I recently acquired a Russian Tortoise. After doing a great deal of research, I am begining to see how precious he is. I worry about him all the time. He seems a little distressed and agitated. He has not been eating at all. He has moved two times in two weeks, I realize this can be stessful for them. I leave food available to him all the time, he just does not seem interested. He also has a little water rock that he does go into sometimes. His eyes and nose look clear and healthy and so does his shell. He has only had one bowl movement that I have noticed and it was white and runny. I want to be happy and seems sad. I let him out to run around the house and seems to go to the nearest corner and hide. He has been letting me hold him a little and justs rests on my chest. (that part is new, he used to try real hard to get away) I have also taken him outside two times to dig and he seemed to really enjoy that. It is cold here so, I can only do that when the weather permits. I have him in a very large bin, with two differnt types of litter which allow him to dig. I moved him from a glass tank to this bin because I had read the glass tanks are distressing to them; as they want to try to go through. He did but up against the tank like he was trying to get out so I changed it. He seems to sleep alot. I was hoping someone may be able to give me so information about him. Should he be eating more? Should I not handle him too much? Is he sleeping alot because he is sad? ect. Any input would be most appreciated. Dianne
It could be the stress from being moved a lot and the change in the seasons. Many reptiles will be less active and eat less in the winter months. What type of substrate is he on? What's his diet like?
He is in reptile bark and pine shavings. I mixed the two because he likes to dig. He was in pine shavings at the pet store also. I have been trying to give him banannas (the pet store suggested this), apples, broccli, Kale, bocco sprouts and green beans. He does not seem interested in any of it. He did let me hold him on my chest tonight and he fell asleep. He gets irritated with me if I move and wake him though, so I put him back. I just hate to see him cooped up in a bin all day with no interatction, and no eating. Thank you for replying. Dianne
Can you buy dandelions some where online or at a certain type of store. I live in MD and we are heading into winter, which means no dandelions. As far as the temp for his cage, I am not exactly sure. I purchased a basking lamp at a reptile store, I think the watage was 60.... the owner said it would work well for a thirty gallon tank. He does not feel cold to the touch. Do you think I should get a higher wattage bulb? And again, thank you so much for your information. I have just fallen in love with the turtle and want to make sure he is okay. I had no idea they needed such specific attention and care.
You can get dandelion greens at some supermarket produce section. If not, you can try collard, turnip, and mustard greens. Greens should be dusted with a vitamin/mineral powder to make sure they get enough calcium. You really should get a digital thermometer to monitor heat. They are really inexpensive and you can get them at Walmart, Kmart, and hardware stores for between $15-20 dollars. That way you always know the temps. The basking area should be around 90 degrees F and there should be enough room in the enclosure for a cool side as well that stays in the low to mid 80s range. They also require UVA/UVB light to help in production of vitamin D3 which aids in the production of calcium. Sorry I didn't give you more info last night, but my comp was running slow and I wanted to double-check on the heat requirements and my book was at work! Hope this helps out some. Check out this website...great info on care and husbandry: http://www.chelonia.org/Articles/russiantortoises.htm
Thank you for that information. It gave me a great idea for a larger indoor home for him. I hate to move him once again, but I think he will enjoy a larger home. He seems like he wants to hibernate to me. VERY sleepy. I wake him up a couple times a day and hold him. He is really sweet. I am going to go out today and buy a 100W bulb, as the one I have is 60 as well as a thermometer, look for those dandilions. Can I purchase the vitamin/mineral powder at any vitamin store? or even Walmart or Petsmart for that matter? It looks like he took a few bites of an apple last night..... I really want to see him eat some greens though. There is an organic store down the street from me and I am going to try it out. Thank you again. Dianne
Get the calcium/D3 powder at a petstore...they're made for reptiles and have the right balance for them. Make sure there's about 12 inches between him and the bulb. Good luck!
