Tortoise won't eat

[EccoGalaxy]

For some reason Gretta hasn't been eating for days, and this has been continuing for a week. I'm not sure if she's ill, since when I take her out for a walk she seems very active and fast at times, but when I try to hand feed food or place food near her she ignores it. I take her out for walks sometimes in the back garden with an outdoor enclosure. The phase of her refusing to eat anything for days has never happened before.

I tried everything. The heat seems to be okay, it's usually around 29 degrees at average during the day, and around 20 degrees during the night (I think). She also has coconut coir substrate too, and a UVB lamp. There's a cuttlefish in her home too, a water dish that I replace daily and a tunnel that she goes too quite often. On the side of the home there's a shaded, bedding area where she goes to sleep. Very recently we also cleaned out her home days ago to clean out wood dust too, though her refusal to eat started before that and has continued :/

I feed her usually weed leaves, dandelions, lamb lettuce and baby corn. The occassional food includes strawberry, cabbage and carrot. I add calcium to her food every 5 days. I also bathe her every single day for 10 minutes at the minimum and sometimes 30 minutes at the maximum with warm water.

I'm really confused. I'm not sure if I'm missing anything and I have no idea why she's refusing to eat. It's making me very worried.

 

[EccoGalaxy]

I thought of applying anti-bacterial mouth wash, but since she's so small (she's 1 year and 2 months old), I'm nervous about the thought of trying to open her mouth. Sometimes her mouth looked a bit pale (not too the point where it was pure white, but looked lighter than usual), and sometimes it looked okay.

 

[Yvonne G]

The most common reason for not eating is they're not warm enough.

 

[Tidgy's Dad]

Check http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/beginner-mistakes.45180/
and http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/russian-tortoise-care-sheet.80698/
and ensure everything is as it should be.
What is the basking spot temperature ?
And the humidity, she looks a bit pyramided and as you are bathing her, I wonder what's the enclosure humidity ?
Check out http://www.thetortoisetable.org.uk/plant-database/viewplants/?plant=626&c=8#.WZb_zj6GPIU
http://www.thetortoisetable.org.uk/plant-database/viewplants/?plant=293&c=8#.WZcAKD6GPIU
http://www.thetortoisetable.org.uk/plant-database/viewplants/?plant=621&c=8#.WZcAdj6GPIU
http://www.thetortoisetable.org.uk/plant-database/viewplants/?plant=619&c=8#.WZcAmT6GPIU
Sorry, but the diet is wrong.
But it may just be that the tortoise is a bit too cold and is preparing to brumate (hibernate).

 

[RosemaryDW]

Is that the temperature under the lamp (29)? It is too cold.

I agree about the pryamiding; can we get the humidity levels as well?

I wouldn't interfere with anything like mouthwash until the temps are confirmed.

 

[RosemaryDW]

PS adorable tortoise!

 

[EccoGalaxy]

Is that the temperature under the lamp (29)? It is too cold.

I agree about the pryamiding; can we get the humidity levels as well?

I wouldn't interfere with anything like mouthwash until the temps are confirmed.

Thank you all for the responses and help.

I judged the temperature based on the temperature guade placed on the home wall, does the temperature need to be around 32 degrees instead? When I heard about pyramiding, I always thought dehydration was the main cause of it and I tried my best to hydrate her to a moderate level.

With humidity, I recently placed a humid meter there and it seems to reach nearly 40%-ish. When I place my hand within the home it doesn't really feel too cold. I've also heard about basking, and I assumed it's directly under the heat lamp, and if that's what i means then I think that paticular spot is quite warm.

I was thinking of replacing the heat lamp if the heat needs to be higher.

 

[EccoGalaxy]

Update: We handfed her some dandelions just now and she ate some of them, I was surprised she did that. We also encouraged her to relax under the heat lamp sometimes too.

I'm hoping she'll continue to eat more the next day too.

I'm also hoping to find a better heat lamp. I'm not sure if there's anything else to help maintain the heat/humidity.

 

[Tidgy's Dad]

Humidity would have been better at 50 to 70%
Basking spot should be 35 to 38° C.
Change the diet.

 

[Tidgy's Dad]

Mix water directly into the substrate by hand, ensure it's warm and moist not cold and damp.
Make sure the enclosure is sealed as much as possible.
Big, wide flat water dish.
Safe plants in the enclosure.

 

[RosemaryDW]

Thank you all for the responses and help.

I judged the temperature based on the temperature guade placed on the home wall, does the temperature need to be around 32 degrees instead?

I was thinking of replacing the heat lamp if the heat needs to be higher.

