Tortoise inactive

[Pess1106]

Hiya - i am new to these tortoises. son wanted 1 for his birthday age 7. We got him 1. had for about 2 weeks now. Been fine but not had anything to eat since Thursday. he is drinking pooing n weeing. Horsefield tortoises we have got

 

[JoesMum]

Hello and welcome from the UK.

Usually inactivity is caused by problems with enclosure temperatures.

There are 4 important temperatures that you, and we, need to know: warm side, cool side, directly under the basking lamp and overnight minimum.

Pictures of your enclosure and lighting will help us to help help you further. We may see something else that is a problem.

Some other questions
What do you feed your tortoise?
How frequently do you soak your tortoise and how long for?
Does your tort have free access to water?
What type of UVB lamp do you have?
What substrate are you using?

As your tortoise is inactive at the moment, it is important to soak it for at least 30 minutes every day. The water needs to be warm, not hot (think baby bath) and deep enough to come up over the line between the shell and the plastron. Use a flat-bottomed bowl with high sides that your tort can't see over or through. A washing up bowl is ideal.

Have you read the TFO guides?

Beginner Mistakes
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/beginner-mistakes.45180/

Russian Tortoise Care
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/russian-tortoise-care-sheet.80698/

 

[ZEROPILOT]

Hiya i am new to these tortoises son wanted 1 for his birthday age 7. We got him 1 had for about 2 weeks now. Been fine but not had anything to eat since Thursday he is drinking pooing n weeing. Horsefield tortoises we have got

Welcome

 

[Pess1106]

Food what the pet shop was feeding him apples. It won't let me post a picture of in enclosure.

 

[ZEROPILOT]

Food what the pet shop was feeding him apples. It won't let me post a picture of in enclosure.

STOP feeding him apples.
Russian tortoises can't process sugar.
Go back to our Russian tortoise care(that JOESMUM provided) sheets and copy the list of foods. Many you can find very easily no matter where you live.

 

[Pess1106]

Ok lv new to this but the lad did say they can have apples lv. Thankyou

 

[lisa127]

What do you consider inactive?

 

[JoesMum]

Your tort's diet is leafy weedy greens.

At this time of year, when they're harder to come by, many of us supplement with a soaked pellet feed. I use Komodo.

Your tort cannot digest sugars properly - they cause digestive and kidney problems - so fruit, tomato, pepper and carrot should only be fed very sparingly and very occasionally.


Look up the plants that grow around you and the greens you can buy on The Tortoise Table Plant Database for suitability to feed
http://thetortoisetable.org.uk/site/plant_database_14.asp

Pet stores are notorious for giving outdated and inaccurate information. Here you will receive the most up to date care information from people who have been keeping tortoises for decades. We've had ours since 1970!

Please read those care guides. And please let us know those temperatures. If you have an android or apple phone, install the Tortoise Forum app; it's much easier to load photos using that.

 

[Pess1106]

Just sleeping all time am bathing him n that every day. Feeding him the same food what he was on in shop. What is the best for the flooring they told me to use pellets x

 

[JoesMum]

Just sleeping all time am bathing him n that every day. Feeding him the same food what he was on in shop. What is the best for the flooring they told me to use pellets x

They were wrong on that too.

Pellets are far too dry. Your tort needs an earthy type substrate such as fine grade orchid bark or coco coir that you can mix with water to make evenly damp and raise humidity.

At a rough guess they also sold you a compact UVB lamp (looks like an low energy lightbulb) that harms tortoise eyes, reptile food bowls that are a tipping hazard (terracotta plant saucers are cheaper and safer) and you have an open tortoise table with a young tortoise that needs a closed chamber and high humidity for healthy growth.

Please read the links I gave you earlier and compare them with your setup.

 

[JoesMum]

Assuming you have a young tortoise this may be the most appropriate care sheet for you
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/thread...or-other-herbivorous-tortoise-species.107734/

 

[ZEROPILOT]

Many, if not MOST of us got horrible information in the past from somewhere.
You're not alone.

 

[Pess1106]

Do they need bedding or just soil? I got a green jungle spot light. The food he's on is tortoise food prorep. Sorry for many Questions

 

[Pess1106]

Just want to make sure I have things right. My child as autism n scared of pets. He likes to watch him move about

 

[JoesMum]

Do they need bedding or just soil? I got a green jungle spot light. The food he's on is tortoise food prorep. Sorry for many Questions

Bedding is not needed. Hay goes mouldy in the high humidity needed.

The green lamp you have is no good. I will post a lighting/heat summary and explanation next.

Your tort needs a closed chamber to hold the humidity in and temperatures stable.

Your tort needs an earthy substrate.

The links I have posted explain it all.

 

[JoesMum]

Here's a lighting summary:

Your tort needs:

1. A basking lamp
This must hang vertically, not at an angle. Basking is essential to raise your tortoise's core temperature so it can digest food. This must be on continuously for 12-14 hours and must not be used with a thermostat. It must be 35C/100F directly under this lamp. Temperature is adjusted by raising or lowering it.

2. UVB light
Read the instructions for the source to see how close to the substrate it must be. UVB is essential so your tort can process dietary calcium and have healthy bones and shell. This must also be on for 12-14 hours.

Both 1 and 2 are available from the sun for those able to live outside.

UVB does not pass through glass or perspex(plexiglass) - light must be direct to be effective not through a window. Mesh screening can also interfere with UVB.

3. A minimum overnight temperature (18C/65F) and complete darkness at night to sleep.


Notes

(a) A Mercury Vapor Bulb (MVB) provides combined UVB and Basking. Alternatively you can use 2 bulbs: a tube UVB and a reflector bulb for basking (a household reflector - not low energy or halogen - from a hardware store will do the job; it's the wattage that counts) It must not be used with a thermostat, rheostat or dimmer.

(b) Ignore any references to UVA you may read - it's misleading marketing speak.

(c) Compact coil UVB harms tortoise eyes and must not be used.

(d) Basking and UVB should be on a timer so the light(s) are on for 12 hours a day. Temperature under the basking is regulated by its height above the substrate.

(e) Overnight, depending on your home, you may need additional heat. You get this from a CHE (Ceramic Heat Emitter) which must be on a thermostat.

(f) Torts have outstanding colour vision and love red and purple food. Coloured heat lamps colour tank decor and torts don't always apply intelligence to what they eat, resulting them in eating tank decor. Coloured bulbs of any colour should not be used.


Measurements

There are 4 important temperatures that you must know for an indoor enclosure.
- Directly under the basking lamp
- Warm side
- Cool side
- Overnight Minimum

You will need digital thermometers for accuracy.

A temperature gun thermometer (inexpensive from Amazon) measures temperature accurately in specific places like directly under the basking lamp.

A min/max thermometer so you know the min/max temperatures in your home by day and night.

You should also get a good digital probe hygrometer to measure humidity.

Thermometers and hygrometer that stick to the side of the enclosure tend to be less accurate.

 

[Pess1106]

Gave him a long soak got some weeds off garden washed them n hes eating yay thankyou to every 1 x

 

[Gillian M]

Hi, @Pess1106 and a very warm welcome to the forum!