7 Reasons Why Your Russian Tortoise Is Not Eating

One of the most common problems people have with their tortoises is that they stop eating. I’ve also had this problem with some of my tortoises, and I know how unpleasant it can be. The good news is that it can usually be solved very easily. But before we can do anything, we first have to find out what’s the cause.

The most common reasons why a Russian Tortoise won’t eat are: stress, bad temperature, improper diet, pregnancy, and health problems.

Now let’s go over each case that I mentioned, and a few more and see what’s the source of the problem and what you can do to solve it, and get your tortoise back to normal.

Stress

This is the most common reason why tortoises stop eating

Russian tortoises get stressed very easily. They can get stressed by excessive noises, by other pets, by improper handling, and many other things.

If a tortoise gets stressed out, it will stop eating until they calm down, and most likely exhibit other strange behavior as well, like excessive digging, trying to climb out of the enclosure, hiding all the time, etc. or your tortoise might stop from doing anything at all.

All tortoises react differently to stress, so there is no sure way to tell what your tortoise will do if it’s stressed, but not eating is one of the most common responses.

Solving this problem is quite simple, just get rid of the stress source.

Finding the source is usually quite easy. Let me give you a few examples of what could stress your tortoise. A loud stereo system that is placed right next to the tank can cause a lot of stress for a tortoise. A cat or a dog that is always trying to get in the tank can also cause a lot of stress. Taking your tortoise and handling it aggressively can also be a stress source. The best way to figure out if something is stressing the tortoise is to try to put yourself in the tortoise’s place. If you think that something would stress you, then it definitely stresses the tortoise.

After you eliminate the stress sources, your russian tortoise should start to eat again soon.

Bad Basking Temperature

Tortoises are cold-blooded, which means that they can’t heat their body on their own, so they are dependent on the environmental temperature.

The basking temperature differs from species to species, but overall it’s around 90 degrees Fahrenheit (32 degrees Celsius).

If tortoises can’t bask properly, their survival instinct will activate, and they will prepare to hibernate or aestivate, depending on the temperature.

When temperatures get low, tortoises will stop eating, reduce their movement and basically prepare to sleep for a few months. But this only happens when temperatures get close to 60 degrees Fahrenheit (15 degrees Celsius), so if they are exposed to a constant temperature around 68 degrees Fahrenheit (20 degrees Celsius) they will be in this in between state where they won’t be too active, they won’t eat, but they won’t hibernate.

To solve this problem simply adjust the temperature of the basking area, if you want to know how to do that you can check out this guide where I will also tell you how far the heat bulb should be positioned, and how powerful the bulb should be: Guide for Lighting and Heating.

Bad Overall Temperature

There is one more temperature related problem that we need to cover. And this is the exact opposite of the last one.

The opposite of hibernation is aestivation, which is basically the same thing, but it happens when it’s too hot, not when it’s too cold.

One thing to keep in mind is that not all tortoises hibernate or aestivate in the wild, but this doesn’t mean that they can’t do so if the conditions are right.

If the problem is caused by the basking area, simply reduce the temperature by following the guide I linked to above. But if the high temperature is not caused by the basking area, you have a couple options.

The first option is to do nothing, if it’s just a heat wave that is causing this high temperature you can wait a few days or a week for it to pass, and your tortoise will start eating again after that. One week without food won’t harm your tortoise in any way, especially since it’s in the process of starting aestivation.

If you live in an area with very high overall temperatures, you could even let your tortoise aestivate for the summer. This is a completely normal thing to do for them.

The next option that you have is to move your tortoise to a colder room. Just make sure that if the room has an AC unit, the tortoise isn’t too close to the air that the unit blows, as it will decrease the temperature of your tortoise too much.

Improper Diet

One fairly common reason why russian tortoises stop eating is an improper diet.

This is quite an extensive subject, so I will only cover the basics. Which should be enough to know if your tortoise has a proper diet or not.

The diet of a tortoise should contain three things: fruits, vegetables and pellets.