It's not the ambient temperature. She needs that warm of a basking spot to digest her food, that's why it's related to the eating. Get yourself a cheap temperature gun like this to check the exact surface heat: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Lasergrip-...3072520&sr=1-2&keywords=laser+temperature+gun.

They are cheap plus they make a great conversation piece!

 

[RosemaryDW]

Sorry to jump on you with all these questions, I can see with how much you've put into her care you are a thoughtful, caring owner. It's easy to make a mistake in setup, due to poor information out there, from pet stores, breeders, vets, and the internet.

That said what are you using for substrate? That can contribute to her ambient humidity quite a bit.

Can we get some pictures of her enclosure?

 

[RosemaryDW]

Also! She shouldn't be eating corn or strawberries, her system isn't built to digest them. That's not urgent, though. Temperature and humidity comes first.

 

[EccoGalaxy]

Sorry to jump on you with all these questions BUT what are you using for substrate? That can contribute to her ambient humidity quite a bit.

Hello there. I'm using coconut coir wood chipping for substrate, which I've been using for the past 8 months and seemed to have worked well.

I know that corn on the cob shouldn't be fed to Tortoises, though I thought that baby, miniture corn was okay to feed to them. Thankfully I don't fed her strawberries that much and it used to be a once in a while thing. I've not heard of the temperature gun before and I may consider it since it seems good with checking the temperature, thank u for sharing. I'm hoping replacing the heat lamp too will help.

The main thing she eats the most are weed leaves, dandelions and lamb lettuce. She loves dandelions, it's like an equivilant to McDonalds fries to Tortoises.

Mix water directly into the substrate by hand, ensure it's warm and moist not cold and damp.
Make sure the enclosure is sealed as much as possible.
Big, wide flat water dish.
Safe plants in the enclosure.

I may try the first technique, I may have to be careful to not add too much. I think the water dish is fine too and she can fit into it well. I've always considered adding plants to the enclosure, so far we only used plastic plants for shading purposes.

 

[EccoGalaxy]

Sorry for the wait, I wanted to take a recent picture of the enclosure.
It's around 5PM in my area so it's time for her bedtime. The bedding area can be seen on the right-hand side of the home.

 

[Tidgy's Dad]

It's too small. and not covered so you're losing all your moisture. Russians need lots of room to roam and dig to keep fit and to enable digestion of their food.
Use a piece of slate, sandstone or the reverse of a tile to put the food on, it helps keep the beak and claws trimmed.
You definitely need a laser thermometer, those analog ones aren't very accurate.
The lamps should point directly downwards, they don't work as well at an angle and their lifespan is reduced.
Coiled bulbs have been known to cause damage to tortoises eyes and often don't produce the correct UVB anyway. You should remove it.
Sorry, but we are trying to be helpful, I don't mean to be horrid.

 

[EccoGalaxy]

It's too small. and not covered so you're losing all your moisture. Russians need lots of room to roam and dig to keep fit and to enable digestion of their food.
Use a piece of slate, sandstone or the reverse of a tile to put the food on, it helps keep the beak and claws trimmed.
You definitely need a laser thermometer, those analog ones aren't very accurate.
The lamps should point directly downwards, they don't work as well at an angle and their lifespan is reduced.
Coiled bulbs have been known to cause damage to tortoises eyes and often don't produce the correct UVB anyway. You should remove it.
Sorry, but we are trying to be helpful, I don't mean to be horrid.

No worries, I understand ur trying to help.
I had thoughts of buying a bigger home for her now that she's growing. The slate sounds like a good idea and I may buy that at some point. Hopefully the next home we buy for Gretta will have lamp outputs that point downwards.

I heard the UVB coiled bulbs aren't the best, I thought of getting the tube lights since that's one of the most recommended, though I'm not sure if I'll be able to implement and attach it to the home since it doesn't have a built-in outlet, hopefully we'll figure something out.

 

[Tidgy's Dad]

The other lamps an MVB isn't it ?
If so it provides heat, light and UVB in one, you don't need anything else. Though some say they add to the desiccation of the tortoise and they do need replacing every few months, it's what i use.

 

[EccoGalaxy]

The other lamps an MVB isn't it ?
If so it provides heat, light and UVB in one, you don't need anything else. Though some say they add to the desiccation of the tortoise and they do need replacing every few months, it's what i use.

I think it is the MVB bulb yes. I always thought a UVB bulb was needed alongside the MVB heat bulb at first.

 

[Tidgy's Dad]

It looks like an MVB (mercury vapour bulb) that's the 3 in one.
But if it's just a basking light, you need a separate UVB source.