# help - tortoise losing weight.



## jeffjeff (Oct 6, 2014)

help i don't know what to do. sorry for the long post but i figured as much info as poss will help you to help me . i thought every thing was going well that was until this past few weeks, to be honest i wasn't overly concerned until i weighed him today. sparky has been a bit finicky with food and lazy for as long as i've had him i put this down to him being only a year or so old and his weight was stable at 47grams. but lately he's been very lazy. if i didn't take him out for a soak he wouldn't hardly move. i did think it could be him wanting to hibernate. i don't want him to as im not confidant. so i've kept his lights on and heat up. and i've been taking him out every day and soaking him. but he's lost 8 grams he feels so light and when i put him in his bath he seems buoyant i'msure if put him in deeper water he would float. his temps are the same as always 97 under his heat lamp and 75 ish at the cool end that's also about the average room temp . it only drops a couple degrees at night. even after his soaks he goes right back to where he's been hiding. i managed to get him to eat a few bites of squash but that's all. his eyes are as clear as always no runny nose or any thing els obvious. he's pooped (not much tho) witch looked fine. i assume him not eating much explains the lack of them. his uv light light is fairly new a t5 ho 6%. 13ich above him with a reflector so his enclosure is nice and bright. that's every thing i can think of that might help. can any one recommend how to boost his appetite/ activity level or any thing that might help. i don't know how much weight he can afford to lose before it becomes dangerous. if it helps he's about 65mm long. thanks


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## lismar79 (Oct 6, 2014)

Have you tried Mazuri? The old formula is still sold on Mazuris website and seems to be a favorite. Its also a good weight gainer.


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## jeffjeff (Oct 6, 2014)

lismar79 said:


> Have you tried Mazuri? The old formula is still sold on Mazuris website and seems to be a favorite. Its also a good weight gainer.



thanks for the reply i've tried to find it but seems we don't have it in the uk. are any of the other makes worth a try? komodo seems to be the most common and then t-rex, i've never fed any thing other than weeds and flowers.


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## jeffjeff (Oct 6, 2014)

jeffjeff said:


> help i don't know what to do. sorry for the long post but i figured as much info as poss will help you to help me . i thought every thing was going well that was until this past few weeks, to be honest i wasn't overly concerned until i weighed him today. sparky has been a bit finicky with food and lazy for as long as i've had him i put this down to him being only a year or so old and his weight was stable at 47grams. but lately he's been very lazy. if i didn't take him out for a soak he wouldn't hardly move. i did think it could be him wanting to hibernate. i don't want him to as im not confidant. so i've kept his lights on and heat up. and i've been taking him out every day and soaking him. but he's lost 8 grams he feels so light and when i put him in his bath he seems buoyant i'msure if put him in deeper water he would float. his temps are the same as always 97 under his heat lamp and 75 ish at the cool end that's also about the average room temp . it only drops a couple degrees at night. even after his soaks he goes right back to where he's been hiding. i managed to get him to eat a few bites of squash but that's all. his eyes are as clear as always no runny nose or any thing els obvious. he's pooped (not much tho) witch looked fine. i assume him not eating much explains the lack of them. his uv light light is fairly new a t5 ho 6%. 13ich above him with a reflector so his enclosure is nice and bright. that's every thing i can think of that might help. can any one recommend how to boost his appetite/ activity level or any thing that might help. i don't know how much weight he can afford to lose before it becomes dangerous. if it helps he's about 65mm long. also he's a russian thanks


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## jeffjeff (Oct 6, 2014)

i forgot the obvious  he's a russian.


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## puffy137 (Oct 6, 2014)

Hi Jeff, guess its getting chilly up in Cumbria. My Tortoises are used to days of 49*C , now we are down to 39*-40*C they have become lethargic. 
The ones that do manage to rouse themselves from drowsiness will climb over each other to reach a Romaine lettuce leaf.


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## lismar79 (Oct 6, 2014)

I looked through some old threads & found UK members use Komodo Dragon food instead of Mazuri... 
Maybe look into it to see if it meets Russian diet requirements. 
Mine has slow down too & I have been doing the same routine as you are. But mine is not a lil one so I am not too worried about the weight.
I will second the romaine thing. Its the only thing currently I can get her to nibble on so I have been sprinkling supplements onto that & pumkin.