Fruits

Most fruits are good to eat, but there are some that aren’t good for tortoises due to the high amount of phosphorus or citric acid that they contain. Citric acid irritates the stomach of a tortoise, and phosphorus blocks the absorption of calcium, shock is essential for a healthy bone structure and shell.

So here is a list of fruit that you should avoid:

Raisin
Prune
Date
Avocado
Guava
Banana
Coconut
Kiwi
Persimmon
Cantaloupe
Apricot
Pomegranate
Honeydew
Nectarine
Mulberry
Peach
Orange
Lemon
Lime
Grapefruit

So if you don’t find a fruit on this list, it’s good to eat.

If you want a more in depth explanation about fruits and tortoises, you can always check out my article: Can Turtles Eat Fruits? (How Much, How Often + List)

Vegetables

Just like fruits, vegetables are great for tortoises, but there are some that contain a lot of phosphorus. Besides those other vegetables that you should avoid are like: iceberg salad, cucumbers, eggplants, and mushrooms. While those vegetables won’t harm your tortoise in any way, they also have little to no nutritional value for your tortoise.

Here is a list with some vegetables that contain a high amount of phosphorus, which you should avoid:

Corn
Tomatoes
Asparagus
Beets
Peppers
Pumpkin
Cauliflower
Brussels Sprouts
Carrots
Broccoli
Sweet potatoes
Green Beans
Squash
Romaine Lettuce
Turnips

So if you don’t find a vegetable on this list, it’s good to eat.

Pellets

Pellets are a great addition to the diet of any tortoise. As they contain a lot of nutrients in a small quantity of food. So you can give your tortoise all the nutrients that it needs without overfeeding it.

But as you can imagine there can be some significant differences based on the brand of the food, so if you want to know which those differences are and which one is the best I would recommend you to check out this article where I and the rest of the members of Turtleowner.com, choose the best tortoise food on the market, based on our years of experience and a lot of research: Buyer’s Guide: Best Tortoise Food.

Scared

If you just got your russian tortoise, then it’s very normal for them to not eat during their first days in their new home.

A lot of new owners get very scared when they don’t see their tortoise eating in the first few days, but this is actually something quite common.

Moving to a new home can be very stressful for a tortoise. They will go from a small cramped enclosure, that they share with multiple tortoises, to a new spacious enclosure where they can live alone. And if they were sent through the mail, they will be even more scared.

If this is the case for your tortoise, you just have to let your tortoise calm down a little. After about a week, your tortoise will get used to the new environment and will start eating. There is nothing you can do in this case, just make sure that you offer them food every day, in case they decide that it’s safe, and want to eat.

Pregnant

A pregnant tortoise will act very strange, she will stop eating, she will stop basking, she will try to dig everywhere, etc.

If your tortoise is pregnant, there is nothing that you can do to make it eat. Just provide food for her, and if she wants to eat, she will eat.

The first thing you have to do if you want to know if your tortoise is really pregnant is to find out if it’s a male or a female, so you should read this article that is going to tell you if that’s the case: How to Tell If a Tortoise Is Male or Female (with pictures).

And if your tortoise is a female, and you want to know if she is pregnant, then you should read this article where you will find all the info you need: How to Tell if Your Tortoise Is Pregnant (with pictures).

One important thing about tortoises is that they will get pregnant even if there is no male around. The difference is that the eggs won’t be fertilized, so no baby will come out of them. So even if you only have a female tortoise, she can still lay eggs.

Illness

The last reason why your russian tortoise is not eating is that it could be ill.

There are a lot of illnesses out there that can affect a tortoise. And one of the most common responses of any sick animal is to stop eating.

So my suggestion is that none of the other reasons above seem to be the problem, is to go to the vet.

While I had to deal with my fair share of sick tortoises, I would advise everybody to go to the vet when health problems are involved.

The last thing I want to add is to make sure that you choose a vet that specializes in tortoises or exotic animals in general. So make sure to call before going in with your tortoises.