Tortoise not eaten since late September

[Tortieporty]

So my 3 year old Russian tortoise hasn’t eaten since late September, it’s become very cold here in the U.K
She is bathed every day to keep her hydrated but I’m becoming more worried at how long she hasn’t eaten for
The temperatures are good in her enclosure ( 34 degrees C basking spot ), health checked regularly and everything looks fine
I didn’t hibernate her as she didn’t weigh enough beforehand, would a vet check up be adviced to make sure everything is fine? She sleeps a bit more during the day but is still lively and walks around as normal, how long can they actually go without eating with good hydration?
Thanks

 

[Thomas tortoise]

Some say they can go a year without food but I personally don't believe it and you need to find out the reason now! @Tom or @wellington might be able to help you out.

 

[Tom]

So my 3 year old Russian tortoise hasn’t eaten since late September, it’s become very cold here in the U.K
She is bathed every day to keep her hydrated but I’m becoming more worried at how long she hasn’t eaten for
The temperatures are good in her enclosure ( 34 degrees C basking spot ), health checked regularly and everything looks fine
I didn’t hibernate her as she didn’t weigh enough beforehand, would a vet check up be adviced to make sure everything is fine? She sleeps a bit more during the day but is still lively and walks around as normal, how long can they actually go without eating with good hydration?
Thanks

Basking area should be closer to 36-37C. What is the ambient temp? Over night low temp?

What type of enclosure? What size?

What substrate?

What hope of heating and lighting? What type of UV bulb?

Its not normal for them to go without eating when temps are normal and they are up and active. Something is wrong. There is no way to know how long they can survive without eating. Many factors would determine that, and there is no reason to find out. I'd recommend an xray to rule out intestinal blockage of any sort.

If the X-ray is clear, it may just be that this tortoise insists on brumating whether you want it to or not. More on that here:

Tom's Brumation Thread

Every fall we get bombarded here on the forum with all sorts of questions and problems regarding hibernation and tortoises "slowing down" for winter. The purpose of this thread is to talk about all aspects of this subject, to dispel some of the myths and mysteries, and give a "how to" list of...

tortoiseforum.org

 

[wellington]

The enclosure should be 80F day, 95-100F basking and because you are not brumating/hibernating her, it should not go below 70F at night. Lights need to be bright and on 12 to 14 hours a day.
If she borrows, wake her up and give her a warm soak then plac in front of food.
They can go quite awhile without food. If she were hibernating she wouldn't be eating. But I think if you get temps and lighting where they need to be you will see her eat. They do eat less in winter months. If you get things corrected and she still doesn't eat, then I would do as Tom stayed, an xray.