COLD DARK ROOM

Laura1412

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Still the same Jane he's been in bath for 30 mins which he wasn't happy about but as eaten a bit of food just out of curiosity I put in with his greens some Komodo pellets and he ate them all along with a few pieces of lettuce and kale now he is back dug in his hide box but has pooed on his dinner plate :)
 

Moozillion

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Iv got 25c cold end 27c middle 35c under basking and 23c in his hide box were he is spending a lot of the day he is comin out in a morning at 7 wen his light comes on and laying under his bulb he potters about his enclosure the he is bak in his hide some days in afternoon about 12 then for the 2 days he in it now and won't come bak out till the morning he ate really well Saturday he had the Komodo pellets coz that's all he seems interested in eating he ate some kale and escarole and frisie lettuce Sunday and that's it he's ate nothing yesterday and been to his slate this morning looked at it but not eaten he Wee yesterday and wee and poo Sunday I bathed him yesterday but was on,y in there 10 mins and he starts stressing and seem he's struggling to breath so I take him out he does drink out his water bowl tho as I c him I just can't understand y he is spending so much time in his hide box my humidity in the hide box is 76% the substrate is moist but if I squeeze it in my hand it just crumbles to pieces so it's not wet I'm just at a loss Linda I don't no what to do for the best he's alert and his eyes are clear no runny noes and breathing is normal
If by "struggling to breathe" you're noticing that the fleshy parts of him that protrude from his shell- around his neck and shoulders- are moving in and out faster, that is normal. Remember, tortoises have NO diaphragm like we do. To draw air in and out they use the muscles that are not encased by the shell. Whenever my Elsa gets excited, I can see her breathing faster! :) If a tort is struggling to breathe, I believe they will have their mouth open and head stretched out.
A mistake I made when I first got Elsa caused her distress in her soaks: I used water that was too hot! It felt pleasantly warm to me, but was much warmer than her basking temperature. When I measured the temp of her water and made it around 94*F, she loved it! So try checking to water temperature and make it close to one of the temperatures that he's used to in his enclosure. :)
 
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Moozillion

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Laura, I also found that it took a while (as in about 3 weeks) for Elsa to get used to the idea of soaking. I use the largest tub I can find, with high sides, and drape a couple of towels over one end to make a sort of cave she can hide under if she feels exposed. After I put her in the tub, i set my timer for 20 min and walk off. Initially, i sat and watched her for a while, because, like you, I was worried at her distress. For the first 1 week or so of daily soaks she would breathe faster and walk rapidly up and down her tub. Because I knew her bath temperatures were good, I just left her there. After a few days of this, she started walking slower during her treks up and down the length of the tub. Finally, after about 2 weeks total, she must have decided, "well, I can't get out and she WILL take me out later, so there's no point in trekking around. I guess I'll just sit here and wait.":p

Now when I put her in her tub, she stretches out and stays in one spot! I tell her it's "spa time!" :)

@Laura1412
 

Moozillion

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The night shift seem to have been having early nights. Also, our clocks went forward last weekend so I think we're going to bed an hour earlier relative to the USA than we were.

Good morning all. It's a drizzly damp start to the day. That's better than 2013 when this happened
View attachment 203998

Our bluet-it is still a bachelor and frankly, unless he starts clearing up a bit, I can see why he can't persuade a girlfriend to move in. I swear there are empty lager cans and takeaway boxes under the mess. He's just using the box to crash out at night.
View attachment 203997
HAHAHA!!!!! He needs a cleaning service! :D:D:D
 

Moozillion

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Laura, since your descriptions of Clyde are of a healthy tortoise, I believe the quacking noise is also normal. Male tortoises will make a quacking or grunting noise when the are in the act of ...ummm...making babies:rolleyes:, and our Elsa quacked at my husband once when he picked her up. I'm very jealous- she's never quacked at me! ;)
I do NOT mean to make light of your concerns- I just want to reassure you. :):<3:

@Laura1412
 

Laura1412

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Laura, since your descriptions of Clyde are of a healthy tortoise, I believe the quacking noise is also normal. Male tortoises will make a quacking or grunting noise when the are in the act of ...ummm...making babies:rolleyes:, and our Elsa quacked at my husband once when he picked her up. I'm very jealous- she's never quacked at me! ;)
I do NOT mean to make light of your concerns- I just want to reassure you. :):<3:

@Laura1412
Thank u @Moozillion i appreciate ur help and advice my Clyde wen in bath is ok it's wen I take him out his head is bobbin up n down like he's got hiccups lol If that makes sense but after bein in towel a min his breathing is normal the noise he made yesterday iv Neva heard him make that before it was so strange like a quack croak cluck something along them lines but iv bathed him today and handled him and he as nt made the noise so hopefully it's ok he's eaten today also but only small amounts but I put in some pellet food along with the greens n the craft sod eat them all diggin thru the greens with his noes to find them I will just monitor him and see how he goes he is alert and comes out his hide box on his own every morning I don't have to get him up he basks potters around a little then back to hide box and digs in :)
 

Moozillion

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Thank u @Moozillion i appreciate ur help and advice my Clyde wen in bath is ok it's wen I take him out his head is bobbin up n down like he's got hiccups lol If that makes sense but after bein in towel a min his breathing is normal the noise he made yesterday iv Neva heard him make that before it was so strange like a quack croak cluck something along them lines but iv bathed him today and handled him and he as nt made the noise so hopefully it's ok he's eaten today also but only small amounts but I put in some pellet food along with the greens n the craft sod eat them all diggin thru the greens with his noes to find them I will just monitor him and see how he goes he is alert and comes out his hide box on his own every morning I don't have to get him up he basks potters around a little then back to hide box and digs in :)
He sounds like a contented tortoise doing what tortoises do! :)
 

johnandjade

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Good evenooning John. Have you had a good day?

I have been out to lunch with a couple of friends, eaten too much (drunk only Diet Coke and tea though) and spent hours putting the world to rights :)


sounds like that's just what you needed:)

i'm having a discussion with a chap who doesn't seem to understand the concept of homers..


you bring the car to me at home, i am employed as a valeter however, my homers are just that.. off the radar.

grrr :/
 
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