Lethargic/depressed???

[Tortoise]

Hi
I have had my 3 Greeks for 9 days now. the male is on antibiotics for a runny nose which is still present in the one nostril(it only ever was the one side affected)

The females look healthy but they hide all of the time, the only time I see activity is when I have soaked them in warm water and when I return them to their tables they eat a little sometimes and then retreat into hiding. I have tried leaving them alone and just observing their food and it is untouched if I don't intervene..
Could they still be settling in or is there more going on?

they have dry noses, seem to look ok it is just their lack of activity and little interest in food.
they are on the same diet as they were on so that remains unchanged for them

I have tried increasing their temperature overall and this has made no difference.

I thought Greeks were usually outgoing like my hermanns are?
Is it because they are the Golden type?

The male is less shy but again hides most of the time but has occasionally seeked out his food and ate without help from me.

Any suggestions appreciated as I feel if I didn't move the females, they would sit there 24/7 in hiding.

Thanks

 

[JoesMum]

They are still relatively new and will take time to settle. They don't do anything particularly quickly and that includes getting used to new surroundings.

You need to be aware of both temeprature and light levels in your habitat. A min/max thermometer will hellp you keep tabs on the overall temperature of where they are kept. They need 12-14 hours of UV light a day to maintain normal levels of activity.

In the UK we use Reptoboost with sick/recovering tortoises to rehydrate and aid recovery. I don't know whether you can get hold of it or something similar, but you use it daily when batheing your tortoises.

 

[Tortoise]

They are still relatively new and will take time to settle. They don't do anything particularly quickly and that includes getting used to new surroundings.

You need to be aware of both temeprature and light levels in your habitat. A min/max thermometer will hellp you keep tabs on the overall temperature of where they are kept. They need 12-14 hours of UV light a day to maintain normal levels of activity.

In the UK we use Reptoboost with sick/recovering tortoises to rehydrate and aid recovery. I don't know whether you can get hold of it or something similar, but you use it daily when batheing your tortoises.

Thanks for the prompt reply-I am starting to worry now.
I know its hard to accept they need some time but I want to see that they are actually ok and interested in food etc.

Their temps are in the mid 30's under the UVB and there is also a radiant heat panel above them and now I added a ceramic heat emitter too in case they wanted to be warmer at night. Temps are in the high 20'2 in the rest of their enclosure away from heat sources. I have left all sources on but I should now switch off the UVB because now I have the other 2 heat sources to keep overnight temps warmer. they are in the basement so air temps are cooler-around 20 degrees.

They have both mulch and hay to hide in which they are under most of the time.
When I pick them up from under the hay they feel cool and are sleeping with eyes closed-quite dormant looking really.

These are the quietest tortoises I have ever had experiences with.

I know in the UK the Greeks were on par with hermanns for personality, activity, responsiveness etc, these are worlds apart from what i remember. Just hope they are healthy. I can live with the fact they may be shy though!

 

[GBtortoises]

Nine days isn't that long for them. Chances are very good that they are not yet acclimated to their new environment. Constant handling often prolongs that acclimation, especially with wild caught tortoises.

Depending upon how much the temperature was increased, it may even be causing them to stay put because of the increased heat.

Being "Golden" Greeks has nothing to do with it. Golden Greeks is a term used to describe just about any Gracea subspecies that show little to no dark coloration. It in itself is not a species (or subspecies). Most come from a few of the Middle Eastern subspecies. But the common name "Golden Greek" has also been applied to southern Turkish Ibera and even North African subspecies.

Generally speaking most Middle Eastern Greeks are not usually as outgoing as most Hermann's tortoises. Northern Mediterranean Ibera are usually a bit more outgoing than most of the Middle Eastern subspecies. Unfortunately most literature and websites lump all Greeks together when referring to their captive requirements and actions. There are often many differences. This makes sense considering that Gracea subspecies are found from North Africa, the Midde East, Northern Mediterranean and Eastern Europe.

 

[Tortoise]

Nine days isn't that long for them. Chances are very good that they are not yet acclimated to their new environment. Constant handling often prolongs that acclimation, especially with wild caught tortoises.

Depending upon how much the temperature was increased, it may even be causing them to stay put because of the increased heat.

Being "Golden" Greeks has nothing to do with it. Golden Greeks is a term used to describe just about any Gracea subspecies that show little to no dark coloration. It in itself is not a species (or subspecies). Most come from a few of the Middle Eastern subspecies. But the common name "Golden Greek" has also been applied to southern Turkish Ibera and even North African subspecies.

Generally speaking most Middle Eastern Greeks are not usually as outgoing as most Hermann's tortoises. Northern Mediterranean Ibera are usually a bit more outgoing than most of the Middle Eastern subspecies. Unfortunately most literature and websites lump all Greeks together when referring to their captive requirements and actions. There are often many differences. This makes sense considering that Gracea subspecies are found from North Africa, the Midde East, Northern Mediterranean and Eastern Europe.

