Wild cut russian tortoise, not eating

[KaydeeRose]

I just bought my Russian tortoise from a reptile expo and learned he is wild caught. I've been trying to feed him leafy greens but he won't touch them. He also won't touch any petco tortoise foods (like zoo med grassland tortoise food or the fruity ball candy looking food) however I have him a raspberry and he will eat that, but that's unhealthy to just eat that of course. He also tries eating anything red, not often of course since he really refuses to eat. What should I do?

 

[Jacqui]

First double check that you have his temperatures at the right settings and also that you have the right kind of light and on for enough hours in a day. If you post them in here, we will give you an idea as to how they are.

Next, have you tried giving him a warm soak just before feeding? That often gets them going.

While the raspberry or red items tend not to be good for them, if that is all he will eat then work with it. Take those items and use a blender to make it a red coating you can them mix up and spread all over his cut up small greens. The idea is to get him to eat the greens by tricking him. As the days go on, cut back on the amount of color coating you use. It won't take much to coat the food and it should not take long til he is on his greens alone. Keep the amount you use small so to cause as little impact to his digestive system as possible.

Also try to get "greens" that are red. Radicchio is a good one to try.

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I also forgot to say this... you just got him yesterday from the expo. Going without food a couple of days is fairly normal in this kind of situation. If he has good weight, he can indeed go for some time without eating. No need to panic at this point. Or to even go yet with the red coated greens. Just double check your set up, give him some peace and quiet and time to settle in.

 

[KaydeeRose]

The temp is 70-85 in his enclosure. Repti bark is being used, however I was wondering if I could use a finer substrate so he can burrow into softer substrate, or will it get into his eyes?

I live in Maine, so it's killer outside. However, I was thinking about giving him the backyard in the summer when the temp is 70-85, is this a good idea?

How much should I feed him? Should I let him free feed his greens when he warms up to them or should I monitor the amount? Also, should I be feeding the greens with a pet store tortoise food, like zoo med or mazuri, or any other brand food? Or should a large variety of organic veggies be perfect?

There sadly isn't a lot of info I've found on any tortoises around here and the pet stores are selling red foots to anybody who walks through the door. To me, that's silly. Anyone could walk in and say "oh, that teeny tiny baby tortoise is so cute!" and in no time it's a huge tortoise that outgrew its enclosure. However, no where sells Greeks or Russians, which are smaller, and more likely to find a forever home.

I guess I'd love if anyone posts any advice for me as a first time tortoise owner.

Also, my boyfriend has a Greek tortoise, also male that he got from the expo (it's a piggy and will gorge itself on greens). In time, could they enjoy an enclosure together, if their diets are almost exactly the same and the enclosure is large enough?

 

[KaydeeRose]

Also, the light is one of two from petco, either the desert or the tropical

http://m.petco.com/product/115856/Zilla-Tropical-UV-T8-Terrarium-Strip-Light-Fixture.aspx

It's the one the associate told me was best for a Russian tortoise, I'll let you know which bulb it is when I get home.

He also has a heating bulb (doesn't emit light) the bulb for the largest enclosure, I think 150 gallons. Though at night the temp in the enclosure got as low as 55-60 so I'm going to need to either get another light or something else... Or another under the tank heater

He's in a large concrete, black, mixing container. One I saw on YouTube that a lady uses for her torts. I was told that glass aquariums aren't suitable for torts, hence the container I have instead. And that anything see through confuses them, hence why it's black.

If you YouTube "Russian tortoise enclosure and care" you should get the video by Aquariamlover1. What she's using for the plastic tub is what I'm using.

Although, I'm thinking about making one out of wood, because this way I can design it to hold in the warm air, a hidey-hoo, the like. Much like the ones I see that other people have built.