Biochic I have a Russian Tortoise as well. We bought him last July for my sons Birthday. The pet store said he was about 5 yrs old already. His shell is only about 5" in length if measured on the side. He is in a 55 gallon tank with Lizard litter for substrate to dig in. He has a 100W basking bulb, and a 48" flourescent uvb light. His diet is of Chickory, endive, kale, collard, romaine, green bell peppers, carrots, yellow squash, mango, papaya, rasberries, strawberries. During the warmer months he gets frsh grass, weeds and dandelions from outside. I live in Fort Drum,NY so we have winters of -30 that last 8-10 months a year. I didn't put him in to hibernate this winter since I had just gotten him and I wanted to make sure his health was good first. The vet said he would be ok and that next year he would need to. My concern is that he tends to dig crazy in the corners of the tank. After reading the prior posts is this because he is stressed from the glass tank or is it just that he's bored? I have a basking platform and some large rocks in there for him to climb around on. I do let him out of the tank to crawl around ont he floor and explore the livingroom area. He really can't go much farther though. I have 2 large dogs who would love to play with him. So he gets that area to explore with. Is there some kind of toy or anything like that for them. I have a Bearded dragon and 2 geckos and now him. I'm a little confused as to what they can do. Thanks for any help or advice. Rachel
My guess is that he's just digging to get out. The glass is misleading to some degree, but a lot of the smaller tortoises dig and burrow naturally. It's just something they do. I would recommend a different type of cage for him just to make him more comfortable (but there really isn't anything wrong with his current setup). He really needs more space to move around in than a 55 gal can afford. Aquariums offer a lot of vertical space for climbing reptiles and any aquatic animals but are really just too narrow for terrestrial species of this size. I would suggest a wooden cage about 3-4' square or about 2'x5'. It only needs to be tall enough so the tort can't climb out. The top can be screened or left open, but if your dogs are as curious as you mentioned, I would go for screened. Provide a hide or shelf that he can fit under easily. Also provide a good mix of artificial plants (as long as the leaves don't pull off easily - they will try to eat them) and rocks, driftwood, etc. and move things around occasionally. Torts are very intelligent and can get "bored" quickly and aremore active than people imagine so you really need to provide a good amount of space and enrichment. You can try some enrichment projects on your own too. Try hiding his food in different areas of the enclosure. Make sure you lay it on butcher paper or a paper plate so it doesn't get substrate on it. Or place the main food dish in a different area each feed. One thing we've tried with our iguanas and skink are kongs (the dog toys) with their favorite fruits in them. They have to manipulate the toy and actually work to get their treat. We dont' pack them too far in as it would makeit too hard for them to get too unlike dogs that can use their tongues more readily. This would work with your tort if you could find a way of offering it off of the litter substrate, again to prevent ingestion. You can also offer larger pieces of fruit and vegetables so that he has to work a little to eat it. This is actually wonderful stimulation for animals. It gets them out of that "this is where my food comes from" hum-drum routine. As for hibernation, here's a good article on hibernation, how to aid them during, and monitor them. http://www.chelonia.org/Articles/hibernationpaula.htm If you want to or have to keep the aquarium, then I would black out the sides of the tank just high enough where he can't see over it easily. It will help make him feel more secure.
I have just received a baby russian tortoise, he is doing very well. I heated him up as soon as I got him and he really digs his home. He's eating like a champ and is very active. I use coconut fiber bedding which is great other than the fact that it comes in bricks and you have to soak it in water, squeeze all the water out then dry it in the sun. But he loves it. He digs in it at night when he goes to sleep. Which brings me to my first question. Is there a special lighting that I should use for him at night time? During the day he gets the proper UVA/UVB lighting, at night time I just leave the heat emitter bulb on and shut off the light. But my main concern is how can I tell when he is ready to hibernate, and also I read somewhere that you should put him in a box and put him in a cool environment like the garage or someplace where temperatures are around 40 degrees. Also how long does the hibernation period last, I read 9 months. I could use some reassurance from someone who has been there. I named him Belyy, Russian and pronounced Bailey it was the last name of a Russian friend of mine who past away. Seemed perfect. :wink:
Hello and welcome. Glad to hear you have a happy and hungery tortoise. You may want to start your own thread/ topic next time so you don't get missed. Night time heat is dependant on what the temp are where you keep him. It is good if the temps are allowed to drop into the 60s. You don't need to hibinate him for the first 5 years and he will normally slow down november time. You'll need to weigh him, get a fecal exam done and bath him to make sure there is no food left in his system before hibinating. I've not Hibinated my russian yet because he has had a few problems from when I got (rescued) him, but have been advised that a good place to hibinate your tort in the fridge where you can monitor temps and they will keep fairly constant. Next year he will be going into the salad crisper for a few months . If you want to hibinate out side you need to make sure temp are kept at 40-45C, They can be hibinated from 8 week to 9 months. I have got a lot of good information from here http://russiantortoise.org/care_sheet.htm Love to see some pics at some point,
