Little concerned...

[AmyJayne]

My baby tortoise has been doing this weird back leg kicking, and I'm a little worried. He seems absolutely fine in himself, he has been awake roaming around his enclosure for most of the day, I've had him out of there to explore my room a little. He ate his food this morning and I've given him his daily soak. I've looked it up and I'm worried he might be constipated, but I just wanted to check. I use sand and soil as his substrate which is what the breeder advised me to do. Have I put too much? Should I stop using it? I don't know what to do

 

[Yvonne G]

Soak, soak, soak!!!soak

Put him in a bowl he can't climb out of, add enough warm water to come up to the middle of his sides, and put the bowl back into the enclosure NEXT to where the light shines on the substrate. Leave him there for 45 minutes or so, checking frequently

 

[Yvonne G]

Give him a close inspection around the tail area. sometimes babies get poop stuck at the cloaca and it needs to be removed.

 

[AmyJayne]

Soak, soak, soak!!!soak

Put him in a bowl he can't climb out of, add enough warm water to come up to the middle of his sides, and put the bowl back into the enclosure NEXT to where the light shines on the substrate. Leave him there for 45 minutes or so, checking frequently

He's just burrowed in his hide house so he will be asleep for the rest of the night, should I wake him up or shall I do it tomorrow morning as soon as he's awake? I checked his tail area earlier and I couldn't see anything stuck there :/ I tried to upload a video of him doing it but it wouldn't let me. Is he going to be OK? He's been his usual self all day

 

[Maro2Bear]

He's just burrowed in his hide house so he will be asleep for the rest of the night, should I wake him up or shall I do it tomorrow morning as soon as he's awake? I checked his tail area earlier and I couldn't see anything stuck there :/ I tried to upload a video of him doing it but it wouldn't let me. Is he going to be OK? He's been his usual self all day

You first need to upload your video clip to YouTube. Then paste the YT URL here in your thread.

 

[Sarah2020]

Bath in the morning for 45 mins as suggested. You should get a result and then once water is dirty move it to a new bowl with warm water as they drink the water and you do not want to ingest waste etc... Waste water needs to go out to the garden or flush down the loo. Water temp around 33 degrees C . If you do not do this already plan to bath daily or 3 times a week. Benefit is hydration and waste extract and exercise as they normally try and get out.

 

[shawnateerow]

Also. Get rid of the sand. They will inevitably ingest some of it, and it can cause issues with their digestive systens

 

[AmyJayne]

After about 40 mins of me worrying he's not pooped, he finally done one ? I feel so relieved, I bet he does too! Thanks for the advice everyone ?

 

[Tom]

My baby tortoise has been doing this weird back leg kicking, and I'm a little worried. He seems absolutely fine in himself, he has been awake roaming around his enclosure for most of the day, I've had him out of there to explore my room a little. He ate his food this morning and I've given him his daily soak. I've looked it up and I'm worried he might be constipated, but I just wanted to check. I use sand and soil as his substrate which is what the breeder advised me to do. Have I put too much? Should I stop using it? I don't know what to do

What species and size?

They should never be on sand or soil. The breeder is wrong about that and probably a lot of other info too. Get rid of that ASAP.

Torotises should never roam loose on the floor. This is a recipe for disaster in many ways.

I'm going to guess that you have a greek or horsfield. Here is the current and correct care info for them: https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/the-best-way-to-raise-any-temperate-species-of-tortoise.183131/

Your questions are welcome.

 

[AmyJayne]

What species and size?

They should never be on sand or soil. The breeder is wrong about that and probably a lot of other info too. Get rid of that ASAP.

Torotises should never roam loose on the floor. This is a recipe for disaster in many ways.

I'm going to guess that you have a greek or horsfield. Here is the current and correct care info for them: https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/the-best-way-to-raise-any-temperate-species-of-tortoise.183131/

Your questions are welcome.

Yes he's a Greek tortoise. I didn't even realise about the free roaming. I feel really guilty now ?

 

[Tom]

Yes he's a Greek tortoise. I didn't even realise about the free roaming. I feel really guilty now ?

Well the good news is that now you know, and so far you've been lucky and nothing tragic has happened. Just don't do it anymore, and you and your tortoise will live happily ever after.

I like to have a large indoor enclosure and also a large outdoor enclosure for fair weather. This gives the tortoise the best of both worlds when your climate isn't suitable for half of each year.