48hrs in and he's making me nervous (Update after vet)

[e79]

He sleeps. A lot. And that's it.

He was super active and eating for the hour before we brought him home and once I put him in the enclosure he walked around for maybe 2 minutes and then got comfy in the terracotta pot in the warm end. He has since decided that his favorite spot is burying himself in a hole next to the pot and that's where he stays. His body is fully exposed, he's just directly on the bottom of the tub with all the coconut coir in a tall circle around him, lol. This spot isn't directly under the lamp but close enough to it that he's within the right temperature range. When we check on him he's turned himself maybe 1/4 turn and his head may be out or in depending on when we check.

We left him alone the first day but yesterday afternoon we spent about 10 minutes encouraging him to wake up - when he did we gave him his first soak (about 20 minutes) during which time he drank.

He hasn't eaten anything and I've found no waste in the enclosure as of yet either.

From what I've read this sounds pretty normal for an adjustment period but I admit that it's freaking me out.

Temperatures are all good - 93*ish on the warm end and 73* on the other end...around 85* in the middle.

Anything I can do or is this just a waiting game? Or is there a possibility that this *isn't* normal and there's something I need to check for??

Thanks in advance for the input

 

[hunterk997]

48hrs in and he's making me nervous

The behavior sounds normal. My tortoise did this for a week. She ate the first day, but then slept and refused food and would not stay awake. Just continue the daily soaks to help with hydration.

 

[e79]

RE: 48hrs in and he's making me nervous

Ok, cool. I was wondering if I should do daily soaks for a bit or stay with the 3ish times per week. We'll gently wake him later and repeat what we did yesterday and offer more fresh food again when he's still up. Might also put down a water proof blanket on the floor and see if he wants to move around/explore a bit again like he did yesterday on the towel we let him walk on to get himself mostly dry.

Fwiw I've been offering him a mix of 50% what he was eating when we picked him up (kale and endive) and 50% baby romaine.

 

[Blakem]

48hrs in and he's making me nervous

This IS normal for an animal that is going to a new home. Also, it's that time of year that they get slower, eat way less, sleep a lot, and just REALLY don't do much. In the spring things will pick up and your Russian will become the active acrobat they are known to be.

 

[Jacqui]

RE: 48hrs in and he's making me nervous

I would give him a couple of days to just relax and lower his stress levels.

 

[Yvonne G]

RE: 48hrs in and he's making me nervous

Besides the fact that he's in a new environment and is hiding because he's scared, the first and foremost reason a tortoise sleeps all the time is because he's not warm enough.

 

[e79]

RE: 48hrs in and he's making me nervous

I've had the warm end at 93ish degrees but just bumped it to 96* to see if that helps...he's not in the hide or even buried in the coconut, he's just chillin'. I'll see if I can get a pic...

---

Most of the time his back legs are sprawled out too but he's mostly been like this so far today...

And, like I said, he'll move by 1/4 turns and will occasionally keep his eyes open for a few seconds but that's it...

We'll see how bath time goes this afternoon...

 

[kimmychan17]

Re: 48hrs in and he's making me nervous

He's like my Russian tortoise, I just got him last Sunday. He refused to eat two days then I gave him his first bath and He went to the heat for hours then He started to eat. I left him alone and didn't go near his little home. He's still shy on me and doesn't poop yet and I haven't seen him drink any water, for all I know. I know what your saying. It's nerve racking

 

[BeeBee*BeeLeaves]

RE: 48hrs in and he's making me nervous

Agree with everyone's suggestions. Acclimation time takes time. Just keep up with the temps being right, spa (ah!) time to have him be warm and cozy and hydrated and remember it is a sweet little tortoise, they do things rather slow. Also, do not hover too much, he may think you think he is edible and want to eat him. Give baby time to get used to you and see you as the food god or goddess, LOL. : )

 

[e79]

RE: 48hrs in and he's making me nervous

His vet check is this afternoon which should be interesting...I want him to have a fecal check but he hasn't gone since we brought him home (tomorrow will be 1 week) :-/

He surprisingly likes (or at least seems to) when you pet his head - if you start rubbing it a little he'll stretch it out as far as it'll go, turn to the side a bit, and close his eyes not unlike a dog, lol. I figured he'd still be nervous and would try to protect his head from us. Unless these are bad signs. I have no idea what normal tort behaviour is...

 

[Jacqui]

RE: 48hrs in and he's making me nervous

Some times the trip itself will cause them to have a BM. A warm soak, but with it for a stool sample you'd want to be "catching" it as it comes out.

The reason you are not seeing a stool in his enclosure could be he is eating it, which tortoise love to eat poop. Is he eating well?

