Box Turtle and Tortoise Discussion :: My Tortoise Keeps knocking over his food bowl help

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Post Posted: Sun Nov 27, 2011 8:18 pm   My Tortoise Keeps knocking over his food bowl help

Hey guys I just got a Russian Tortoise a few days ago, and Homer keeps knocking over the food bowl and making his food and water bowls dirty. I finally got fed up with it and just took out the food bowl and just left the food in a little pile in one corner of the set up. Im ready to take out the water bowl too and just bathe him or squirt him with a squirt bottle for water. What should I do?! Please help
55 gallon
4 baby RES all 2 inches genders unknown
4 cats(Simba, Nala, Dot, and Freeway)
and my husband

1 Baby Russian Tortoise Gender Uknown size:2 inches or so Name: Pancake
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TurtleGirl1985
 
Posts: 536
Joined: Aug 10, 2011
Location: perris ca
Gender: Female

Post Posted: Mon Nov 28, 2011 9:38 pm   Re: My Tortoise Keeps knocking over his food bowl help

Taking away water sounds like a very bad idea...
"Always provide your tortoise with a water dish large enough to soak in. Change the water daily and/or if soiled. Often RT’s will use their water dish as a toilet. If you see a white discharge when your tortoise poops this is urates. Urates are excess proteins being excreted. As long as they are coming out looking more like slime they are okay, this means your tortoise is hydrated. If they begin to get pasty or gritty the tortoise is dehydrated and should be soaked more often and also check your substrate to make sure it’s not drying out."

What is your substrate like? It shouldn't be so damp that it sticks to everything, especially the leafy greens tortoises eat. Are you giving him fruit by chance? That will get dirty quickly and it's bad for him anyways.
"Russian tortoise diet consists of all healthy greens. They need a high fiber, low protein diet. Never give your RT fruit of any kind except for Cactus pear. Fruit has the tendency to disrupt the gut flora and cause a parasite bloom in RT’s. Following is a partial list of good greens for your tort.

Turnip greens, dandelion, chicory, endive, escarole, red or green leaf lettuce, radicchio, romaine, mustard greens, collard greens, watercress"

http://www.turtlerescues.com/russian_tortoise_care.htm
That's a care sheet my brother recommended who keeps Russians tortoises. He said it's not complete, but it's a good start.
Last edited by Kurtni on Tue Nov 29, 2011 4:18 pm, edited 1 time in total.
3 RES- Sajko, Lajzi, and Nacho
2 Kitty Cats- Lolcat and Bear
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Kurtni
 
Posts: 234
Joined: May 17, 2008
Location: St. Louis, MO
Gender: Female

Post Posted: Mon Nov 28, 2011 10:40 pm   Re: My Tortoise Keeps knocking over his food bowl help

My Subtrate is a mix of sand and coconut fiber. I have been giving him a mix of tortoise pellets, leafy greens, carrots and apples. My subtrate does seem messy its moist but not too wet. but he likes to dig a hole big enough for him to cover his entire shell. He also likes to climb up the sides alot. I took out the food bowl and just put a pile of the food in a corner but he does get it covered in the subtrate weither its in a bowl or not. I need to get actually food and water bowls I think . Also his poop isnt white it looks more like slime. Should I change the subtrate? Ive tried a mix or alfalfa pellets and hay but the hay scared me with the heat lamp. Just let me know what i should do different?
55 gallon
4 baby RES all 2 inches genders unknown
4 cats(Simba, Nala, Dot, and Freeway)
and my husband

1 Baby Russian Tortoise Gender Uknown size:2 inches or so Name: Pancake
User avatar
TurtleGirl1985
 
Posts: 536
Joined: Aug 10, 2011
Location: perris ca
Gender: Female

Post Posted: Tue Nov 29, 2011 4:20 pm   Re: My Tortoise Keeps knocking over his food bowl help

Maybe you could get a heavy ceramic dog bowl he cannot turn over so the food stays out of the dirt. Is it a big deal if it gets dirty anyways? Hay and alfalfa pellets are edible, right?

I've never been the primary care giver of a Russian Tortoise (my brother just had one) so I'm not entirely sure, I'm just going off that care sheet. Hopefully someone experienced replies.
3 RES- Sajko, Lajzi, and Nacho
2 Kitty Cats- Lolcat and Bear
User avatar
Kurtni
 
Posts: 234
Joined: May 17, 2008
Location: St. Louis, MO
Gender: Female

Post Posted: Tue Nov 29, 2011 4:46 pm   Re: My Tortoise Keeps knocking over his food bowl help

well i will get actually food and waterbowls today but so far things have been good hes eating now and hasnt knocked over anything. Thanks for your help. Plus I read that a little of the sand and coconut fiber is ok to be injested and will just go right through them.
55 gallon
4 baby RES all 2 inches genders unknown
4 cats(Simba, Nala, Dot, and Freeway)
and my husband

1 Baby Russian Tortoise Gender Uknown size:2 inches or so Name: Pancake
User avatar
TurtleGirl1985
 
Posts: 536
Joined: Aug 10, 2011
Location: perris ca
Gender: Female


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