My poor tortoise!?

Question

I just got a Russian Tortoise a week ago. He has everything he needs. A heat lamp, a UVB lamp, timothy hay, "reptile litter", fresh water, and a hide box. I also bathe him every 2-3 days. Each bath he drinks and urinates. But for some reason my turtle will not eat. I have tried giving him a lot of things.
I have given him:
Cucumber
Tomato
Carrot
Romaine Lettuce
Cantaloupe
Grapes
Radish Sprouts
Broccoli, and broccoli sprouts
and Cabbage.

But he hasn't ate any of it. I think I caught him eating some of his "reptile litter" which I got because it is edible, but it really does not have much nutritional value. I'm very worried that he isn't going to live if he doesn't eat soon. What do I do? I can not afford to take him to the vet right now.

Answer 1

when you get a reptile a lot of the time they will not eat for a little bit after being introduced to their new environment. it should eat eventually I had this problem with some of my reptiles if It is going any longer than two weeks you definetly need to bring it to the vet and have it checked out. Good Luck.

Answer 2

OK, there is a lot of bad advice here. Russian tortoises SHOULD NOT eat animal protein, so no insects. You're food choices aren't too bad, but I'd offer more leafy green veggies, such as leaf lettuce, mustard greens, and collards (in moderation), if you can. If you can get real weeds this time of year, all the better. You might be able to purchase spineless cactus pads from www.russiantortoise.org - also a good website for advice and husbandry information.

Keep in mind that if you've only had him a week, he's probably still stressed from the move. It might take another week for him to decide to eat. Keep him in a low-traffic area of the house, so that he doesn't have to be around people all of the time. Although I don't recommend bannana as a regular food (poor calcium to phosphorus ratio), it is a good STARTER food, just something to get him to eat ANYTHING at first. Once he eats something, you can switch him to a better diet. Also, keep fruit down to a treat only.

Also, has he had a well-pet check by a qualified reptile veterinarian yet? Many of the Russian tortoises sold in pet stores are wild-caught, and thus might have intestinal parasites and/or be dehydrated to begin with.

Does he have a water dish in his enclosure? They CAN have a water dish at all times, preferably one they can get in to soak. Although Russians do come from a more arid environment, they have ways of getting water from their envirnment, and it's hard to re-create a wild environment indoors. If he's not eating, it's even more important to make sure he has access to water.

Also, get rid of the reptile litter. Any substrate sold for turtles and tortoises in a pet store is a waste of money at best, and a danger at the worst. Try an equal mix of top soil (the kind without manuar added) and sand, with the hay or straw on top. Not only is it easier to dig in, it costs a whole lot less than products in a pet store.

Answer 3

Is he a tortoise or a turtle? If he is a tortoise I'm not sure you should be bathing him that much. If he is a tortoise they don't eat every day, tortoises' normal eating habits are to go without food for long periods of time and then gorge themselves and then not eat again for a long period of time. Most eat leaves. Just leave him alone, he'll be okay. (btw, most reptiles only eat on a sporadic basis, the have a meal and it may be a month or two before they eat again)

Answer 4

Common reasons for Russians not eating:

Wrong temps- use a thermometer to verify the temps. Aim for 70-80F (cooler at night). Too hot or too cool shut down the appetite.

Wrong humidity- this is tricky as they need a choice of normal or higher humidity. Low humidity shuts down the appetite too. Sometimes a warm bath will jump-start the appetite. Sometimes a warm 'rain' in the tank will as well.

Stress- noise, vibrations, too much handling, etc. prevent tortoises from eating.

Vitamins and micro-nutrients- no UV-B lighting, vitamin shortages, ,poor calcium/phosphorous ratios, etc.

Injuries to the mouth, overgrown beaks, stomatitis or other infections, etc.


You can try the 'Secret Super Food' to get them to start eating again- strawberries and red-died bananas.

A great article on diets is http://www.petdoc.ws/TortDiet.html

A good care sheet is at http://www.austinsturtlepage.com/Care/cs-russian.htm

Answer 5

heres a link to a site with a good article on the various reasons a tortoise may not be eating. I suspect that stress is the most likely cause, since you say you've only had the tortoise a week.

http://www.tortoisetrust.org/articles/fedart.html

Ask the person you got the tortoise from, what they were feeding him, they should be able to tell you what he ate so you can try the same food he's used to getting.

Make sure that the temperature of his environment isn't too hot either, an environment too hot can cause as much trouble or more, than an environment that is too cold.

Answer 6

do not worry if you have a petsupermarket then go to the reptile section and buy vitamin spray. spray some on his litter and buy some crickets. remember that he might be a carnivore. next time you think about getting a reptile, get an iguana or a snake iguanas eat romaine and vegetables and before you make a move, look him up and see what they normally eat.

Answer 7

my tortoise doesn't eat a lot this time of the year either. A lot of times come the winter season even though they may not feel it their natural instincts sense it and tell them to eat less. Don't worry it is fine. And my personal advice. I wouldn't feed it timothy hay

Answer 8

its ok . some turtles are very picky eaters. what was he eating in the pet store? try feeding him that. if you cant give him that, then just keep food and water available, get rid of the reptile litter, and replace it with woodchips until he starts eating again. he will get hungry enough that he will start eating.

Answer 9

My Hermans loves bananas

Answer 10

Try feeding him mill worms. Chop them up first and then put them in his bowl. He will love them and they are very good for them. You can get them at any pet store.