Hi Gary
Thanks for your comments.
I was thinking that being Middle Eastern perhaps I had them too cold?
They are always at least at 20 degrees as that is the air temp in the basement.
Their temps in the hay were around 24 ish and now its up to 30 away from light and ceramic heat emitter.

So if you were me
Would you quit soaking them as it is stressful-bearing in mind they are not really eating , therefore not necessarily hydrated enough.(They have water dishes and have walked through them once)

Should I turn of the ceramic heater and leave it as it was-cooler at night.
I should perhaps try turning off UVB so they get complete darkness overnight.

Perhaps I need to leave them to their own devices but I feel bad when the food is completely untouched-is it a case of they will eat when they are hungry??

I guess i met a fair few really super Greeks in the UK and they were quite the characters.maybe they were more likely to be the Ibera type but thinking back I don't think many people were even sure.they were more commonly referred to a Mediterranean Spur Thighs not Greek.

 

[JoesMum]

They need daily soaking for a good 20 minites, preferably with Reptoboost in the water until they are fit.

Nine days is no time at all for them to acclimatise... 4+ weeks would not surprise me. Everything is new: the enclosure, you, how/what/when they are fed... It takes time.

A pre-cautionary worming would be a good idea. It is amazing how loaded torts can get and it really drags them down.

With my TGG when he was sick, I was advised to maintain a background temperature of 30C by day and 24C at night with heat lamp/ceramic heater to provide a hotter basking spot.

Separate UV from temperature in your mind. UV needs to be provided to mimic a natural day length and encourage a natural pattern of activity hence it should be on for around 14 hours.

Finally, establish a routine. They get used to a pattern of heat on, lights on, bathe, food... ( or whatever) which helps them to settle and they get into a routine of eating.

 

[Tortoise]

They need daily soaking for a good 20 minites, preferably with Reptoboost in the water until they are fit.

Nine days is no time at all for them to acclimatise... 4+ weeks would not surprise me. Everything is new: the enclosure, you, how/what/when they are fed... It takes time.

A pre-cautionary worming would be a good idea. It is amazing how loaded torts can get and it really drags them down.

With my TGG when he was sick, I was advised to maintain a background temperature of 30C by day and 24C at night with heat lamp/ceramic heater to provide a hotter basking spot.

Separate UV from temperature in your mind. UV needs to be provided to mimic a natural day length and encourage a natural pattern of activity hence it should be on for around 14 hours.

Finally, establish a routine. They get used to a pattern of heat on, lights on, bathe, food... ( or whatever) which helps them to settle and they get into a routine of eating.

Thanks Joesmum
I will feel better soaking them as then at least I know they are not dehydrated and actually they do poop in their soak water usually so if this stops I know there is not enough food intake.

I am not sure about that Repti-boost product but will look into it. Are there any recipes for home made re-hydration solutions too?

Ok, I will try to just get on with a routine and stop worrying about stressing them
they will get soaked and have lights off at night from here on.
I will turn off the Che just in case it is too much heat.

The rest of the day they are in a peaceful, area with very little disturbance so hopefully they can settle.

In hind sight I have seen with all of my tortoises that their behaviour when I got them is totally different to how they are now. I guess in general they have all gotten friendlier, taken to taking food from hands (aside from one red foot and just been more curious and outgoing, but yes it all took time.

Need to be more patient I guess!

 

[JoesMum]

Pooping in their bath water is a good measure of eating... In mind, it's easier for hygiene too. When you get to a Greek the size of mine, it's 'nicer' to clean up in the bath; his large poop gives me a huge amount of cleaning. It's easier to do the bath than his 6' x 4' tortoise table!

 

[Guggie]

I think the best way to monitor your torts eating is by weighing weekly. Get a digital kitchen scale and start a log. Several weeks of decrease would obviously be bad.

I know my 2 iberia love the red sticks and really picked up their growth when I introduced them. They like Mazuri too but no where near as much.

Good luck!

 

[MatrixDJ]

I think the best way to monitor your torts eating is by weighing weekly. Get a digital kitchen scale and start a log. Several weeks of decrease would obviously be bad.

I know my 2 iberia love the red sticks and really picked up their growth when I introduced them. They like Mazuri too but no where near as much.

Good luck!

What are red sticks Guggie?

 

[Guggie]

What are red sticks Guggie?

Zoological Red Tortoise Sticks from coastalsilkworms.com. They really like the red color.

 

[MatrixDJ]

Thank you!

 

[Laura]

do you know anything about them before you got them? how were they kept? diet etc?
it might help to know that..
If you cant get the red sticks, try a tiny piece of berry or grated carrot.

 

[Tortoise]

Hi
Thank you for the comments. I have given them an identical diet to what they had previously as I had all of the details so I at least knew that the diet was consistent to what they were having before.
they are settling down a bit and one of the girls is becoming more active. The lighter one is still very shy, quiet. I still worry but I think and hope that in time she will liven up a little.

Thanks -I'll look up those red sticks-always nice to have a few things on stand by to entice them to try new things etc.