Inactive Tortoise??

[yodagoat]

Brian, our 3 year old Horsefield has been pretty inactive for a while. He spends most of his time sleeping in one of his hidey holes and rarely basks under his lamp. If we get him up he'll bask for a while and he is easting and pooing fine when he's woke up. We've been giving him plenty baths. Is Brian OK? He appears healthy but we are quite worried about him.

Cheers

Mike

---

Brian's house.

 

[Neal]

An innactive tortoise makes me a little concerned. In my experience tortoises are extremely curious and outgoing, it's usually when an illness comes up that they slow down and don't move around as much. I don't want to alarm you as I'm sure some tortoises are just different. What temperatures do you keep your tortoise at?

 

[yodagoat]

Temp is 22 in the cool side of his house.

 

[moswen]

how long is "a while"? we just had a thread about our torts being less active in the winter, has it just been since the colder weather has set in? even if the temps are constant in his enclosure pressure changes in the atmosphere can cause him to be less active in the winter.

but like neal said, it could also be a worrisome sign. does brian have a runny nose or eyes, what are your temps, what are you feeding, how long have you had him, what was his previous care like? sometimes torts hide because it is too hot in their enclosure and they're trying to get away from the heat. have you taken a fecal lately?

i know that's a lot of questions but they will help us understand brian's situation better!

 

[yodagoat]

He's been a bit slow since the weather has been cooler. his eyes and nose all look OK, as do his poos. We've had him for nearly a year, he eats the usual garden weeds as well as some store bought salad leaves and a small amount of pellet food. Once he is up he'll stay up for a while or just go back to bed. When he's up and about he acts normal.

 

[Neal]

You might try to boost up the low temps to 26 C and higher on the warm end. This is what I would recommend for a leopard tortoise so it may not apply to your horsefield.

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi Yodagoat:

(May we know your name?)

You posted back in September with this same problem. Has he been more active since then and only recently gone slow again? What did you do last time to perk him up?

My first question when told of this type problem in the autumn is, "Are the lights on for 12 to 14 hours a day and is he warm enough?"

 

[yodagoat]

He's been pretty much the same since my other post. I'm going to try adding another (non heat) light and make sure the doors get shut as my house is pretty old and quite draughty.
He looks cold as when he basks he is lifting his legs up, so thats the first thing I'm going to sort out.

Cheers

Mike

 

[yodagoat]

He's been pretty much the same since my other post. I'm going to try adding another (non heat) light and make sure the doors get shut as my house is pretty old and quite draughty.
He looks cold as when he basks he is lifting his legs up, so thats the first thing I'm going to sort out.

Cheers

Mike

 

[moswen]

do you know how his previous owners handled his care? more often than we would like to see, you will get a previous owner who did not properly crae for your tort and did not give them proper soaks or keep them hydrated. sometimes if a little tortoise is subjected to chronic dehydration his little internal organs will shut down one at a time, and it can take a tortoise a very long time to die. NOT saying that's what's going on with your little one, i'm just saying it happens! so it's important to know where your tort comes from and how he was kept, even though you're doing everything right the damage could have already been done.

if he's only slowing down just since the cold weather, his eyes and nose are clear, no overload of parasites, and his temperatures are not too hot in his enclosure, i would say it's probably just the normal slowing down in the winter. since you haven't had him at the change of a winter season yet, this could be it and you just haven't seen it before.

let us know that your temps aren't too hot and about his previous care

 

[yodagoat]

His prievious owner bathed him regularly. She was an assistant to a vet and seemed to know what she was talking about. The only thing that seemed wring was the small size of his old enclosure and the lack of substrate to burrow in. His temp sits around 20 in the cold end of his enclosure and low 30s (31 - 32)in the warm bit. But there can be quite a draught if the doors are open.

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi Mike:

It might help if you were to find a piece of plywood or plastic or something about the size of your habitat and partially cover it. You can leave open the space around the light, but cover the rest. That will keep out the cold room air.

Brian has a pretty nice-looking habitat. I like how you've made a lip around the edges and covered the corners. No way he's gonna' climb out.

What is that substrate?

We might be way off base about the temp and cold air, because Russians are pretty cold hardy. But since this IS the time of hibernation, it very well be its too cool and he thinks its time to slow down.