Heat and UVA/UVB light! (Buy a 24 hour timer. They're cheap, and more consistent than anyone with a job or school could ever be.) Do you know what breed of tortoise he is, specifically? Shelly's happy at room temperature, but he needs 30-35 to really feel warm. In the winter, when it's lukewarm in my place, I have to aim my space heater in his direction to get him to move around. I think Kale has a high calcium/phosphorus ratio. It's okay on occasion, but it's not not great all the time. When I'm lazy I pick up those plastic tubs of organic "spring mix" at the store. He probably shouldn't eat the spinach, but I put the calcium powder on it to balance things out. Oh, and apples.
My tortoise eats usually organic spring mix with apple and carrot slices. A couple months ago I let him play with my cat, who's at least ten times his size. Three guesses who bit who on the tail, and who wont go near the other one now.
Sheldon's adjusting wonderfully. He's got a routine now so I figure he feels pretty comfortable in his habitat. I have a UVA/UVB lamp on the way. Oh he's a Russian tortoise btw. I thought I made a post about it but I can't find it. Also, I ordered this: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001OVGMLK/ref=oh_o02_s00_i01_details But, it's too long for the tank. I need to get it cut in half. I couldn't find anything else that was wide enough for him to go into. Do y'all figure someone at Home Depot would cut that up for me? Or I could buy a saw, since it's just a hollowed out log. Hmm...
Send it back, get a flexible log house. They're bendy. He'll grow. Link to a picture of what I'm talking about: http://www.seapets.co.uk/gallery/667791.jpg
He's not very adventurous. I've taken him out of the tank a few times and all he does is go to a corner or go back to the tank and sniffle and complain. Guess he likes his tank!
He might be cold, or just nervous. After he got adjusted, Shelly started trying to scale the walls of his container. That's when I let him run around on the floor. He'll be slow while he's figuring out the terrain, but after that he'll run like a maniac when he sees something that interests him. If you lose track of him, he's probably found somewhere dark and fallen asleep.
When I house sat a turtle, they had me feed it every other day, sometimes ham! And I turned the light on and off, and in the tank was a surface like yours and then water instead of wood chips. It would hang out on the surface and in the water. But it also seemed to try to climb the side of the tank too. They have since released it in a pond.....maybe it is hibernating! I am enjoying reading these stories.
