After hibernation/brumation...

So hey there.

Sunday was the day we released our tort from hibernation to again be amongst the living. As it was her first, it was quite exciting.

All went relatively well, but we have noticed certain physical marks that seem to have appeared during hibernation, brumation, whatever.
I don't know how well it is visible in the pictures...

I would describe it as a white smearing around her mouth, I have heard about mouth rot, but it didn't seem like these white thingys were inside her mouth but just outside.

I have heard about sunken eyes being a sign of illness. Is that the case?

Additionally, she seems to be heavily lethargic. I read that it is completely normal that she might not eat until one week awake or so, but she's rarely moving and often sleeping.

Since yesterday, we bathe her twice a day and will do that in the next days as well.

Granted, we might have hibernated her too long or maybe even too early as she is just one and a half years old.

Advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

Sunken eyes are a sign of dehydration. Your tortoise needs to be soaked twice a day for at least 30 minutes in warm water that is deep enough to come just up over the join between the shell and the plastron (undershell)

I can’t see the marks you are talking about... close-ups are needed.

As for the lethargy, she needs to be able to bask at 35-37C in order to raise her body temperature so she can be active. You may need to adjust your basking lamp to make sure she has this,

JoesMum said:

Sunken eyes are a sign of dehydration. Your tortoise needs to be soaked twice a day for at least 30 minutes in warm water that is deep enough to come just up over the join between the shell and the plastron (undershell)

I can’t see the marks you are talking about... close-ups are needed.

As for the lethargy, she needs to be able to bask at 35-37C in order to raise her body temperature so she can be active. You may need to adjust your basking lamp to make sure she has this,

Click to expand...

Thank you very much! I will continue to soak her and will adjust her basking spot.

I will try to send close-ups as soon as possible.

Ok, some more things.
She has now had another soak. During this soak, she repeatedly opened and closed her mouth. I assumed she was drinking, but I don't think she was dipping her mouth in the water. Maybe she was, and I'm just blind. Anyways, every time she opened and closed her mouth, I noticed bubbles coming out of her nose. I have read that this could either be a cold, or a sign that she was in water, basically.

When I placed her back in the basking spot, she tried to eat some greens, which got me excited, but she seemed to have trouble biting it off. I don't think she has yet urinated or pooped. Doesn't this have to happen first?

On the outside of her plastron, I noticed a slight red-brown color. I will send pictures. Is that even normal?
Also, how soft is the plastron supposed to be?

I also have pictures of the white stuff. It is barely visible on the pictures, but it seems like the best view I could provide. By the way, it seemed to disappear as long as she was bathing. After that, it was there again.

I know it is quite a lot, but I would be extremely thankful if someone took the time to answer it.

Again, thanks in advance.

Shaman of Dusk said:

Ok, some more things.
She has now had another soak. During this soak, she repeatedly opened and closed her mouth. I assumed she was drinking, but I don't think she was dipping her mouth in the water. Maybe she was, and I'm just blind. Anyways, every time she opened and closed her mouth, I noticed bubbles coming out of her nose. I have read that this could either be a cold, or a sign that she was in water, basically.

When I placed her back in the basking spot, she tried to eat some greens, which got me excited, but she seemed to have trouble biting it off. I don't think she has yet urinated or pooped. Doesn't this have to happen first?

On the outside of her plastron, I noticed a slight red-brown color. I will send pictures. Is that even normal?
Also, how soft is the plastron supposed to be?

I also have pictures of the white stuff. It is barely visible on the pictures, but it seems like the best view I could provide. By the way, it seemed to disappear as long as she was bathing. After that, it was there again.

I know it is quite a lot, but I would be extremely thankful if someone took the time to answer it.

Again, thanks in advance.View attachment 270600View attachment 270603View attachment 270604

Click to expand...

It's much more visible in this shot below.

Shaman of Dusk said:

Ok, some more things.
She has now had another soak. During this soak, she repeatedly opened and closed her mouth. I assumed she was drinking, but I don't think she was dipping her mouth in the water. Maybe she was, and I'm just blind. Anyways, every time she opened and closed her mouth, I noticed bubbles coming out of her nose. I have read that this could either be a cold, or a sign that she was in water, basically.

Click to expand...

Tortoise airways are connected different to ours. Their nostrils lead directly into the mouth. Bubbles while bathing and drinking are completely normal.

When I placed her back in the basking spot, she tried to eat some greens, which got me excited, but she seemed to have trouble biting it off. I don't think she has yet urinated or pooped. Doesn't this have to happen first?

Click to expand...

In my experience, they rarely eat properly until a pee has happened. We had Joe 47 years. He would eat little until he did a massive pee with a load of urate ... a poop may or may not happen at the same time.

On the outside of her plastron, I noticed a slight red-brown color. I will send pictures.
Is that even normal?

Click to expand...

Possibly just staining from substrate. It’s hard to tell. Keep an eye on it.

Also, how soft is the plastron supposed to be?

Click to expand...

It’s supposed to be hard. However, especially in females, there is some flexibility towards the tail area. Flexible is OK. Squishy/spongey isn’t.

I also have pictures of the white stuff. It is barely visible on the pictures, but it seems like the best view I could provide. By the way, it seemed to disappear as long as she was bathing. After that, it was there again.

Click to expand...

I think this is just old skin shedding. It dries, goes pale and starts to peel off. Tortoises can look dreadful while its happening. Just leave it be and let it take its natural course.

Thank you so much! I am glad you took the time to answer me.

Alright, some Updates: Tort is eating and drinking vividly, but not too much, she has already urinated (although I only really saw it once, on Thursday I believe) and seems to be running around like crazy when outside of her indoor enclosure. And that's where my questions begin to arise.

Most remarkably, she doesn't seem to really move inside her indoor enclosure. Most of the time, when she's out of it, like on a desk, outside in the nature, in her outdoor enclosure, even on my bed, she starts to explore. Not so in her table. Although she doesn't hide in her shell forever anymore, she's really just focused on one corner of her table, where she barely moves (I saw her walk around inside her table like once or twice this week).
While she was hibernating, we changed the soil to more reptile friendly coconut fiber substrate and did some VERY minor decoration changes in her table. I can't tell if that might have something to do with that. I suppose it must have something to do with the subsrate?

Another thing to notice: I don't think I saw her doing big business yet. Y'know, pooping. Not sure if she really hasn't yet emptied herself, or if I just didn't notice. If she really hasn't, she has been eating more or less since Wednesday/Thursday and not yet let it out again. Is that normal after hibernation or is it cause for concern?

The more or less red spots on her plastron didn't seem to have spreaded, I don't think they have shrinked either, though. Maybe a bit. I think keeping track of that is the best thing right now.

That would be everything right now. Again, thanks in advance.

I am concerned that your tort is roaming your desk.

Torts are happiest and healthiest with all 4 feet on the ground and in the safety of their enclosure.

Away from the enclosure they are away from the heat, humidity and UVB that they need to be healthy.

The risks outside an enclosure include:

- Escape, being stepped on ... or falling off the desk... you only have to be distracted for a moment. We see it reported far too often on this forum.

- Eating the inedible... they are attracted to brightly coloured things, but accidental ingestion of dust bunnies and human air can also cause major problems. Again we see it reported far too often on this forum.

Please only let your tortoise roam in its indoor or outdoor enclosure. And resist the temptation to pull him out which causes stress. They are not social creatures and really don’t appreciate it. If you want cuddles, get a mammal of some sort as a pet.