my russian tortiose

Question
So my tortiose(his name is kinda hes a male) has not been eating dandalions he avoids them competley but my sister gave him a slice of apple and he ate the little slice until it was gone he will eat limited lettuce and all other greens. He also tries to clime out but the cage is huge! it at least 4 feet 5 inches long and 4 feet wide! I really want to know if this is normal. he also starts to coagh if i keep the lid on ( it has 50 holes punched in) thats not a big problem though i just keep it off.the tempitures are in one side 90 and the other 75. incloure is plastic container with the length uptop. watrt sourse big bowl little bowl. diet  lettuce mainly with dandolion but not eaten sometimes cabbage and a tad of tortiose food. soaking is 1 day a week.

Answer
Hi Danielle,

It would help if you could post a picture of your enclosure so I could get a better idea how you have it set up, but I can go over a few things now.

4 x 4 isn't huge for a tortoise by any means, although it's an adequate space.  Pet stores will tell you to keep a tortoise in a 20 gallon tank, but that's far too small and really quite cruel.  Tortoises range quite far in the wild and will do with as much space as you can give them.  If you can, I would build a large outdoor pen for the warmer months (10 x 10 is a nice size for one tortoise).  That way, your tortoise can get natural sunlight and graze, and you don't have to worry about UVB while he's outside.  


The enclosure should not be covered at any time.  Tortoises need plenty of air movement, so leave the lid off.  You didn't mention what substrate you're using, but it should be able to hold some moisture.  I use a mix of 50/50 coir and playsand, and that's what I recommend using.  Keep it slightly damp.  Your temperatures sound good, BUT it's important to measure the warm temps on the substrate under the basking bulb, NOT air temperature.  If you have the thermometer on the side of the enclosure, the actual basking temperature is much higher and much too hot.  So just make sure you're measuring from the right spot so he doesn't overheat.  

The water dish should be big enough so the tortoise can get in it and soak if he wants to, and in addition he should be soaked twice a week.  Make sure the substrate stays a little damp all the way through (you'll have to add some water to it every few days) so he doesn't dehydrate from the heat lamp.  

It's also important to have a good source of UVB while he's indoors.  I would use either a Reptisun 10.0 (tube bulb; change every six months) or a Zoomed Powersun (heat/UVB combo; change yearly).  Other brands are not reliable in UVB output, so I can't recommend anything else.  The UVB is extremely important because it allows them to metabolize calcium properly (and also why living outdoors when possible is so good for them).

Russian tortoises should be given a diet of leafy greens and weeds, with no fruit, veggies, or pelleted food.  Lettuce is OK as part of the diet, but isn't very nutritious and other greens are better.  Dandelions, turnip greens, mustard, collards, kale, chicory, mallow, sow thistle, clover, etc. are all good, along with hibiscus flowers, nasturtiums, prickly pear cactus, violas, etc.  Give as much variety as you can.  Since he's mostly eating lettuce now, I would stop feeding that entirely and only give him good greens until he starts eating those well.  A healthy tortoise won't starve, so don't worry if he refuses to eat the good food at first.  

For more information, you can go to www.russiantortoise.org.