Waking a tortoise?

[Liquidpoop]

Is it wrong, for the past few days ive been waking my Russian? i think hes about a year old. does it cause them stress or anything? how much sleeping a day is normal?

For the first few weeks of having him he stayed hidden constantly id put food out everyday and on the odd day every couple of days hed come out and eat a tiny amount, it was hard to tell if he ate any at all. I had lights on for 13 - 14 hours a day and changed his food every morning.

since then for the past few days ive been putting his food out then about an hour later taking his hide up and leaving him for a minute, he gradually started eating more and more and id never seen him drink or go near his water bowl before doing this. i put his hide back in after about 20 minutes and hed go back in. now he has gotten into the routine that often in the morning he'll be up before me waiting for food.

Also how much is considered too much food, this morning i felt i had to take it out he usually leaves quite alot but he was really going for it. he does eat every morning now.

Thanks

Lp

 

[jlyoncc1]

I feel it's ok to wake him. And, it seems like he is in the routine of getting up and eating on his own now. The rule of thumb for many people is whatever they can eat in 20 minutes. I noticed in your picture that you are using pellets as a substrate. You should consider changing that. You really don't want the tort eating it and they tend to get moldy. You would be better with a 50/50 sand/soil mix. Especially with a russian as they love to dig. Good Luck!

 

[Yvonne G]

When I have babies, I put them in front of the food every time I walk past the habitat.

Yvonne

 

[Maggie Cummings]

pellets are no a good substrate. You run thew risk of damaging the leg muscles. I wake my tortoises up at the same time everyday and put them in front of the food that way you establish a routine and create a good eater. but you seriously need to change out those pellets. Also aside from the damage it does to the animal you can't keep it moist and create any humidity...bad substrate!!! bad!

 

[Liquidpoop]

on the other half of the viv there is a plastic tray filled with top soil with a hide on that side aswell, does sand help keep some of the moisture? the humidty seems to have dropped since i put soil in (only the other day) so ive been using a spray bottle. ill buy some playsand tomorrow to mix it up, i did think it looked difficult to walk on that why i got the soil but he seems more interested in the pellet side. i put some dandelions in pots on the soil side aswell and hes not interested at all.. i read about that coconut substrate should i use a layer of that. do you think it would be better to just not use the pellets at all, he seems to like digging in them.

im glad im not the only one who wakes them up tho, i like to see him eat.

just a thought, isnt sand abrasive?

 

[Laura]

What are the temperatures? if it isnt warm enough he will want to go into hibernation and not eat. More light the better to imitate summer hours.

 

[Maggie Cummings]

I wake up all of my tortoises and put them in front of the food at breakfast time. I'd get rid of the pellets totally. If you get eco earth and mix it with sand he can dig around in that and still enjoy himself. If you wake him up at the same time everyday he will start to wake himself up at that time everyday. Routines are important to tortoises and they eat better after a routine is established...

 

[Kristina]

I agree with totally nixing the pellets. They can dessicate (dry out) the tort, and harbor all kinds of bacteria and mold. Yuck, not good.

Probably the reason that he seems more interested in the pellet side has more to do with temperatures than the substrate itself.

The sand is not what holds the moisture, but rather gives some "body" to the eco earth or soil substrate to make it a little more firm, better for digging and walking. Yes, sand is abrasive to an extent, but look up some pics of where Russians come from in the wild I think they are up to it

I feel that it is totally okay to wake your tort up to feed him. As long as you are gentle, there should not be any undue stress. Like Maggie said, after awhile he will get settled into a routine and the waking part should be unnecessary.

Kristina

 

[Liquidpoop]

hey, i took you advice and got rid of the pellets. im using 50/50 topsoil and playsand mix with a coconut substrate top layer. he seems happier already. the trays i used in there werent quite big enough so i used the pellets to fill the gap so he doesnt fall down the sides so there good for something. they have been treated to kill fungus and bacteria and are harmless if he eats them (it says on the bag) they arent cheap either £15 a bag and that does like one change, well impressed the sand/soil mix is alot cheaper.

thanks
lp

 

[Kristina]

Just because it says something on the bag, doesn't make it accurate Unfortunately pet supply manufacturers are out to make money. And if the pellets are alfalfa, then they certainly can hurt him. The protein levels in alfafla are quite high, to rich for a tortoise.

I would also be concerned about the chemicals used to treat the pellets.

I am glad that he seems to be happy with the new substrate, good luck, he is definately a cutie!

Kristina