Why is my RT so lazy.

[chris1810]

I ave had my RT for nearly 2weeks now and all he does is sleep i ave to wake gim for his food which he eats; i bath hin he has diffrent foods ie leafy greens,He has a big table uv light baskin spot top soil.He loves the garden but bein in england its not warm 1 bit.Why wont he move around in his table,I had tried to upload pics but for sone reason i cant please any help would be great.

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi Chris1810:

Welcome to the Tortoise Forum!!

Is your name Chris? and may we know appx where in the world you are?

It sometimes takes a while for a tortoise to settle into a routing when he is placed in a new environment. All you can do (besides wait) is make sure everything in the habitat is as it should be:

A good UVB light with the temp appx. 100F degrees directly under it
A spot away from the light where it is room temperature
A hiding place
A waterer
A feeding tile
Substrate he can burrow into
A variety of different foods that Russian tortoises will eat (not grass)

 

[JoesMum]

Tortoises can be very slow to adapt to change and two weeks is nothing to them. At the moment, your tort doesn't know who or what to trust, so the best thing to do (or so it thinks) is to hide and do nothing.

To get activity correct it is vital that the temperature is good in your enclosure as Yvonne said above. Also, your tort must not get cold at night. Otherwise it will take too long to warm up by day.

Your tortoise also needs 12-14 hours of bright light, including UVB for normal activity levels and health. You are trying to convince him its summer and he doesn't need to think about hibernation!

Try to get into a regular routine with your tortoise so it knows what to expect and when. Something like:
Lights on, Heat on (or increased) , soak, feed.

Not all Russians like soaking, but he will get used to it... and it is vital for hydration while feeding and activity levels are poor.

My tips for soaking are:
1. Soak your tort first thing in the morning before he's warmed up properly... he's less likely to attempt escape.
2. Soak at roughly the same time each day as it helps to establish a routine which will help your tort to settle in more quickly.
3. Use a bowl or plastic box with sides high enough to stop your tort seeing out or clambering out. A cheap washing up bowl is ideal.
4. Put enough warm (not hot) water in the box to come up over your tort's plastron (undershell). Get the temperature right and you're not-warmed-up tort is more likely to lounge and enjoy!
5. Soak for a good 20 minutes
6. Your tort may wee and/or poop in the water. They don't always, but if he does it is more likely to concern you than your tort. Change the water if it's truly disgusting. Don't be concerned if your tort eats his poop; it's said to help with gut flora!
7. Feed your tort straight after his bath. Again it establishes routine, but also they seem to want to eat after they've soaked and toileted!

 

[chris1810]

This is my table the baskin light is a 60 watt and also i have a heat matt placed under because i live in manchester and we dont see the sun,so thats there to keep him warm through the day and night.
I will bath him in the mornings and feed him straight after.
I was worried cause he does not move from the one spot just sits there all day he does eat his food in bits unless its weeds then he eats it all.
But thanks for the feed back i will defo try all the things you said

 

[Yvonne G]

That's a beautiful set up, but I don't think your tortoise is warm enough. The 60 watt bulb, without a dome to concentrate the heat downward, just isn't hot enough for that big table.

 

[chris1810]

So would a dome help,would i need a higher voltage baskin light.

 

[dmarcus]

Hello and welcome to the forum..

I agree with Yvonne and think that your tortoise is too cold, do you know what the actual temps are in the enclosure?

 

[chris1810]

The temp right now is 83,What way can i make it more warm for him also do i have to spray the table daily i have that you should and some people say you shouldnt.

 

[JoeImhof]

The temp right now is 83,What way can i make it more warm for him also do i have to spray the table daily i have that you should and some people say you shouldnt.

You need an area under the lamp that is about 95 degrees (and an area away from there that is much cooler). 100 Watt bulb is almost surely needed to get those temps, at least in my experience

 

[chris1810]

I will defo go and buy a 100 watt,what about misting should i do that twice a day,And also would a dome on the lighting make a diffrence..Thanks for all your feed back.

 

[lynnedit]

Start with the higher wattage heat bulb to get your basking area to 35c.

Are your lights on 12 to 14 hours per day?

If that does not help after a week,
1)then add a light fixture, something like this:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb...=pets&field-keywords=+light+fixture&x=22&y=18
although you can also use shop or farm light fixtures as long as they have a ceramic base and allow a high enough wattage.
And/or
2) consider adding a second light in another area of the enclosure; a regular incandescent light, even using a desk lamp fixture, to add light and a bit of heat.

Another way to add moisture is to just pour some water into the substrate and stir it up every few days, to keep the underlayers moist. That may work better than spraying the surface.

 

[chris1810]

I put my lights on at 7.30 to 8.30 so there on long enough,Iam going to get a new basking light today.

---

I give rocky a warm bath first thing this mornin before work i normally bath him about 6ish when i come in from work,But anyway he had his bath i put back in his table and he was a bit more lively,He eat a bit of his leafy greens not much then went straight for the water crest thats planted in there spent about 15 mins at it went for a 5 mins bask then went back to his spot where he we stay now till i bath him again tomorrow morning.
I will get him a stronger baskin light today see if that makes him come out more,But if any 1 has any more tips let me know thanks.

 

[GeoTerraTestudo]

It's not that your tortoise is lazy. He just doesn't have the elevated temperatures necessary to become active. We have a 150-Watt ceramic heat emitter (CHE) on each of our Russian tortoise enclosures. They emit heat, but no visible light, so you can leave them on all day, and all night, too, if need be. They are more expensive than light bulbs, but they also last much longer - a few years - so you don't have to replace them nearly as often. With our CHEs, we provide our RTs with a hot spot temperature of 95-100*F. They like to bask there, sometimes even fall asleep there, but they also have plenty of energy to run around, digest their food, power their immune system, etc. Looks like your setup is nice, but your tortoise needs that ~95*F hot spot to survive.

 

[Jessie]

Do i spy a hatchling by any chance?

 

[chris1810]

yeah haha he is 6 months old.

 

[lynnedit]

Let us know how he does after you get the warmer basking light, temps to 35c/95f. After his bath, he is warmer so more active, but can't maintain that warmth in order to digest and remain active.
A warmer basking area should help!