Another problem! Tom, help!

[ArmAni]

Hey! I posted about a week ago in my thread “Please Help!!” asking what to do with my pet desert tortoise. I was kindly helped by Tom The Dog Trainer and SinLA. My tortoise was not in ideal conditions which included flooding and not-so-ideal temperatures. So, I brought my little Godzilla inside, gave him a lukewarm bath, and put him in a small little room in my house with some light. I didn’t put a heat lamp in there as the house temperature was pretty warm anyways. I was so happy to see him and see that he didn’t drown or freeze due to the flooding in his tunnel. But I am now faced with a new problem and I wanted to post on here because I am no expert and I’ve read so many articles and realized that I have been taking care of my tortoise the wrong way for years.

So, here is the issue: I put him in the little room with the light on thinking that he’d wake up from brumation because the temperature in the house was already 75 degrees. He slept for about 3 days (straight as far as I can tell). But earlier today I wanted to check on him, so I woke him up for a bit and fed him some broccoli. He only ate a little bit and then went back to sleep. I was a little bit worried because despite my efforts (which, I admit, weren’t much), he was still sleeping. I had left the light on in there overnight and for half of the previous day. But I then realized that I’m starting to mess with processes that are regular. I dove very deep into research about some things on Google such as: How to keep a tortoise out of brumation (heat and light), How big should a tortoise habitat be (10 times their length, 5 times their width, and 3 times their height), How long should a tortoise sleep for (about 12 hours a day), How often should I bathe my tortoise (3-4 times per week), What should I feed my tortoise (variety of vegetables, fruits, and flowers), What happens if I feed my tortoise broccoli everyday, What flowers can I feed my desert tortoise (dandelions and hibiscus flowers are best), How to put a tortoise back into brumation after waking it up, How to check if your tortoise is healthy, Can I keep my tortoise in a fridge, How to weigh a desert tortoise, Can a tortoise breath in a fridge, and How much should a tortoise weigh (a 14 inch tortoise like mine should weigh about 24-51 lbs). So I weighed my tortoise and discovered that he is 11.6 pounds which is significantly underweight. I don’t know what to do. I read that we can put him in a fridge, but I’m scared to do that or put him back into hibernation anywhere because if his weight. He is barely eating and is currently sleeping with the light off in the little room. I’m just so worried that he could be slowly dying. What should I do? I don’t really have a budget since I’m 13 years old.

 

[SinLA]

Ok before you spiral into a panic, since you are 13, what are your parents thoughts on all this. Keeping him, not keeping him, caring for him etc? You’re probably going to need their active help and participation here…

 

[Tom]

I dove very deep into research about some things on Google...

This is a mistake. Most of what you find will be wrong. This will confuse and frustrate you and harm your tortoise.

They should never be fed fruit. The weight guide you found is ridiculously wrong. Broccoli isn't toxic to them, but its also not a great tortoise food.

The problem you are having now is that your tortoise is too cold. 70-75 is not warm. Your tortoise needs to be able to warm up like a rock sitting in the sun gets warm. Operating temperature for tortoises is well over 90 degrees, at their core. If that room is 75 at eye level its probably 60-65 on the tile floor. Put a digital thermometer down there and check it. Room temperature in a house is not "warm" by tortoise standards. Your tortoise needs a properly lit and heated tortoise enclosure, not the bathroom floor. Immediately he needs a large basking lamp, and I'd put a Kane mat under him to get him warmed up. Also, the lighting in that room is nowhere near bright enough. We are supposed to be simulating day light when they are indoors.

All the info you need is right here:

The Best Way To Raise Any Temperate Species Of Tortoise

I chose the title of this care sheet very carefully. Are there other ways to raise babies and care for adults? Yes. Yes there are, but those ways are not as good. What follows is the BEST way, according to 30 years of research and experimentation with hundreds of babies of many species. What is...

tortoiseforum.org

 

[Tom]

Hey! I posted about a week ago in my thread “Please Help!!” asking what to do with my pet desert tortoise. I was kindly helped by Tom The Dog Trainer and SinLA. My tortoise was not in ideal conditions which included flooding and not-so-ideal temperatures. So, I brought my little Godzilla inside, gave him a lukewarm bath, and put him in a small little room in my house with some light. I didn’t put a heat lamp in there as the house temperature was pretty warm anyways. I was so happy to see him and see that he didn’t drown or freeze due to the flooding in his tunnel. But I am now faced with a new problem and I wanted to post on here because I am no expert and I’ve read so many articles and realized that I have been taking care of my tortoise the wrong way for years.