 

[e79]

RE: 48hrs in and he's making me nervous

We've been soaking him every day to make sure he's hydrated (and he does drink when he's in there) but he hasn't had a bite to eat since we brought him home. We've tried feeding at various times and thought for sure being super awake/alert after a soak would encourage a nibble or two but he just walks right though it like it's not even there.

Although I just went to check on him now and he was out of the terracotta pot he slept in last night with his eyes open and seemed to move a little when I put some endive and radicchio in there so I left hoping he might eat in private. I've been taking pictures of the food I leave in there so I can compare later (I know, I'm crazy, lol) and it's never been touched.

 

[Jacqui]

RE: 48hrs in and he's making me nervous

You need to do some relaxing. I know it's normal to worry about them, especially when they or you are new (and your both new). They can go quite some time without eating and it's fairly common with new animals to not eat. Double check the temperatures, because that is a big thing with eating. How long are you leaving his light on for? (old memory forgive me if you have already said).

 

[e79]

RE: 48hrs in and he's making me nervous

No problem - I appreciate the input so I'm happy to provide and re-provide any information I can to facilitate that :-D

His basking area is 95-96*...the hide on the warm end is in the low 80s (sometimes as much as 84*)...same for the middle of the enclosure...the cool end is in the low to mid 70s...overnight he's right at 70*

His light comes on around 7:15am and turns off right around 8pm.

And yes, I worry because I think it's weird to have a living thing in the house that doesn't eat or poop, lol. Plus he sleeps. A lot. All the time. With the exception of about an hour during soaking and out of the enclosure wandering he's almost always asleep. If he moves it's just to scoot over a few inches to go back to sleep. He's never even been (to the best of my knowledge) on the cooler end of his space except for that's where we put him when we put him back but he makes a bee line for one of his usual spots on the warm end

 

[WillTort2]

RE: 48hrs in and he's making me nervous

What are you using to check your temperatures?

I like to double check using a probe thermometer and a temperature gun. Temperature guns are available at most hardware stores.

 

[Lovenmysuber]

RE: 48hrs in and he's making me nervous

Sounds like you are doing everything right. Sorry I can't offer more help, but to offer a little comfort I understand you concern our guy is acting the same way right now. I too was worried we were doing something wrong. I am no expert by any means (this is our first winter with Fred), but I think with his new environment & the time of year he is probably acting "normalish". I give our guy a soak & then once he is more alert I hand feed him some greens. Maybe after a soak you could try to hand feed him in his enclosure. Funny, our guy won't eat unless it's in my hand-I think he just is humoring me by eating some & then he just goes back to bed.

Hope his vet check went well!

 

[TommyZ]

Re: 48hrs in and he's making me nervous

Just like human babies, tort babies just simply sleep, all the time, lol. Instinctively they hide alot. Unlike mamals, they can go long whiles without food or even water. Youre there watching, here asking ?'s, and are showing genuine interest....in short, youre doing great, and your tort will do great. Give him a week or two before you start to see him be really active. Just keep doing what youre doing, itll all fall into place, i promise

 

[e79]

good bye tortoise :-(

Epic fail at the vet today :sigh: He's not a healthy he, she's an unhealthy she for starters

So it stinks but she has to go back - I'm in no position as a newbie to handle things like injections and force feedings etc....especially with "no guarantee."

BUT, the plus side to this is that she gives me an A+ in tortoise care and told me not to change a thing with what I've been doing :-D Then she hooked me up with two contacts in Minneapolis (about 2ish hrs from me) where she recommended adopting from and said she'd go there herself if she was in the market for an RT - she's also contacting them on my behalf to let them know that I'm serious.

We're obviously bummed but knew going into this that the vet had to approve whether or not it was a good match so we knew a "no" was a possibility. I just feel bad for the tort :-/

I guess there's a reason my bro-in-law is the *aquatics* lead and kicks serious *** when it comes to all things fish...he apparently only knows what the store tells him about tortoises...the two things I questioned were "cleared" by him but turns out I was right, not him. Blah.

Thanks for all the help, input, and advice through all of this - it has been MUCH appreciated. And no, you're not getting rid of me that easily - I'll still be here as we work toward finding a new RT and will continue to be once we find our forever pet <3

Oh, and she went over every inch of him with me so I totally feel 110% more confident in choosing a tortoise - it's so hard to compare healthy/unhealthy pics online with what you're seeing in person but I totally feel like I got this now

 

[Jacqui]

RE: good bye tortoise :-(

Sorry about this.Exactly WHAT did she find wrong with her?

 

[wellington]

RE: good bye tortoise :-(

I'm not understanding why you are not keeping her. Is the sex of the tortoise, or the tortoise is very sick? If it's that the tort is sick, what exactly is the vet saying is wrong with it? Most vets, yes, even reptile vets are not very good at all with tortoises. If you tell us what the vet says is wrong, an experience member can tell you how to care for it.