It's official. I'm worried.

[Odin's Gma]

This morning I brought Odin his breakfast salad, and he didn't immediately run out to eat. I have checked on him roughly every hour all day since (9.5 hours) and he still hasn't really touched it.
About 4 hours after I brought it, my son woke up (teenagers ), I told him I was worried, and he took Odin out of his new hide and set him in front of the food. He ate some, but after we left him alone it appears he went right back to his hide.
I just brought him his dinner salad a short time ago, and he is buried in his hide. Once again, he did not come out.
One of the times I sat and watched him this morning he seemed to be breathing harder than usual while he was perched halfway out of his burrow, but other times I watched him he seemed normal.

I checked his eyes and nose while he was out this afternoon and everything looked as beautiful, clear and bright as it always has, the temps haven't changed, remaining between 82-92 in the greenhouse in the last few days, and between 83-88 in his hide.
Nothing except the new hide enclosure and an addition of a new banana plant have changed this week, but neither should be significant?

Odin passing up two salads is incredibly unusual for him.

This is how I found him a short time ago: In his burrow, comfy, yet irritated that I pulled back the curtain and took pictures.



On a scale from one to ten, how ridiculous am I being?

1-I should be freaking out and calling every tort-vet in a 100 mile radius
10- I should take a breath and get up off his shell already!

 

[dmmj]

you mention temperatures,, but I do not see a basking spot temp do you have one?

 

[Odin's Gma]

you mention temperatures,, but I do not see a basking spot temp do you have one?

I have two. The MVB temps between 95-105, and the basking light between 98 and 110. Cool areas can drop as low as 78 now.
Humidity in the greenhouse stays between 75- 100%, in the other two boxes 50-70%

 

[Yvonne G]

They occasionally will have an off day. I wouldn't worry until it keeps on for more than a few days.

 

[Odin's Gma]

And he is 19 months old, over a pound but I do not have a weight from within the last two-three weeks. And his diet is pretty awesome. Not bragging, it really is. I have several threads devoted to it, I grow the vast majority of the foods recommended for sullys from seed and he eats everything...

 

[Odin's Gma]

They occasionally will have an off day. I wouldn't worry until it keeps on for more than a few days.

A FEW DAYS!?! I didn't make it 10 hours before I posted!

*deep breath*

I know you're right, and I particularly appreciate your input with your background rehabbing less than healthy animals.
What do I watch for? How long do I really wait? Should I dig him out and give him a warm bath? Carrot soak? Deep tissue shell rub and an opuntia tortarita?

Now I am just being silly....or am I?

 

[Yvonne G]

I would dig him out a couple times a day and put him in front of the food.

 

[Odin's Gma]

I would dig him out a couple times a day and put him in front of the food.

I'm going to do it right now. That will make it a couple....

 

[Lyn W]

Hope he is OK. My leopard has had a couple of days when he didn't leave his hide or touch his food all day, until I soaked him. Nothing had changed in his room but the weather had taken a turn for the worse outside and another member suggested that maybe he picked up on atmospheric changes like a barometer. I worried too but he was fine.

 

[Odin's Gma]

Okay, I dug him out...which was a chore:


Tried to get some eye and nose pics, but he was covered in dirt

Watched him eat, which he did with relish for a time

And when he started to wander away I took him out and gave him a nice warm soak

He pooped. A LOT. I will spare you the pics.

Then I brought him back down and put him in front of his food again.

He stormed around, nearly frantic, as if he didn't know where he was


And then stomped up the ramp:

Through the small box, into the greenhouse:

And right back into his burrow

If there was a door I think he would have slammed it. He seems mad as a hornet and I have no idea why?

But, the reason I took all the pics was so that all of you pros can take a look and see if you can see anything I am missing.
Aside from looking wicked angry, doesn't he look okay?
And in watching (stalking) him, his breathing once again seemed totally normal.

 

[Lyn W]

Okay, I dug him out...which was a chore:
View attachment 158533

Tried to get some eye and nose pics, but he was covered in dirtView attachment 158534 View attachment 158535

Watched him eat, which he did with relish for a timeView attachment 158536

And when he started to wander away I took him out and gave him a nice warm soakView attachment 158537 View attachment 158538

He pooped. A LOT. I will spare you the pics.

Then I brought him back down and put him in front of his food again.

He stormed around, nearly frantic, as if he didn't know where he was View attachment 158542 View attachment 158543 View attachment 158544 View attachment 158546 View attachment 158547


And then stomped up the ramp:View attachment 158548 View attachment 158549

Through the small box, into the greenhouse:View attachment 158550 View attachment 158551 View attachment 158552

And right back into his burrowView attachment 158553 View attachment 158555

If there was a door I think he would have slammed it. He seems mad as a hornet and I have no idea why?

But, the reason I took all the pics was so that all of you pros can take a look and see if you can see anything I am missing.
Aside from looking wicked angry, doesn't he look okay?
And in watching (stalking) him, his breathing once again seemed totally normal.

I'm no expert on tort health but he looks OK and if he's eaten, pooped and is mobile I would just put it down to his mood also check his temps and keep a close eye on him for now. It is a worry when they change their habits though.

 

[Odin's Gma]

I'm no expert on tort health but he looks OK and if he's eaten, pooped and is mobile I would just put it down to his mood also check his temps and keep a close eye on him for now. It is a worry when they change their habits though.

