Reptile & Amphibian Forums

My friend has a Russian tortoise who has become lethargic and doesnt care to eat, she bought her to the vet and had a fecal test done-it came back with parasites so they treated the tortoise but her behavior hasnt changed-she's lethargic, isnt eating much if anything and just wants to sleep-my friend says she never hibernated this year, could it be she is going into/through a hibernation period.She has had the tortoise for over a year now,the behavior has been going on for about a month now. Any advice is appreciated

Is it being kept warm enough, (or too warm), right food, proper hydration, etc.?

check www.russiantortoise.net for details on care.

Best of luck with the tortoise!

temp is Ok, food is Ok, no sign of dehydration-we read somewhere that russians slow down in july?anything we could try to get her to eat?

Mine do not get lethargic until around October, and that's when the weather gets cold.

Try food with red/orange/yellow.

Dandelion flowers, hibiscus flowers, squash and carrot.

Mix it in with good, green items like clover, dandelion leaves, endive, etc.

If the tort is staying indoors, make sure that the light levels are fairly high. Not just an incandescent bulb in one corner. When my torts are indoors I use an incandescent bulb to create a hot spot and then one or two fluorescent bulbs to raise ambient light levels. I generally have lights on about 12 hours a day. Of course they react much better to real sunlight.