# abnormal behavior



## Isa (Jun 10, 2009)

Hello everyone,
Hermy is acting weird since before yesterday. I though it was because he went outside on sunday but now, I am not too sure about that anymore. On Monday, he went to bed (in his hide) at around 1PM (my fiance is home this week so he can keep an eye on Hermy  ). Yesterday, He went in a hide on the cold side, the hide is on a ceramic tile, he never goes in there, he always stays in the hot side. He stayed in his hide from 12 to 6Pm (when I got home I put him in a bath) After that I gave him some butternut sqash and he ate chicory. When I picked him up to put him in his bath yesterday, he was so scared, all his little body was in his shell. 
This morning, he did not want to leave his hide so I put him under the spot light. 2 minutes later, he went in his little pool and stayed there for 3 or 4 minutes. He was trying to pee or poo so hard. It was very sad to see because nothing would come out  and he looked so tired. After he went out of his pool and went uner his light. Now my fiance just called me and told me that Hermy is back in the hide in the cold side (on the ceramic tile!!). 
I am worried, he eats, his nostrils are clear but he does not look top shape. When he went outside, he ate some soil with mini rocks in it (2 bites, when I saw him doing that, I stopped him) Could it be an impaction?


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## Stazz (Jun 10, 2009)

Awww Isa !!!!! I'm so sorry Hermy is acting differently, I can understand how worried you are, I would be too. Maybe its nothing, but it does seem strange for him. Just wait and see what someone else says. I will pray for him that he'll be okay. Maybe the mini rocks are stuck in his tummy blocking it up? Maybe a vet check is in order, thats what I'd do, but don't listen to me, see what the experts say! I will pray hard for him Isa, don't worry, he will be ok!


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## Isa (Jun 10, 2009)

Stazz said:


> Awww Isa !!!!! I'm so sorry Hermy is acting differently, I can understand how worried you are, I would be too. Maybe its nothing, but it does seem strange for him. Just wait and see what someone else says. I will pray for him that he'll be okay. Maybe the mini rocks are stuck in his tummy blocking it up? Maybe a vet check is in order, thats what I'd do, but don't listen to me, see what the experts say! I will pray hard for him Isa, don't worry, he will be ok!



Thanks Stace 
My fiance just called me and told me Hermy is now near under his spider plant in the cold side. I dont know why he stays in the cold side all day long. Just last week, he spend a good part of his day under his MVB. If he is still acting weird tonight, I will call the vet. At least, he still eats! I really hope it is nothing.


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## Greg T (Jun 10, 2009)

They do change their behaviors occasionally for some strange reason. One of mine always sits under a particular bush during the day when outside, but every so often, she decides to just sleep out in the open, which she has been doing the last few days. I don't know why she changes, but she seems happy.

Just keep an eye on him and I bet he gets back to his usual ways soon.


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## Isa (Jun 10, 2009)

Greg T said:


> They do change their behaviors occasionally for some strange reason. One of mine always sits under a particular bush during the day when outside, but every so often, she decides to just sleep out in the open, which she has been doing the last few days. I don't know why she changes, but she seems happy.
> 
> Just keep an eye on him and I bet he gets back to his usual ways soon.



Thanks Greg, 
Yes, maybe it is just that he like the hide on the ceramic tile all of a sudden or maybe he feels like relaxing more than usual. My fiance and I will keep an eye on him.


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## Laura (Jun 10, 2009)

How hot is the hot side? 
He needs to eat to move frood thru and stay warm to digest...
Pumpkins is good to get things moving.. 
Keep soaking him and hope things get better soon..


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## Isa (Jun 10, 2009)

Laura said:


> How hot is the hot side?
> He needs to eat to move frood thru and stay warm to digest...
> Pumpkins is good to get things moving..
> Keep soaking him and hope things get better soon..



Thanks Laura
The temps are:
94-95 under the MVB
81-82 hot side
72-73 cold side.
My fiance left already, so he can't put Hermy in the hot side . Hermy is in the cold side since 4 hours now. He is sleeping half in and half out his log. At least, he ate this morning. 
Tonight, I will wake him up for a bath and i will give him another one tomorrow morning before leaving for work.


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## tortoisenerd (Jun 10, 2009)

I would keep an eye on it--nothing sounds too worrisome yet. The straining reminded me of when Trevor passed a little stone. Lots of possibilities though. Best wishes.