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## jeffjeff (Oct 6, 2014)

out side its around 12*c so what he's doing is normal? i'm still new to tortoise keeping. i only got him the beginning of march. thanks for the replies


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## lismar79 (Oct 6, 2014)

If you look in the Russian section you will see many many post recently about Russians slowing down recently. The only concern I would have with yours would be what you pointed out about the weight since yours is young. I would keep doing what your doing & maybe expand into food offerings to tempt your guy. I would also add a can (or jar) of squash or carrot baby food to your soaking water to help get something in him.


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## jeffjeff (Oct 6, 2014)

thanks alot, so relived to hear its normal . i kind of assumed if not hibernating that keeping the lights and heat up that they would carry on as normal. i'll start adding squash and carrot food to the soaks. would adding blended weeds and flowers to the water be worth while?


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## Yourlocalpoet (Oct 6, 2014)

jeffjeff said:


> thanks for the reply i've tried to find it but seems we don't have it in the uk. are any of the other makes worth a try? komodo seems to be the most common and then t-rex, i've never fed any thing other than weeds and flowers.



I believe Nutrazu is the UK equivalent of Mazuri.


Sent from my iPhone using Tortoise Forum


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## Yellow Turtle01 (Oct 6, 2014)

Mine has been getting 'lazy' too  
I don't think greens would mix into the water well... just me  Something you could do to help him eat normally would be to give him a carrot or something, shred it very finely, and springlike it over his greens... and as he's eating the (carrot) he'll get some greens too... 
Hope he eats


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## lismar79 (Oct 6, 2014)

I just tricked mine into eating a mulberry leaf by wrapping romaine around it. Sprinkled with vitamins


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## jeffjeff (Oct 7, 2014)

firstly thankyou every one for the help its much appreciated. i couldn't find baby food that was just carrot or butternut squash it all had other ingredients, so i bought a butternut squash and made my own. i soaked him in it for about 20 mins. felt a bit like i was soaking him is soup lol. he was a bit more active after wards and even had some of the romanian lettuce.


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## Maggie Cummings (Oct 7, 2014)

jeffjeff said:


> thanks for the reply i've tried to find it but seems we don't have it in the uk. are any of the other makes worth a try? komodo seems to be the most common and then t-rex, i've never fed any thing other than weeds and flowers.



It's made by Purina.....Make sure you keep the light on from 12 to 13 hours a day and make sure you soak him and feed him daily....


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## johnsonnboswell (Oct 7, 2014)

Many of them are influenced by the ambient daylight. Are you running the UVB light 14 hours a day?


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## jeffjeff (Oct 7, 2014)

his lights are on a timer and they stay on for 13hrs. should i increase it to 14?


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## lismar79 (Oct 7, 2014)

That would be up to you. I run mine from 7am to 10 pm & have not changed it. I did increase ambient temps in the room though to increase heat.


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## Magilla504 (Oct 7, 2014)

To help keep my temps right, I close my air vents around my indoor enclosure . Seems to help


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## jeffjeff (Oct 8, 2014)

thanks. i'll increase it an hour see if it helps. he's still not eating much.a couple bites here and there. i'm going to continue the food soaks and keep offering him weeds ect just in case he decides to eat. that's if i can get rid of the darn slugs that are eating the winter food supply as fast as its growing. they seem hell bent on eating every thing in the green house grrr. time to order some diatomaceous earth me thinks


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## Jabuticaba (Oct 8, 2014)

jeffjeff said:


> his lights are on a timer and they stay on for 13hrs. should i increase it to 14?


Twelve to 14 is good. Here's another question: Do you keep the whole room as bright as possible? I find that the enclosure lights alone aren't enough to keep my tortoises active. They act more like spotlighting. Animals that hibernate/brumate are especially sensitive to the changes in the horizon. The enclosure lights might be bright and produce UVB, but if the overall environment isn't bright enough, long enough, they might start to slow down. 


May
THBs: Darwin & Merlin
Aussies: Dax, Vegas, & Cricket
IG: @AUSSOMEAUSSIES


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## jeffjeff (Oct 8, 2014)

yep the room is bright. his enclosure is close to a window and gets plenty light. not directly. its in the corner next to the window if that makes sense. the window is south facing so gets sun light all day. he stayed out and basked for an hour or so today after his morning soak and eat a tiny bit. which is a small improvement and he must have been out at some point while i was out as he's asleep in a different place.


