baby testudo hermanni question

[gavakas]

Firstly i'll say a hi to everyone in the forum!
I would appreciate your help becaude i'm totally new to tortoises.
I want to say that i read everything i could on the net about my question but i cant find an answer..
I live in a small island in greece and yesterday i found on the local petshop a baby testudo hermanni. It was so cute so, i bought it!! The problem is that it is a baby and hibernating. The pet shop owner told me that if i put it in my room with all the heat and uva-b that he will come out of hibernation. But he doesnt to come out.. what should i do to wake him up? he is about 3-4cm long. My concern is that the eyes are a little sucked in.. Willl he wake up or have i made a mistake buying him?
IF anyone can help i would be very gratefull. Thankyou in advance.

 

[Jacqui]

First off, he is alive right? He does pull in his legs or move them, when stimulated correct? (I have learned to start with the very basic things and move from there) Have you given him any warm soaks?

---

I am sorry to say, yes I think you made a mistake in buying him. If the store was hibernating/burmating him, he would not have been out in public display. When you buy a tortoise you want to get a healthy, active bright eyed one whom you actually saw eating. Sunken eyes normally mean dehydration, an animal dead or on the way to being dead.

 

[Terry Allan Hall]

Sucken eyes are not good...give him/her a warm (body temperature) soak immediately, and every day for the next week. Might put some liquified carrot baby food in the soak water, as it'll drink and food value gets into it that way.

Also, try to get it to eat good foods and keep it warm...on one end of the enclosure, make it a basking spot that gets to about 95-100 F (35-38 C), but make sure the rest of the enclosure only gets to about 70-75F (21-24 C), so it can decide for itself how warm it wants to be.

Food that is red or orange often makes tortoises want to eat, so red lettuce, carrot shavings, tomatoes chopped up fine, mixed in with dark green veggies like collards, mustard greens, chopped cactus pads (VERY high in calcium!), turnip greens, etc. will likely getting it going.

 

[gavakas]

Thank you for your answers. The think is that he is still hibernating. I have him at room temperature (around 20c) and waiting to wake up. I dont think is dead cause he seems "alive", but no he doesnt respond to touch ( cause he is hibernating i think). How long should i wait him to wake up? one day, two days, a weak? And secondly, should i bath him now or right away when he wakes up?

p.s.: I went to the pet store again to "complain" politely about selling me a hibernating tortoise but the owner was so sure that he will wake up.. Lets see..
ANY SUGGESTIONS over everything about my tortoise would be very very very appreciated.
Thank you all.

 

[GBtortoises]

I find it very odd that a pet shop would sell a tortoise that is "hibernating". If a hibernating tortoise is at room temperature for about an hour or so, it will have woke up, seeked a heat source to bask under and begun to function normally. Once this happens, it should be placed in shallow water to be allowed to drink first before eating. If you tortoise hasn't woke up on it's own at room temperature with a heat and light source available then there is something wrong. 20c (68f) is a bit cooler than normal activity range temperature but should still be enough for a tortoise to wake within an hour or two from hibernation. Especially if there is intense light and basking heat available to it.

 

[Yvonne G]

When a tortoise is "hibernating," he isn't like a bear, who is in a very deep, sleep. He is just too cold to move. Once you get him into room temperature, his eyes, which would already be open, would be clear and bright, not sunken in. This tortoise that was sold to you is definitely ill, and probably almost dead.

 

[gavakas]

This is how the eyes look like... I m so sad.. Tomorrow im going to the pet shop..is there any change for the baby to wake up after 2 days ?

 

[GBtortoises]

First of all, that's not a Hermann's tortoise. It's a Marginated tortoise. Second, yes, it's eye sockets look very sunken which is not a good sign. Does it move it's limbs in and out on it's own? Has it been walking around?

 

[gavakas]

No.. He is stil hibernating. Its in the house with 20-22c and im waiting to wake up. What should i do?

 

[GBtortoises]

How long have you had the tortoise at room temperature?

 

[gavakas]

About 28 hours.

 

[GBtortoises]

About 28 hours.

A healthy tortoise out of hibernation would have been awake and alert several hours ago. Was the tortoise being kept at the pet shop at room temperature? I believe your tortoise is most likely very sick. Either the pet shop knew it and sold it before it died or they absolutely know little to nothing about tortoise care or both.

 

[Terry Allan Hall]

Put him in VERY shallow warm water with pureed carrot baby-food mixed in...by shallow, I mean about 1/2" (1-1/2 cm) deep...if he drinks, he'll get a little nourishment into him, but he may not even do that much. Put a light bulb over the water, to raise the air temp to about 35C.

Raise it's enclosure's temp up into the range I mentioned in my 1st reply (23-24C on the cooler end, 36-38C on the warm end) and pray a little...hoping for the best!

Am I to assume that all the shop's tortoises are "hibernating"? If so, maybe you can get your money back and next tortoise, make sure you see it eat before purchasing it...from someone else.

 

[diamondbp]

I don't want to sound bad. But that tortoise looks dead. Is he moving at all?

 

[Pokeymeg]

Any update on your little tort?

 

[rachael]

:\ You need your money back my friend. Poor baby tort.

 

[theelectraco]

Update?