Harvey not eating

[Harvey_Halfshell]

Hi everyone, I took Harvey to the vets and the vet said that he had most likely slowed down his eating cuz he was in a kind of Summer hibernation (name of this please?) due to hot weather but it has since cooled down and he is still extremely lethargic and not eating much. He will eat his favourite weeds, leaves and a bit of cucumber if I hand feed him but won't touch the weeds growing in his enclosure. Also yesterday he was making a strange sound somewhere between a bark and a croak. I assume it is some kind of mating call but he is only 6! Any thoughts?

 

[Sarah2020]

Hi and welcome. He looks very small for 6 years what does he weigh. Do this on kitchen scales and balance him carefully on a ramekin dish or a container he fits in and set zero and add him to find weight and keepca weekly log this helps check fir weight gain snd loss.
I have a Russian and he is active, had a good soak this morning, outside and cleared his food today i.e no brumation and I am in UK!

So now you need to check set up inc heat, substrate, hide, diet and water inc hydration. I really recommend a digital temp gun to spot check temps as he may be cold.
Please read this care sheet composed by a breeder on this group and cross check set up....

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

 

[Harvey_Halfshell]

Hi and welcome. He looks very small for 6 years what does he weigh. Do this on kitchen scales and balance him carefully on a ramekin dish or a container he fits in and set zero and add him to find weight and keepca weekly log this helps check fir weight gain snd loss.
I have a Russian and he is active, had a good soak this morning, outside and cleared his food today i.e no brumation and I am in UK!

So now you need to check set up inc heat, substrate, hide, diet and water inc hydration. I really recommend a digital temp gun to spot check temps as he may be cold.
Please read this care sheet composed by a breeder on this group and cross check set up....

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

Hi Sarah, thanks for this. His shell is 13cm long by 10cm at the widest point and his weight is 533g. Indoors he has a heat lamp and a UV strip and outside he has the option of full sun, shade and water. He is very inactive and burrows a lot but likes weeds if he is hand-fed or presented directly with them.

 

[Harvey_Halfshell]

P.S. 2.4 on the Jackson Ratio after a bath this morning and toileting

 

[Maro2Bear]

Summer “hibernation” = Estivation

Hibernation or “winter sleep” is the state of inactivity or low metabolic process performed by animals during winters. Aestivation or “summer sleep”, on the other hand, is the low metabolic process by animals during summers.