Soaking My Russian

[Rockythehorse]

Hello. I would love to know more about this with soaking and what to use. I'm so nervous of hurting my 1 year old horsefield. He seems to have just gone into hibernation, but hes so young and has never eaten much so obviously this isn't going to do him good. I need to get him moving and eating again. I can see he seems to be getting deficient in vitamin a because his eyes look less shiny when he does open them.

Any help welcome.

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi, and welcome!

It's sometimes difficult to keep Russian tortoises awake during the cooler, shorter days of winter, but you really should try. I'm guessing that your tortoise's days aren't long enough, and his enclosure isn't warm enough. Keep his light on for 14 hours a day and make sure the whole enclosure is up in the 80's F (sorry, I don't know celcius). It can cool down a bit at night, but not much.

What are you offering him to eat? and have you read this: https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/the-best-way-to-raise-any-temperate-species-of-tortoise.183131/

That care sheet tells you how to set up your young one's enclosure, what to feed him, temperature, etc. Good reading for a first time tortoise keeper.

 

[Rockythehorse]

Im offering him a massive selection of different leaves, and herbs, and as a last resort little gem lettuce which he loves but I know isn't very nutritious, but like a new mum I just want him to eat anything right now. His uv and hest lamp are on for 12 hours at the moment and I'm soaking him for 25 minutes a day. As soon as he gets put back in his enclosure he goes straight back into his corner/house and sleeps. He only started putting on weight towards the end of summer, and he's lost a bit since then now, but other then what I see in his eyes he seems healthy.

 

[Lyn W]

If you post some pics of is enclosure and the lamps you are using and the 4 temps you have we'll be able to see if there's anything affecting him.
The carehseet Yvonne linked is full of up to date advice and if you compare that to how you are keeping him now, you may spot things you can improve on - we've all had to do that!

 

[Yvonne G]

The carrot soaks you asked about on your other thread are only for tortoises that aren't eating. I wouldn't do it for your guy. Can we see pictures of your enclosure? We may see something you're not seeing.

 

[Ink]

Soaking is warm water in very shallow water, depends on the size of the tortoise. An expert will help you. @Yvonne G

 

[Rockythehorse]

this is his enclosure, it's around 80f under the lamp and room temp in other places as its in our living room. The food there is just trying fldifferent things to see if he will eat something

 

[Mrs.Jennifer]

Hello! I am not an expert, but I do have an 18 year old Russian tortoise. It seems that the temperatures are too cool. They need heat to digest their food, so lower temps will yield less eating on their part. Under their basking bulb it should be around 95F. The rest of the enclosure should be warmer than our room temperature as well. I really think you should read the caresheet that was attached. It has everything you need to do to get him eating.

 

[Rockythehorse]

Thank you. I had it warmer before but then read it needed to be 80 under the bulb so I changed it thinking he must be too warm. There are so many conflicting care sheets, from not having too much moisture in substrate, to making sure it's really humid.
I'll try it warmer again. I've never spent so much time worrying about a pet in my life ?

 

[Maggie3fan]

What is the substrate? This will sound crazy but this is how I've been feeding for a buncha years...he a baby, so I cut up the food into smaller almost bite sized pieces, he also needs cover from the bright light...plants and stuff....

 

[Mrs.Jennifer]

Thank you. I had it warmer before but then read it needed to be 80 under the bulb so I changed it thinking he must be too warm. There are so many conflicting care sheets, from not having too much moisture in substrate, to making sure it's really humid.
I'll try it warmer again. I've never spent so much time worrying about a pet in my life ?

The caresheet in post #2 is all you need to read. It really is the gold standard of care. It is a lot to take in at first, but read through it a few times. I changed my entire enclosure based on that caresheet, and my tortoise is now living his best life!

 

[Lyn W]

The substrate looks too dry and sandy for a Russian. What is it?
Any little white bits in it and sand are an impaction risk - please see the caresheet for better options. They like moist (not wet) substrate deep enough to dig in and bury themselves.

Basking/heat lamps should be hung so that you can adjust temps by raising or lowering them. If you are using a clamp they have been known to fail and cause fires so it's safer to hang them, also torts don't get the full benefit of lamps at an angle.
Is the lamp an MVB (heat light and uvb) or just a basking lamp?

The caresheet will help you with a nutritious diet and www.thetortoisetable.org.uk is also a good guide to safe foods.

 

[Tom]

Im offering him a massive selection of different leaves, and herbs, and as a last resort little gem lettuce which he loves but I know isn't very nutritious, but like a new mum I just want him to eat anything right now. His uv and hest lamp are on for 12 hours at the moment and I'm soaking him for 25 minutes a day. As soon as he gets put back in his enclosure he goes straight back into his corner/house and sleeps. He only started putting on weight towards the end of summer, and he's lost a bit since then now, but other then what I see in his eyes he seems healthy.

You are doing a good job of offering a variety of foods, but the reason your tortoise isn't eating is because it is too cool. It should be 100 (37C) directly under the bulb, and daytime ambient should be up around 80 (26-27C) all over the enclosure. At night it can drop down to around 70 (20-21C) for a baby. All of this is very difficult to do in an open topped enclosure in a cold dry room. Babies do much better in a large closed chamber (aka: viv). Trying to heat an open topped enclosure is like trying to heat your house with no roof. It doesn't work very well. Open table work fine for adults if the room temp is within their acceptable temperature range, but room temp in the UK is usually a bit too cool for babies.

There is a LOT of incorrect care info for tortoises out in the world. Pet shops are one of the worst places for tortoise care info and products. I'm glad you found us. Your tortoise will be too.