adjust as needed. Like I said he normally thrives in these temps so that’s why I was a bit confused but thank you I will read your other post more in depth.

For a basking temp(just directly under the bulb) you want a reading of 95-100f, I’d suggest sitting your monitoring underneath for a few hours to double check, 90 around the bulb is fine, but for the rest of the enclosure during the day they are generally more active if it’s kept in the 75-80 range. 70 is a fine night temp

Perhaps it’ll be worth considering a CHE(ceramic heat emitter) in the middle to make up your ambient and night temp

Hopefully reading through those links will help