Greek Tortoise won't eat and hides

[Wendy Browning]

I have had Shelly 4 months. She has always been a good eater and very active. Recently she started hiding and not eating much. I was concerned that her enclosure was not adequate since it was glass and very little air flow, so I got her a new one with screened side and top to give more air flow. She stopped eating completely now and will not come out of the hide or buries herself by the plant. I take her out and soak her everyday to make sure she is staying hydrated. I took her to the Vet yesterday and came away more frustrated. They tube fed her to try to get a stool sample to look for parasites but she would not poop. Vet said she is a good weight, shell is hard and no body swelling her eyes are clear. She appears to be completely healthy but will not eat. What do I do now???

 

[TammyJ]

I guess you will be asked to provide details of the temperatures, humidity and diet.

 

[Wendy Browning]

Indoor enclosure basking area 100F cool side runs between 75F to 80F humidity runs 50% it is difficult to keep this up due to living in a dry climate. When outside the temperatures are very different and climate here is very dry. I keep her inside most of the time but take her out side daily for exposure to natural Light. She eats a diet of green including Kale, spinach, parsley I add variety of squashes and other vegetables to this. Calcium spray and moist vitamin supplement.

 

[Lyn W]

Hi and welcome Wendy. Sorry to hear you are worried about your Shelly. If you could post pics of your enclosure and bulbs that will help members advise on any improvements you can make to encourage him to eat. What sort of thermometer are you using? Digital temp guns are great for spot checking areas at tort level, rather than the dial types sold by pet stores.
Bulbs can also affect torts health, and coiled bulbs especially have a bad reputation for damaging eyes
Hope Shelly regains her appetite soon.

 

[Wendy Browning]

I will up load pic as soon as I get home. The Bulbs are incandescent Daylight blue reptile bulb 60 w. (not a coil bulb) the ceramic bulb that I was using to increase heat was removed over a month ago due to the increased Heat here. I do have the dial thermometers in the enclosure the same type as I use in my bearded dragon enclosure. Her enclosure is 24"wX36"lX17"h it is plastic with screen on side and top. We are working on a larger wood indoor enclosure but I wanted to move her out of the small glass enclosure she was in so I got her this a week ago the substrate is topsoil and aspen chips. The vet suggested I put her on turf type carpet but she loves to dig so much I hate taking away the substrate I have her in now. Isn't the turf carpet bad for her feet?

 

[Kristoff]

How long has she been not eating? Sometimes they stop eating due to being stressed as a result of new conditions (e.g. a new enclosure). They can go like this for a week or more. Kristoff ate just once in the first 10 days when we got him. Had me so worried!
Keep soaking your baby to make sure she stays hydrated. Hope she's back to normal soon

 

[dmmj]

new enclosure? Not eating and hiding a lot. Sounds likes your tortoise is adjusting to a new territ is. more than likely it should return to normal in a few days

 

[JoesMum]

I agree with dmmj - you changed things and many torts cope poorly with change. Some can take weeks, or months, to adjust to a new enclosure.

However, to be on the safe side, double and treble check those 4 important temperatures - warm side, cool side, directly under the basking lamp and overnight minimum - using a temperature gun thermometer (inexpensive from a DIY store or Amazon) and post them here.

Fortunately they can go a long time without food and not come to harm as long as they are hydrated.

Go back to basics and establish a routine so your tort knows what to expect and when and hopefully your tort will decide everything is OK again.

Something like:
- Lights on (use a timer so they're on and off at the same times every day)
- Soak
- Clean up enclosure during soak and put food in
- Pop your tort back in
- Walk away and don't watch as you're intimidating at the moment

Hopefully your tort will get brave and start to explore her new home while you're not about.

 

[Gillian M]

A very warm welcome to the forum.

It might be change, that torts do not like. Therefore patience is required till they get adapted.

Hope to hear your tort is better soon.

 

[Wendy Browning]

I ordered temp gun should have it in 3 days so ill get some good readings on the temp. She was a little more active she was moving around and sat in the middle of her food dish but still did not eat. Yesterday I was reading on here about a supplement that is used in the tortoise soak water after hibernation to help with health and encouraged the Tortoise to eat. I didn't write the name of the product down and cant find the thread I was reading does anyone know what it is?

 

[Tidgy's Dad]

Possibly it was referring to a carrot or pumpkin baby food like Gerbers ? These can be mixed in with the drinking /soaking water to help the tort get some nutrients into it's tummy.
i would try more natural foods like dandelion , which Greeks, in my experience, can rarely resist or more exotic health foods like prickly pear which again are a favourite.
Best foods :
http://www.chelonia.org/Articles/nutrientanalysis.htm

 

[JoesMum]

I ordered temp gun should have it in 3 days so ill get some good readings on the temp. She was a little more active she was moving around and sat in the middle of her food dish but still did not eat. Yesterday I was reading on here about a supplement that is used in the tortoise soak water after hibernation to help with health and encouraged the Tortoise to eat. I didn't write the name of the product down and cant find the thread I was reading does anyone know what it is?

I suspect it was Reptoboost. I use it post-hibernation on the recommendation of my herp vet.

It's more of a rehydration supplement - it describes itself as an electrolyte, probiotic and energy drink for reptiles in need of an energy boost.

It would do no harm, but you don't have to have it.

 

[Raymo2477]

Spinach is not great for tortoises and mine do not love kale. As stated here try more weeds. For store bought try turnip greens.

 

[Wendy Browning]

I soaked her in the baby food and water the last two days she really liked it and drank a lot. I got her some dandelion leaves and cactus from a farmers market today after her outside time I put her by her food about 30min later she started eating thanks for all the help.

 

[Kristoff]

Glad to hear Shelly is eating again!

 

[Gillian M]

Great news!