russian tortoise question?

Question

my little brother has a russion tortoise, its been refusing to eat what we give him for the past three days, we give him mustard greens, cale, and turtle kibble or whatever. ok can you guys help me out with what they like to eat and what the definately cant have, im talkin fruit and veggie wise coz i know about the weeds and grasses he can have. also do they hibernate, for how long, and when do they usually start? thanks alot i will chose a best answer as long as you dont give me a link to any stupid site.

Answer 1

Russian tortoises are grazers and need a lot of ruffage, weeds are the best. Most salad greens with eat are not as good for them since they do not provide as much fibre and has poorer Ca:P (Calcium:Phosphorus ratio), so feed these supermarket greens less. The mainstay should be grasses and dandelion is excellent. Occasional once or twice a month, some berries are good too, but too much will give them diarrhea and they cannot digest it very well. They are releuctant to eat tortoise pellets, but some will accept them. Keep trying with the pellets, since they many essential viatmins and minerals. Do sprinle a reptile power supplement with Ca and D3 in it for them to assist in good growth.

I can hibernate, but you need to have a place with a steady temp 10-20 degrees (40-50s F) above freezing all winter. I would not recommend hibernating smaller tortoises, since they have lower core temps and are not as strong as the larger ones. I'd wait a few years when you and your brother have mroe experience with the russian before you hibernate it. There's nothing worse than have a turtle/tort die on yor during hibernation.

I know you don't want links, but these are very helpful.

Russian Tortoise caresheet:
http://www.chelonia.org/Articles/russiantortoises.htm
http://www.tortoise.org/archives/russ.html

Edible plant list:
http://russiantortoise.org/edible_plants.htm

Answer 2

A healthy tortoise diet for Russians is:

About 50% 'fodder'- fresh or dried hays, grasses, alfalfa, clover, and various 'yard plants', leaves, flowers, etc.

About 30% vegetables- mostly dark green leafy stuff, but also mushrooms, and anything else you'd usually eat (except corn, onions, peppers, etc.) Variety is important here.

About 15% fruits and berries, except for citrus

Under 5% proteins- mashed up hard-boiled eggs and shells is good, but so are fish, cooked chicken, bugs, worms, etc.

Sprinkle each meal with some good calcium supplement (RepCal) and reptile multi-vitamin with B13.

Feed young turtles daily, and back off as they age. Mature tortoises should be fed about every 3 days.

Remove foods that will start to smell bad after about an hour or so. An average serving is about 1 to 3 times the size of the tortoise's head. I usually do a pile of fodder, and an equal-sized pile of 'other'.

Whenever possible, let the tortoise forage outside in a garden- tortoises raised and fed outdoors almost always do better than indoor pets.

High-quality tortoise chow can be used as part or all of a meal, and some people like soaked monkey chow, but only as a treat.

Avoid: light green head lettuce, too much from the cabbage family (cale, brocolli, cauliflower, etc.- it is low in iodine can can cause gout), too much protein, fats, sugars, and milks. Hamburger and hot dogs are terrible.

You can often spark a tortoise's appetite by offering bright red foods (strawberries, tomatos, banana died red), or letting it experience a warm rain.

Another big reason tortoise's stop eating is temps. In high heat, tortoises stop eating and slow down. Russians especially don't like heat. Most tortoises are kept a little too cold. Use real thermometers and measure the real temps where the tortoises are- you might be surprised at what you find.

Russians DO hibernate when the daylight cycles shorten and temps drop to trigger it in the late fall. They also 'aestevate' in hot weather (slow down, hide in the shade or cool places, stop eating, etc.) if they have to.

I'd love to link you to a couple good sites, but it appears you don't want that. At the risk of loosing points, I'm going to anyway.

Answer 3

wu_gwei21 & madkins offer some good information.

However if your tortoise is healthy and he has settled into his new home, something is wrong if he won't eat. I have tortoises & I can tell you if they are healthy & you give them proper care, they are eating machines. Most people with healthy torts & under proper care actually have problems with feeding their torts too much.

Does the tortoise get several hours of sunlight everyday? Or 6+ hrs of light from high quality UVB reptile lamps?
What are the temperatures? Does the tortoise have access to both a warm area & a cooler area? Dry areas & moist areas?
How much room does he have?

You simply have not given enough information for a quality answer to your problem. I suggest you go the sites the other people have mentioned & others to find out as much as you can about the tortoise. You may need to take your tort to a vet to get him checked out.

If you are not able or willing to do that, you should give your tortoise to a reptile rescue orginization.

Good luck!

Answer 4

in case you like them to mate you like a male and determine they are the suitable age and length you are able to tell if a Russian tortoise is mature via finding at their tail it must be tipped on the right it somewhat is whilst they are sexually mature mating in captivity for Russian tortoises is fairly tricky hibernating will make it greater less difficult for them to mate i could additionally advise determining to purchase a 2d mature male in the event that they try it is going to stimulate them to mate you apart from mght could desire to maintain them healthful risky Russian tortoises won't mate desire this helps!!!!!!!

Answer 5

Calcium/potassium is important - get what is called cuttle fish bone.


Standard greens for the grocery store are fine.

apparently, tortoises like
Dandelion
plantain
hawksbeard
clover
dead nettle (whateve that is)
mallow
honeysuckle

Answer 6

Give him some BelaRussian Food . Russian animals like BelaRussian Food thats my guess

Answer 7

Try romaine lettuce and carrots. Mine loves those and is not fond of anything else but usually eats well if I include them.