How long do stressed torts hide in their shell?

[jake]

Hi everyone...

Well, our tortoise addiction continues and we received 4 leopards yesterday. Two of the younger ones are acting lively and alert, but 2 of the larger ones seem a bit stressed out. They are not opening their eyes... I don't know if I should attribute that to the change in humidity. They came from Arizona to San Antonio, and we are extremely humid right now. And they are not very active and have not eaten today.

How much does overnight delivery stress them out? Does the change in altitude bother them? I've got them separated from the younger ones in case somethings wrong. We do plan to take them to a reptile vet tomorrow, but I would like to get any advise from my tortoiseforum friends.

Thanks!
~ Autumn

 

[Yvonne G]

A good long soak in tepid water usually makes them feel better after having been shipped. But leopards are pretty shy tortoises anyway. I have one that I raised from an egg and its 3 years old (the first leopard egg I ever hatched), and he still hides deep inside his shell whenever I come near the habitat. He's never had anything bad happen to him in all his life. That's just the way they are. But if soaking doesn't make them open their eyes, I would suspect something other than shipping distress or shyness.

Yvonne