So, here is the issue: I put him in the little room with the light on thinking that he’d wake up from brumation because the temperature in the house was already 75 degrees. He slept for about 3 days (straight as far as I can tell). But earlier today I wanted to check on him, so I woke him up for a bit and fed him some broccoli. He only ate a little bit and then went back to sleep. I was a little bit worried because despite my efforts (which, I admit, weren’t much), he was still sleeping. I had left the light on in there overnight and for half of the previous day. But I then realized that I’m starting to mess with processes that are regular. I dove very deep into research about some things on Google such as: How to keep a tortoise out of brumation (heat and light), How big should a tortoise habitat be (10 times their length, 5 times their width, and 3 times their height), How long should a tortoise sleep for (about 12 hours a day), How often should I bathe my tortoise (3-4 times per week), What should I feed my tortoise (variety of vegetables, fruits, and flowers), What happens if I feed my tortoise broccoli everyday, What flowers can I feed my desert tortoise (dandelions and hibiscus flowers are best), How to put a tortoise back into brumation after waking it up, How to check if your tortoise is healthy, Can I keep my tortoise in a fridge, How to weigh a desert tortoise, Can a tortoise breath in a fridge, and How much should a tortoise weigh (a 14 inch tortoise like mine should weigh about 24-51 lbs). So I weighed my tortoise and discovered that he is 11.6 pounds which is significantly underweight. I don’t know what to do. I read that we can put him in a fridge, but I’m scared to do that or put him back into hibernation anywhere because if his weight. He is barely eating and is currently sleeping with the light off in the little room. I’m just so worried that he could be slowly dying. What should I do? I don’t really have a budget since I’m 13 years old.View attachment 353094View attachment 353095

Do you have a space heater? You could shut the door and heat up the whole room. Just be aware that even if the room is 90 degrees, its probably only going to be 75-80 on the floor.

Now that your tortoise has eaten, it is urgent the he get warmed up every day. Cooler nights are still fine, but the tortoise must be able to warm up every day.

 

[SinLA]

How are things this morning? Tom’s suggestions about a space heater in an enclosed bathroom is a good one (the smaller the bathroom the better).

Have you talked to your parents about the situation? What are their thoughts?

 

[ArmAni]

How are things this morning? Tom’s suggestions about a space heater in an enclosed bathroom is a good one (the smaller the bathroom the better).

Have you talked to your parents about the situation? What are their

How are things this morning? Tom’s suggestions about a space heater in an enclosed bathroom is a good one (the smaller the bathroom the better).

Have you talked to your parents about the situation? What are their thoughts

How are things this morning? Tom’s suggestions about a space heater in an enclosed bathroom is a good one (the smaller the bathroom the better).

Have you talked to your parents about the situation? What are their thoughts?

Hey, so sorry. Today was very busy. My parents and I want to keep him. We’ve had him for about 7 years now and he is a part of our family. I’ve been looking at space heaters and Kane mats but, my parents said that they are very concerned but they said that they don’t have the budget to go spend five hundred dollars on that stuff nor the skills to build anything to house him. If I keep him in the bathroom what is the result of keeping him in a confined area? We see that he moves around a lot outside and he is not going to be able to do that in the bathroom. Is that going to mess with him?

We’ve also talked to people here in Vegas and they’ve told me that I should just dig a hole outside and put him in there. But I’ve brought him in here where it is warm, gave him a little bit of food, and bathed him. So can I even do that anymore?

 

[ArmAni]

Do you have a space heater? You could shut the door and heat up the whole room. Just be aware that even if the room is 90 degrees, its probably only going to be 75-80 on the floor.

Now that your tortoise has eaten, it is urgent the he get warmed up every day. Cooler nights are still fine, but the tortoise must be able to warm up every day.

Thank you so much. You have helped a lot and I really do appreciate it.

 

[ArmAni]

Also, Tom, I don’t know if this changes anything, but I forgot to mention that he is a 35 year old turtle and not a baby.

 

[ArmAni]

Also, his skin looks a little bit more puffy than usual. I’ve just barely started noticing it in the skin around his head and arms.

 

[Tom]

So can I even do that anymore?

No. Once they eat, they mist get warm ASAP or they can die. HE NEEDS TO GET WARM RIGHT NOW. TODAY! ASAP.

The bathroom floor is not warm. It does not cost $500 for a heat lamp and a Kane mat. The heat lamp fixture is $13 at Home Depot, and a pack of bulbs is a few bucks. You'll need and extension cord and a thermometer to check the temp under the bulb.

If your parents will not do what is necessary to prevent this tortoise from dying, then you need to give it to someone who will ASAP. He is literally dying with what you are currently doing. That food is rotting in his gut as we speak.

Also, Tom, I don’t know if this changes anything, but I forgot to mention that he is a 35 year old turtle and not a baby.

It does not change anything.

We’ve also talked to people here in Vegas and they’ve told me that I should just dig a hole outside and put him in there.

Bad advice. That would kill him.

