Help. (not using back legs)

[Conee]

I have inherited an African spurred tortoise and he doesn’t want to use his back legs not eating much does anyone have any suggestions ?
I’ve only had him a week or so he’s a little guy!

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

Hello and welcome! I don’t suppose we could get a photo of them? Along with any additional information on how you’re keeping them, ie temperatures, humidity, enclosure size, substrates, what kind of lighting/heating equipment? A pic of the full set up would be great, it’ll help the members coming along to advise you

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

Also has he had normal bowel movements whilst in your care? What kind of things are you offering feed wise?

 

[Tom]

I have inherited an African spurred tortoise and he doesn’t want to use his back legs not eating much does anyone have any suggestions ?
I’ve only had him a week or so he’s a little guy!

First and foremost, long warm water soaks in a tall sided opaque container. Sometimes back leg paralysis is due to constipation or bladder stone formation. Both of those conditions can be caused by dehydration, and dehydration is typical for the species because most people mistakenly think sulcatas are a desert species.

What size is the tortoise?

Here is some care info:

Info For New People. Please Read This First.

Hello and welcome to tortoiseforum.org! We are all glad you are here! There is no other forum like this anywhere. We have tens of thousands of members from all over the world ranging from kids with their first tortoise to people who have been breeding and keeping high end tortoises since the...

tortoiseforum.org

The Best Way To Raise A Sulcata, Leopard, Or Star Tortoise

I chose the title of this care sheet very carefully. Are there other ways to raise babies? 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. Babies hatch during the...

tortoiseforum.org

 

[The_Four_Toed_Edward]

If you could answer our questions and try to soak him to get him to pee or poop, I am sure we can help you!

 

[TammyJ]

Hi and welcome! First thing to do is put him to soak in warmish water, level up to the line where his top and bottom shells meet. Watch that he can't get out or doesn't flip over. Keep changing the water for fresh warmed water so it doesn't get cold. Do this twice per day for one hour each time. Please try to answer the questions asked, so that we can help you better! Thanks.

 

[noocap.t]

hey i have a tortoise hermann i take her out every now and then for 2 hours to roam around and i notice that shes not picking up her back end of the shell… should i be concerned ?
(she was on grass earlier and she came onto the drive way)
photos
1/2 - today on driveway (couldn’t upload the vid)
3- feb 28th (i posted about it here shell before but people were saying that it was fine)
4- feb 7th
5- was today

shes capable of picking up her whole body

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

hey i have a tortoise hermann i take her out every now and then for 2 hours to roam around and i notice that shes not picking up her back end of the shell… should i be concerned ?
(she was on grass earlier and she came onto the drive way)
photos
1/2 - today on driveway (couldn’t upload the vid)
3- feb 28th (i posted about it here shell before but people were saying that it was fine)
4- feb 7th
5- was today

shes capable of picking up her whole body
View attachment 388482View attachment 388482View attachment 388483View attachment 388484View attachment 388485

There is quite a bit of scrapping on that last photo on some of the top layer of keratin

You may have answered these before, but a refresh on housing would be great!

Is she primarily housed indoors or outdoors?
If indoors,
What are your temperatures like all over? Ie basking temp(directly under the bulb), overall day temps(middle and cooler side), night temps?
What kind of basking bulb is being used specifically? Packaging photos are good if you have any
Do you use indoor uv? If so what kind?
How’s humidity?
What’s substrate?
What kind of monitoring do you have?
What’s diet been like with you?

A photo of the full set up(s) would be good!

 

[The_Four_Toed_Edward]

If I remember right, I commented that the carapace looks like it has been dragged and the tortoise is not able to lift the shell fully.

Do you know anything about the previous living conditions?

 

[noocap.t]

There is quite a bit of scrapping on that last photo on some of the top layer of keratin

You may have answered these before, but a refresh on housing would be great!

Is she primarily housed indoors or outdoors?
If indoors,
What are your temperatures like all over? Ie basking temp(directly under the bulb), overall day temps(middle and cooler side), night temps?
What kind of basking bulb is being used specifically? Packaging photos are good if you have any
Do you use indoor uv? If so what kind?
How’s humidity?
What’s substrate?
What kind of monitoring do you have?
What’s diet been like with you?

A photo of the full set up(s) would be good!

this is her full set up
she’s in doors
substrate is coco fiber & exo-terra plantation soil mixed
i use a dual lamp thing
she eats lettuce, pellets, cactus, and kale
her overall temp is 70-80

 

[noocap.t]

If I remember right, I commented that the carapace looks like it has been dragged and the tortoise is not able to lift the shell fully.

Do you know anything about the previous living conditions?

i got her at a pet shop they didn’t really tell me her history only that she’s been there since sometime in october, she’s able to lift her body when she’s in her enclosure

 

[zovick]

i got her at a pet shop they didn’t really tell me her history only that she’s been there since sometime in october, she’s able to lift her body when she’s in her enclosure

Sometimes tortoises don't stand up fully when they do not feel safe, or are nervous or scared. The videos you posted are not working for me, but since you say the tortoise is able to walk upright on all four legs at certain times, such fear may be the reason it doesn't use its legs fully when you take it out of its normal space.

If you think the back legs are a bit weak, you can soak the tortoise in lukewarm water which is deep enough to cause it to need to use all four legs to move about or swim. Soak for 30-45 minutes daily. If you do this, do NOT leave the tortoise unattended. You don't want it to tip over and even possibly drown when you aren't watching.

 

[noocap.t]

Sometimes tortoises don't stand up fully when they do not feel safe, or are nervous or scared. The videos you posted are not working for me, but since you say the tortoise is able to walk upright on all four legs at certain times, such fear may be the reason it doesn't use its legs fully when you take it out of its normal space.

If you think the back legs are a bit weak, you can soak the tortoise in lukewarm water which is deep enough to cause it to need to use all four legs to move about or swim. Soak for 30-45 minutes daily. If you do this, do NOT leave the tortoise unattended. You don't want it to tip over and even possibly drown when you aren't watching.

i finally set a link to see the vid

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

this is her full set up
she’s in doors
substrate is coco fiber & exo-terra plantation soil mixed
i use a dual lamp thing
she eats lettuce, pellets, cactus, and kale
her overall temp is 70-80

Ah yes I remember you, did you get a chance to read the links in your previous thread?

shell concerns

hello, i have had my tortoise (hermann) for a month and 1/2 now, her name is Valentina, should i be worried about her shell? please let me know and if there’s anything i can do to help her .. Thanks p.s. dont mind the white stuff it’s from her vitamins

tortoiseforum.org

Size is most pressing concern as it’s too small for an adult, their legs will get weaker over time if they can’t roam properly. I’d ditch the soil and stick with just coir, there’s no knowing the exact contents of top soil. Then I’d try and address your lighting, those coil bulbs in particular can be harmful. Make sure she has a basking spot reaching 95f(just directly under the bulb) this needs to be achieved with a reptile floodlight, not a spot or all in one.

 

[noocap.t]

 

[zovick]

i finally set a link to see the vid

To me, it just looks as though the tortoise is timid or scared due to being out in the open like that. If it walks around normally in its regular surroundings, I would consider it a non-issue and not worry about it.

Additionally, I believe that if it was kept outdoors all the time (such as through the summer), it would begin walking normally outdoors as well.

 

[TammyJ]

Is the concrete hot? Or at least, much warmer than the grass, so it feels hot when she starts walking across it?