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## Isa (Jun 11, 2009)

Thanks Kate,
That is what I thought (a stone).
Yesterday, he ate all his food, when I got home, he was in his hide in the hot side. I woke him up to give him a bath and he pooped, so the problem is not there.
he lost 3 grams in 3 days. But I do not know if it is just like that because he still eats his food.
My fiance just told me that Hermy was active this morning but that he tried to pee or poop, he told me that Hermy was forcing super hard .
I will give him a bath again tonight.
But at least he is active and he eats.


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## tortoisenerd (Jun 11, 2009)

If he keeps on forcing for more than a day or two and you've done the fiber and soaking, I'd personally take the tort to the vet for an xray or whatever. That's just me personally though, and I'm overprotective! Not sure what vet resources and money you have. I'm lucky my vet is cheap and knowledgeable. Best wishes.


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## Isa (Jun 12, 2009)

Hermy was doing kind of good yesterday . He ate like a piglet, he stayed in his hot side, he was active. When I got home, I put him in a bath, a couple of pieces of gritty urate passed. this morning he woke up early, so I thought everything would be ok now. But when I went to see him before leaving, he was forcing like crazy  I put him in a bath, and he had diarrhea . I will call the vet again today to see what she thinks .
I do not think I will change his substrate this weekend because I do not want to stress him out if he has something. I will wait for next saturday.


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## tortoisenerd (Jun 12, 2009)

Awww poor little Hermy.


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## Stazz (Jun 13, 2009)

Awwww little Hermy, Isa I hope he is okay. I will pray for you and for him! Shame, he's so cute.


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## Isa (Jun 14, 2009)

When I called the vet 2 days ago, she told me to wait because he is still basking and eat. Since yesterday, he is doing better. I guess I could say he is acting normal. I give him a bath everyday and yesterday, he passed gritty urates again. 
I am so happy that he is doing better  I really hope it is going to stay like that


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## Stazz (Jun 14, 2009)

YAY YAY YAY! I will hold thumbs that he keeps doing better and better


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## Isa (Jun 14, 2009)

Stazz said:


> YAY YAY YAY! I will hold thumbs that he keeps doing better and better



Thanks Stace


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## Stazz (Jun 14, 2009)

Always welcome my friend


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## tortoisenerd (Jun 14, 2009)

Great! Maybe the urates were just giving him issues! Have you fed anything higher in oxalic acid lately?


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## Isa (Jun 14, 2009)

tortoisenerd said:


> Great! Maybe the urates were just giving him issues! Have you fed anything higher in oxalic acid lately?



No, Lately, he have been eating escarole, romaine, chicory, radichio, watercress, spring mix. The only thing I can think of is the mazuri. I noticed that everytime he eats mazuri, I always see more urates than usual but never that gritty.


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## tortoisenerd (Jun 14, 2009)

That's weird because I wouldn't think the Mazuri has any oxalic acid, as greens do in varying amounts...I usually forget to feed Mazuri so Trevor hasn't had it too often. I really need to make a feeding schedule and stick to it.

None of those are high in oxalic acid. I had thought watercress was, but it's actually .31 (while spinach is .9 something for comparison), about the same as the other greens. So, I don't see anything with the diet.

I had this issue with the stone awhile back with Trevor. I really didn't change his diet afterward, but the gritty urates went away and no more stones. It's a weird thing. That, and apparently the stones take awhile to form so dietary-wise, it would have been months back. Forgot about that for a bit!


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## Isa (Jun 14, 2009)

Thanks Kate 
I guess the important things to do when a tortoise pass some stones is soaking the tortoise an keep an eye on his behavior. Hermy was doing very good today, he looked like he was in a good mood .
On what site did you see the amount of oxalic acid of the greens?


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## tortoisenerd (Jun 14, 2009)

I use these sites, but haven't found the content for everything yet:

http://growingtaste.com/oxalicacid.shtml
http://www.chelonia.org/Articles/nutrientanalysis.htm
http://www.geocities.com/kyryah/tort2.html
http://www.turtlestuff.com/avoidthese.html


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## Isa (Jun 15, 2009)

tortoisenerd said:


> I use these sites, but haven't found the content for everything yet:
> 
> http://growingtaste.com/oxalicacid.shtml
> http://www.chelonia.org/Articles/nutrientanalysis.htm
> ...



Thanks a lot Kate


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