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## ascott (Oct 8, 2014)

Also, species of tortoise that are natural brumaters can individual have a strong drive to do what they are designed to do...all of the lights, all of the heat and business as usual methods will not trick the tortoise...lol...so if you are going to overwinter the tort and if you happen to have a tort with a strong drive to rest for the season----then be patient and you may have to be the one that is pulling the tort out each day..placing in for soaks, placing in basking spot and trying to get the tort to eat....if you overwinter the tort and all set up is maintained with the exception that the tort is not eating---your result will be a tortoise that drops some weight....


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## pepsiandjac (Oct 8, 2014)

jeffjeff said:


> thanks for the reply i've tried to find it but seems we don't have it in the uk. are any of the other makes worth a try? komodo seems to be the most common and then t-rex, i've never fed any thing other than weeds and flowers.


http://www.custommyviv.com/mazuri-tortoise-diet-38-c.asp
Jeff i bought some off here last week ,or if you want i'll send you a bit to try him with


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## jeffjeff (Oct 9, 2014)

pepsiandjac said:


> http://www.custommyviv.com/mazuri-tortoise-diet-38-c.asp
> Jeff i bought some off here last week ,or if you want i'll send you a bit to try him with


thats brill thanks i'll order it today.


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## puffy137 (Oct 9, 2014)

jeffjeff said:


> thanks. i'll increase it an hour see if it helps. he's still not eating much.a couple bites here and there. i'm going to continue the food soaks and keep offering him weeds ect just in case he decides to eat. that's if i can get rid of the darn slugs that are eating the winter food supply as fast as its growing. they seem hell bent on eating every thing in the green house grrr. time to order some diatomaceous earth me thinks


 Why not try a beer trap for your slugs, never has the problem myself , but I seem to remember in UK they sunk a cup of beer into the earth & the slugs drank it, fell in & drowned . Easier on the environment too, cheers !


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## jeffjeff (Oct 9, 2014)

puff 137 said:


> Why not try a beer trap for your slugs, never has the problem myself , but I seem to remember in UK they sunk a cup of beer into the earth & the slugs drank it, fell in & drowned . Easier on the environment too, cheers !


i've ready that too but never tried it tho.


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## puffy137 (Oct 9, 2014)

jeffjeff said:


> i've ready that too but never tried it tho.


well it wouldn't hurt to try. I think its best to try the old remedies first. I remember my Granny pouring boiling water over ants . I should follow my own advice,today I sprayed insecticide on ants near my tortoises.......


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## jeffjeff (Oct 9, 2014)

puff 137 said:


> well it wouldn't hurt to try.


i wonder what drunk slug would be like? cant see them falling over much? lol


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## puffy137 (Oct 9, 2014)

jeffjeff said:


> i wonder what drunk slug would be like? cant see them falling over much? lol


 Its many years since I lived in UK, so I can't imagine what they would do. If you ever do try it , let us know the results.


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## jshaw9_ (Oct 29, 2014)

Just bought some nutrazu for my leopard, he went straight for it


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## WillTort2 (Oct 29, 2014)

Try feeding dandelion flowers, stems and leaves.


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## Louise C (Nov 1, 2014)

I don't want to panic you or anything Jeffjeff but I had a baby Russian I got in March from an online breeder/supplier in the UK. He would be the exact same age as your baby tort now if he had lived. He had reduced eating and subdued movements for a week before I took him to the vets and he had some antibiotic shots but didn't pick up as expected over the next two weeks despite changes in husbandry as recommended on this site.

He ended up getting a feeding tube surgically inserted but it still didn't save him...he died a week after the op from an infection called mycoplasma which is highly infectious in tortoises. It should be rare in captive bred as they need to be kept together to get it. I reported this back to the breeder/supplier post mortem to warn him that the hatchlings from the same batch will all have the same infection which can lie dormant from months to years. The company is the UK's biggest supplier of tortoises.

If your tort doesn't pick up and still looses weight then I'd probably get him to the vet and maybe mention mycoplasma as a possibility? There is a special antibiotic they have to use for it. If you suspect he came from the same supplier I am hinting at then I would get them to the vet asap.


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