Thank you! It is just so unusual for him. I mean he really, really loves his salads. For the last couple of months, at least 75 % of the time he is waiting at his bowl in the morning, irritated with me that I took so long. And when he is not used to receiving daily salads, as soon as he sees or hears us around his bowl he has always come running (usually in a fury!).
The weather hasn't changed either, it is still unseasonably warm for this time of year with no snow on the ground with no news of any impending weather change aside from potentially dropping a few degrees.

I just have never seen him completely ignore a snack/feeding for this length of time.

It's been 12 hours and I am a basketcase, I don't know how @ZEROPILOT did it with Bertha......

 

[Lyn W]

Thank you! It is just so unusual for him. I mean he really, really loves his salads. For the last couple of months, at least 75 % of the time he is waiting at his bowl in the morning, irritated with me that I took so long. And when he is not used to receiving daily salads, as soon as he sees or hears us around his bowl he has always come running (usually in a fury!).
The weather hasn't changed either, it is still unseasonably warm for this time of year with no snow on the ground with no news of any impending weather change aside from potentially dropping a few degrees.

I just have never seen him completely ignore a snack/feeding for this length of time.

It's been 12 hours and I am a basketcase, I don't know how @ZEROPILOT did it with Bertha......

On the two occasions I have come home and found Lola's food untouched and no sign that he has left his hide I have panicked too, so your feelings are completely understandable. Do you have any night heat near his burrow? Like a CHE on a thermostat? If they can sense impending changes in temps maybe he is going through the motions of preparations for hibernating. All guess work here though.

 

[Tom]

As they grow and develop, its normal for them to go through periods of varying appetite. Its also normal for them to slow down in winter even though they are inside and warm.

I agree with Yvonne. Soak him daily, put him in front of the food a couple times a day, and just keep an eye on the situation. It won't hurt to double check all your temps.

 

[Odin's Gma]

On the two occasions I have come home and found Lola's food untouched and no sign that he has left his hide I have panicked too, so your feelings are completely understandable. Do you have any night heat near his burrow? Like a CHE on a thermostat? If they can sense impending changes in temps maybe he is going through the motions of preparations for hibernating. All guess work here though.

Oh yes. His hide is in the greenhouse, which maintains the temps i mentioned above, and there is a CHE about 18 inches up and to the right by about 8 inches that is set on 98. On the outside of the greenhouse, maybe a foot from it, there is an oil heater for the room and the room temps are now only dipping to 78 (it was 75 a week or two ago).
Like I said, the temps have been steadily improving.

As they grow and develop, its normal for them to go through periods of varying appetite. Its also normal for them to slow down in winter even though they are inside and warm.

I agree with Yvonne. Soak him daily, put him in front of the food a couple times a day, and just keep an eye on the situation. It won't hurt to double check all your temps.

I have been, all day, obsessively, and no changes this week. In addition, the gauge I have in the greenhouse logs the min/max temps until I reset it, so I don't have to worry about missing temping in the greenhouse for a day, and that is where he spends most of his time.
I still have room to up the temps if necessary with what I have, which I was prepared to do if I saw any signs of nasal discharge or trouble breathing.
(And you can be d*mn sure I will run to the store and buy whatever is necessary if I can't get the temps high enough )

 

[Yvonne G]

I don't blame him. I wouldn't eat if it had relish on it either.

 

[Odin's Gma]

I should also mention, particularly for the newer owners, the difference in shell-shine from the earlier and later pics is because after his bath I gave his shell a massage of an oil mixture that we do about once a month. All organic, which I mixed myself, and use on my hair and around my eyes, of mostly coconut and olive oils with a bit of avocado, sunflower and vitamin E oil.
The massage was so that I had an excuse to check for softness and irregularities. Yes. I am obsessed.

 

[Odin's Gma]

I don't blame him. I wouldn't eat if it had relish on it either.

But sweet pickle relish is so delish.

 

[Odin's Gma]

Once again this morning I brought his his breakfast and he refused to come out of his hide. I even gave him extra Mazuri, (5 whole pellets!) and a crumbled, dried hibiscus flower.
So I dug him out, put him in front of his bowl and left him alone to go and water plants. When I came back he had eaten pretty much all of the Mazuri, most of the dried flower and some other assorted grass and greens, but nowhere near the amount he typically eats, and he was back in his burrow with just his face poking out of the curtain, giving me the stinkeye.
I dug him out again and put him under the MVB even though it was only temping at 89 since it had just cycled on, and I checked the other temps while watching him. The only problematic one is the under ramp temp, but I have all but stopped worrying about that one since he doesn't fit under there anymore after I back filled the hole he dug, he hasn't gone under there since.
I also moved some cords around and plugged the CHE in the small box into one of the thermostats rather than having it on a timer. Now all the CHEs are on thermostats with the two in the smaller boxes set on high/red and the one in the greenhouse I bumped up a couple of degrees.
Anyway. he stayed under the MVB for maybe 5 minutes and then stomped back to his burrow to bury himself again.
He is being exceptionally difficult!

Oh! And I realized there has been a change this past week, I have been giving him store bought spring mix every day for about 6-7 days, which is the first time since we have had him that I gave him store bought food as a daily diet addition. It has not been the only thing he has received, but he has gotten at least a few leaves in addition to all of the other foods I grow for him.
Yesterday I gave him the last of it, but he didn't know that, so this isn't a temper tantrum, at least not about the spring mix.
The spring mix shouldn't be a problem, should it? There is nothing in it that I haven't grow for him myself in the past.

 

[Lyn W]

Maybe he's become a teenager in tortoise years!