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not eating tortoise

22 16:29:54

Question
I bought a Russian tortoise about 2 weeks ago he ate day one then tried to bury self as in to hibernate I guess
his rubber made box has about 6 inches of mixed sand and that stuff you add water to and it expands for lizards it was suppose to be 50/50 but it might be 60 /40 with the extra being  sand
he has the hot light between 90 and 95 the container is low to mid 70 day and mid 60 night I think I have two different thermometers with different readings and am going to buy another one today
he stopped burring self and loves to walk about later in the day but doesn't eat I give him organic field mix greens tried dandelions hibiscus  no luck I've seen him drink a bit and when i gave him an apple core he ate like it was his last supper but I took it away after a few bites as I know only  for an occ.treat the pet store guy said its too cold so I put  the rubber made lid over 1/2 container to prevent drafts and this stopped him from burring himself ( unless it was because I would dig him up a few times a day )but no eating   he runs around the house seems active but walks over food any suggestions I don't want him to starve

Answer
Well, first of all, a healthy tortoise can go a couple months without eating and no ill effects, so don't sweat it too much.

Everything sounds OK to me (6" of substrate is a bit much- you might want to go down to 2-4"), so lets look at the behaviors. Is it hiding in the warm side or cool side? Is it more active in the cooler part of the day or warmer? This will tell you if you need to boost temps a bit or cool them off. Personally, I think you hot is too hot and your cool is too cool- but going by behavior is better than my guesses.

Next, lets look at humidity. This time of year, habitats can be at 30% or so humidity, while these guys usually prefer closer to 70%. Sprinkling warm water in the warm substrate can boost humidity easily- just don't let any areas really get wet. Russians also like warm humid hides- a hiding place near a well-watered live plant, or a clay pot hiding place where a jug drips water on the clay all day, etc.

If this does not help, let me know or try the forums at http://ww.turtleforum.com They can often help as well.


For good info, try-
- http://www.russiantortoise.org
- http://www.tortoisetrust.org