Help my tortoise

[wobbleygob]

I have inherited a tortoise but he stopped eating and now won't walk he has a feeding tube that was put in over a year ago how can I help him now what should I do he was an outside tortoise but since having the feeding tube he now is mostly indoors.

 

[Yvonne G]

A feeding tube for over a year? That's not normal. Please give us more info - living conditions, UVB lighting, temperature in enclosure, water intake, reason for feeding tube and anything else you think might offer us a clue to help you.

 

[wobbleygob]

Living in an enclosure with a heat lamp which gives uv light (I believe) tube was put in by the vet because he stopped easting I believe he is given a bath/soak 2-3 times a week which contains repto boost but he nolonger seems able to lift himself up he tries and moves a little but not far I have never owned a tortoise so have no idea what to do I don't even know what breed he is. All advice gratefully relieved.

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

Living in an enclosure with a heat lamp which gives uv light (I believe) tube was put in by the vet because he stopped easting I believe he is given a bath/soak 2-3 times a week which contains repto boost but he nolonger seems able to lift himself up he tries and moves a little but not far I have never owned a tortoise so have no idea what to do I don't even know what breed he is. All advice gratefully relieved.

Can you post photos so we can help identify him? We can then go over how you need to be housing him, right off the bat a bulb that gives both heat and uv isn’t suitable, you need an incandescent floodlight, and for indoor uv he needs a t5 fluorescent tube light, preferably one with a reflector fitting, I recommend the Arcadia brand.
Could you also include photos of his set up?

We need to know the following:

Basking temp(directly under the bulb)
All over day temp
Night temp
Humidity
What substrate you’re using
What size enclosure
How old is the tortoise roughly
What’s their diet been like
What bulbs specifically are you using

Please do your best to get those questions answered and post photos of the tortoise and set up, we can go from then to get things improved for you and hopefully get this guy feeling better🙂

 

[wobbleygob]

He is also being fed EmerAid herbivore critical car Dailey via the tube.

 

[wobbleygob]

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

He is also being fed EmerAid herbivore critical car Dailey via the tube.

He most likely stopped eating due to being kept incorrectly, if we can get more details(posted above) we can advise on how to set him up properly

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

View attachment 372473

Correct me if I’m wrong @Yvonne G is this guy a desert tortoise?

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

Thanks for the photo, hopefully @Yvonne G or @Tom can confirm what you have here.

In the meantime try answering those questions and get a photo of your set up🙂

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

A good way to check your temperatures by the way is having your monitors running of course, but also get yourself a temp gun so you’re able to scan the whole parameter😊

 

[wobbleygob]

The temperature under the lamp is 19.8c I'm afraid I have no idea of the humidity the substrate is a tortoise housing bedding I think is felt the enclosure is 5ft x 5ft night temp around 9c I feel so bad that I have no idea what to do for him thank you all for the advice being given

 

[Alex and the Redfoot]

Correct me if I’m wrong @Yvonne G is this guy a desert tortoise?

Considering OP location, I would assume it's a greek tortoise.

@wobbleygob I'm not by all means an expert, however a few things you can try:
1. Check and correct enclosure temperatures. If tortoise is sick, he needs to be kept more warm than usual (28-29C). Temperatures also influence appetite and activity.
2. He needs a good source of UVB - natural sunlight or good T5 tube lamp. UVB lamps have limited lifespan, about 6 months for UVB+heat all-in-one lamps.
3. He can be malnourished - tube feeding and "critical care", as I understand, are for the emergency cases and do not provide enough nutrition in a long term.

 

[Alex and the Redfoot]

The temperature under the lamp is 19.8c I'm afraid I have no idea of the humidity the substrate is a tortoise housing bedding I think is felt the enclosure is 5ft x 5ft night temp around 9c I feel so bad that I have no idea what to do for him thank you all for the advice being given

Please, do not worry, we do our best to help.
Temperatures are really low for him to stay active. If you can take him out for "sunbathing" tomorrow, that would be great. What's on your weather forecast?

To warm him up at night, you can bring him in a cardboard box into a small room (like bathroom). And turn on space heater or oil-filled radiator. Leaving him at 9-10C is definitely not desirable.

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

The temperature under the lamp is 19.8c I'm afraid I have no idea of the humidity the substrate is a tortoise housing bedding I think is felt the enclosure is 5ft x 5ft night temp around 9c I feel so bad that I have no idea what to do for him thank you all for the advice being given

Your temperatures arent high enough and night temps aren’t good either😕, definitely need to get those up.
I’d get something that measures both temp and humidity, your guy doesn’t have high humidity requirements, but still good to know though, I’m not sure on your substrate unless you’ve got a photo of the packaging?
I’m afraid 5ft by 5ft is too small an enclosure for a tortoise this size, whilst he’s poorly he won’t be taking advantage on any space, but once brought back to health he absolutely needs more room to roam, it’s fundamental to tortoises health.

Stick with us! We’ll do everything we can to advise here!

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

I’d say temperatures need to be addressed here first, then appropriate lighting.

Then we can move onto things like substrate, diet, enclosure size etc.

For now let’s focus on your levels!

 

[wobbleygob]

Thank you all for the advice

 

[The_Four_Toed_Edward]

Do you know more about why the feeding tube was placed initially? What was the cause of him needing it?

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

Thank you all for the advice

No problem, keep us in the loop!

 

[Tom]

I have inherited a tortoise but he stopped eating and now won't walk he has a feeding tube that was put in over a year ago how can I help him now what should I do he was an outside tortoise but since having the feeding tube he now is mostly indoors.

Read these two threads and make the necessary changes ASAP. They cannot survive long term at those temperatures.

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