 

[SinLA]

@ArmAni lets focus on baby steps and doing the most important things first: get him warm. Have you tried a space heater in the bathroom? You can get a space heater at a pharmacy and as Tom mentioned you can get a heat lamp lamp and bulbs at Home Depot. Do you have a Home Depot near you?

Now I know it can be confusing when people tell you to put him outside because of course there are many tortoises outside now, and he has spent winters outside before. But his sleep has been interrupted and he’s been given food so if you put him outside, especially during this cold weather, it will be very bad for him if not fatal also, while it is true, Many tortoises, do winter outside successfully many do not. So the people telling you to just put them outside because there are some that would live that way aren’t giving you good advice to ensure his survival. He almost certainly will die, and even if he were to somehow survive, he would be a bad time of it, and I suspect you don’t want that, and would feel very guilty since he brought him inside and fed him, so stop listening to people who don’t know as much about tortoises as here .

I’m going to start another thread to see if there are any other TFO people in the area who can maybe provide you some more local/direct assistance, but meanwhile you need to get warm and with somewhere he can bask 95+ degrees

 

[Maggie3fan]

If it were a choice between the 2 heaters...you absolutely need a basking light now...put him in a box with a $15. light from Home Depot. He cannot digest his food now as he is too cold...so it is rotting in his stomach as we write this. please listen to Tom and SinLA. I want to stress this can be fatal to the tort. You need to make changes or he will die.

 

[SinLA]

Can anyone put in this thread links on Amazon to the bulbs you’d recommend, plus lamp? That might be easier for the OP?

 

[Yvonne G]

Maggie gave you a very good suggestion: PUT HIM IN A BOX!!! Rather than try to heat up that whole space, put him in a very large plastic tote/tub and heat that up instead.

Heat light, 65 watt incandescent flood bulb:



clamp fixture with ceramic base (called 'brooder light' at tractor supply or amazon):



large plastic tub:



Something on the floor of the tub (can be purchased at Amazon or chewy.com):


Using the clamp fixture on the light is sometimes not safe, so be sure to fix it securely to the tub. Place it at one end so the tortoise can move to the other end to get out of the bright light, and have it hanging straight down, not at an angle. Figure out a way to use the lid and still have the light shining inside the tub. The lid will help keep it warm inside.

 

[ArmAni]

Thank you guys so much. We brought him to the vet to make sure he’s healthy and ok and we are waiting for answers right now. On the way home we will stop and get everything needed for him. I cannot stress enough how much you guys have helped. I’ve been given advice from other tortoise owners here in Vegas, but I am glad that I came here to ask you guys because we now fully understand what is going on. Thank you again! He has been warmed! We did the space heater last night and we are getting everything he needs right now!

 

[SinLA]

Thank you guys so much. We brought him to the vet to make sure he’s healthy and ok and we are waiting for answers right now. On the way home we will stop and get everything needed for him. I cannot stress enough how much you guys have helped. I’ve been given advice from other tortoise owners here in Vegas, but I am glad that I came here to ask you guys because we now fully understand what is going on. Thank you again! He has been warmed! We did the space heater last night and we are getting everything he needs right now!

Wonderful news, great to hear! Was it a vet that specializes in reptiles? Just be warned sometime they give bad advice as well

 

[ArmAni]

Wonderful news, great to hear! Was it a vet that specializes in reptiles? Just be warned sometime they give bad advice as well

Yes, it was a vet that specializes in reptiles. To be honest, I listened to you guys more than the vet, because everything that you guys said was contradicting what he was saying. We are currently waiting on the ReptiBark, the basking lamp, and the UV heat lamp bulbs because they did not sell them at Home Depot. But, we did get an 18 inch terra-cotta plant saucer for him, and I soaked him a little bit today. As I said, we are currently waiting for some of the stuff but look! I am so glad that he is alive and doing well. Again, thank you guys so much.

 

[SinLA]

Good news all around. Just one quick thing to note that LED lights do not give off heat so make sure you get an incandescent bulb that gives out heat. You can use a floodlight, but not a spotlight.

I’ll defer to others like @Tom or @Yvonne G who are a little bit more bulb savvy than I am….

 

[ryan57]

"incandescent flood bulb:" - LED bulbs produce almost no heat and won't work,

 

[Tom]

Yes, it was a vet that specializes in reptiles. To be honest, I listened to you guys more than the vet, because everything that you guys said was contradicting what he was saying. We are currently waiting on the ReptiBark, the basking lamp, and the UV heat lamp bulbs because they did not sell them at Home Depot. But, we did get an 18 inch terra-cotta plant saucer for him, and I soaked him a little bit today. As I said, we are currently waiting for some of the stuff but look! I am so glad that he is alive and doing well. Again, thank you guys so much. View attachment 353137View attachment 353138View attachment 353139

I hope it all works out. Keep us posted.