# should I worry? (loss of appetite)



## Orpexo (Jun 2, 2011)

Hi everyone,

I'm a bit worried about koopa, my nearly 2 year old boettgeri hermann tortoise.
I got her end of last summer and this is my first tortoise. I never had a problem, she only had worms. You can see the inside of her habitat in this topic i made a few days ago. Temperatures are 24Â°C at one end and 32Â°C at the other end. There is a uvb tube and a basking spot., there is an opuntia and a kalanchoe in her habitat, but she does not eat it. She hibernated this winter in a box, in my basement. Exepted during her hibernation, she gained steadily approx. 8 grams and 4 mm per month. She always have been very active and eating lots. 

When I found out she had worms (from a fecal test), my vet gave me some drontal-P to deworm her. I treated her 1 or 2 month before hibernation. 1 or 2 month after hibernation I did a second fecal test and find out the dewormer has not been effective. I choose to treat her myself with panacur bought from internet.

During april she received 3 doses of approx 6mg Fenbendazole diluted in water, injected in a small peice of fruit, with a approx 10 days interval. (At that time she was 80 grams, and sized 72mm). I didn't make another fecal test since then, but i beleive the worms are gone because I found lots in her poop.

The problem appeared during april while receiving panacur: she lost her appetite. Not completly, but she eats only maybe a third of what she used to. At first I didn't pay attention, I tough it was a side effect from the dewormer. But its been more than 5 weeks now and she is still eating very little:/ She is still active, spends a lot of time trying to climb the walls of her habitat to flee...

Koopa is now 72 grams in weight, 72mm in size. Her weigth is stable. Her weigth and size curves are flat since april (I weigth and mesure her every couple of weeks).

Am I worrying to much? She eats a bit and is active. Maybe she eats less because she doesnt have to feed the worms? But I decided to post here because the fact that her growth stopped bothers me. Or is it normal for torts to stop growing for a couple of month once in a while?

Another sympton is that she refuses to eat dandelions since april. Or it may be a coincidence. She eats different kinds of chicory, chicory salad, a bit of clover, radish leaves sometimes, lamb-lettuce. She is soaked every couple of days in warm water.

Also she started drinking. She never drank before (actually she drank once when she woke up from hibernation, but no other exption). I beleive she used to have enough water in her food, but now that she eats less she needs to drink to be hydrated.

If I give her a fruit, she would run for it and eat like a pig... but after that she will not eat at all for two to three days, so I try not to do that.
I tried all kinds of tricks to make her eat more greens. Like rubbing her weed leafs on a fruit slice to stimulate her appetite. She would sniff everywhere to find the fruit, but won't it more of the greens. I also tried to pass her weeds in a mixer with a small portion of fruit, she gives the same answer.


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## dmmj (Jun 2, 2011)

A loss of appetite could mean several things, but according to your post she is still eating? just not as much, I don't have hermans but as long as she is still eating I would not worry to muh, plus climate can play a role in this I don't know where you are but if your climate is like mine here in california you know that the summer so far has been cooler and I have noticed a diminishing appetite plus the panacur could also cause a loss of appetite, how long ago did you worm her? Let her drink while it is true they do get some water from their food, I always have a dish of water for them to drink when they feel like it.


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## Steve Bell (Jun 2, 2011)

It is not need to be worried . Actually it is relates with animal's behavior problem as same like it happens some times in humans.It will automatically change after few days.


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## Orpexo (Jun 2, 2011)

Thx for the replies. She got the panacur almost two month ago. The temperature did not change since she is indoor.

I'll try to not worry too much but I am really looking forward to see her taking some weight again.


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## Tom (Jun 2, 2011)

Does she ever get sunshine? Sometimes the UV from real unfiltered sunshine can be an appetite stimulant. Try feeding her in an outside pen. Those UV tubes are often ineffective and this MIGHT be a long term lack of UV problem. The fact that its occurring in conjunction with the panacur might be a coincidence.

The possibility of an overdose also strikes me, so I'd soak everyday, just to be safe. If there is such a problem, daily soaking will help flush everything faster.


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## Yvonne G (Jun 2, 2011)

Steve Bell said:


> It is not need to be worried . Actually it is relates with animal's behavior problem as same like it happens some times in humans.It will automatically change after few days.



Hi Steve Bell:

Won't you please take a few minutes to start a new thread in the "introductions" section of the forum and tell us a bit about yourself and where you're from?


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## Terry Allan Hall (Jun 2, 2011)

I 2nd Tom's suggestion about getting her some real sunlight...UV lights lose effectiveness in as little as 6 months, and can never really be as healthful are the real thing.

As little as a few hours a week'll help, but a few hours a day is optimal...try that and see if her appetite doesn't improve.

And cut out the fruit, other than about once a month....sure, she loves it, just like I love apple pie and Lowenbrau, but in neither case are any of these a good dietary staple!


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## Orpexo (Jul 12, 2011)

Sorry to bring back a very old thread up the list. But I have some good news I wanted to share.

You guys were right, since two weeks koopa eats like a pig. Nothing changed in her environment and maintenance, she just started to eat a lot without apparent reason. One down side is that she is less active, after eating like gargantua she feels sleepy and naps for long times.

I now ask myself if I am letting her eat too much. Ironic isn't it? )


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## ascott (Jul 12, 2011)

That is wonderful....I would still get her out into the sunshine at least an hour each day....it is still a wonderful thing for them to feel that sun


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## Orpexo (Jul 12, 2011)

She does get a bit of natural sun, in the morning i open the windows and the inclination of the sun is right for about one hour. It s not sunny everyday tough ^^


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## lynnedit (Jul 12, 2011)

They even get UV if it is cloudy, she can be outside if >16C, as their shells will warm up even more than ambient temperatures, especially if on gravel or a basking slate or paver.
Glad she is eating, they do seem to have their own built in patterns. We worry and they just do their thing!


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