My spur-thighed greek tort is not doing okay..

Aya A.R

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Cairo, Egypt
Hi guys,

Hope you and your torts are all doing great..

So, my greek tort has been sleeping a damn lot for the past couple of months and his walking became extremely slow (yes, I'm aware he is a tort not a cheetah) but he is slower than a normal tort should be. He can stay assleep for days if I don't wake him up for food, he does eat though but he finishes and runs back to his hiding and sleeps again. He used to walk a lot before and always came to look for his food when it wasn't there but now if we don't get him to eat he keeps sleeping and he is being so inactive. Its summer time and I keep the place where he prefers to sleep cool with a fan but no AC of course as it gave him a cold 2 years ago. Should I be concerned ?

Thanks in advance
 

ascott

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Hi guys,

Hope you and your torts are all doing great..

So, my greek tort has been sleeping a damn lot for the past couple of months and his walking became extremely slow (yes, I'm aware he is a tort not a cheetah) but he is slower than a normal tort should be. He can stay assleep for days if I don't wake him up for food, he does eat though but he finishes and runs back to his hiding and sleeps again. He used to walk a lot before and always came to look for his food when it wasn't there but now if we don't get him to eat he keeps sleeping and he is being so inactive. Its summer time and I keep the place where he prefers to sleep cool with a fan but no AC of course as it gave him a cold 2 years ago. Should I be concerned ?

Thanks in advance
What type of enclosure is he in? What are the enclosure temps...remember that even though it may be summerthey still require a basking spot that Iis 100 to 110 f along with a cool area to retreat to...
 

Aya A.R

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Location (City and/or State)
Cairo, Egypt
What type of enclosure is he in? What are the enclosure temps...remember that even though it may be summerthey still require a basking spot that Iis 100 to 110 f along with a cool area to retreat to...

This is another problem, he is not staying at the enclosure at all! Once I was cleaning it and I let him walk around as I do, and he discovered a cool spot in the house and ever since, he simply refused to sleep anywhere else but there. The room has fresh air, its not hot not cold, I let him talk his walks outside which are becoming very short walks nowadays but he gets his enough share of sunlight and he gets his regular baths. But whether he is inside or outside he is walking extremely slow and has been lazy for 2 months now or so. I checked him, no abscesses no respiratory issues, no bubbles from his mouth or nose and he doesn't scratch his face on his feet so he looks completely fine to me but the sudden laziness and slowness is what I don't feel so good about.
 

johnsonnboswell

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We could use a picture of the habitat & bulbs. What is the temperature indoors? Substrate? Diet?

He should have an outdoor habitat for the summer and an indoor habitat that suits his needs. He should not be walking about the house.

What kind of light bulb are you using? Coil bulbs cause problems.

A tortoise won't eat if it's too hot or too cold. Improper substrate affects walking. So does diet. Does he get cuttlebone? The wrong bulb creates eye problems and the animal keeps its eyes closed and won't move or eat.

All this can be fixed.
 

SunnySideUp

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This is another problem, he is not staying at the enclosure at all! Once I was cleaning it and I let him walk around as I do, and he discovered a cool spot in the house and ever since, he simply refused to sleep anywhere else but there. The room has fresh air, its not hot not cold, I let him talk his walks outside which are becoming very short walks nowadays but he gets his enough share of sunlight and he gets his regular baths. But whether he is inside or outside he is walking extremely slow and has been lazy for 2 months now or so. I checked him, no abscesses no respiratory issues, no bubbles from his mouth or nose and he doesn't scratch his face on his feet so he looks completely fine to me but the sudden laziness and slowness is what I don't feel so good about.

Your tortoise should not be outside of its enclosure at all. How is he "refusing" to sleep anywhere but there? You need to keep him inside a secure, enclosed area where he is provided with the proper temperatures in order to regulate his body temperature. The floor is an incredibly unsafe place for a tortoise to be. He's likely acting lethargic because he is too cold just sitting on the floor of your house and has no way to warm himself up. Tortoises also have the opportunity to eat foreign objects when they're allowed to roam the house.
 

ascott

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="Aya A.R, post: 1183754, member: 38863"]This is another problem, he is not staying at the enclosure at all! Once I was cleaning it and I let him walk around as I do, and he discovered a cool spot in the house and ever since, he simply refused to sleep anywhere else but there. The room has fresh air, its not hot not cold, I let him talk his walks outside which are becoming very short walks nowadays but he gets his enough share of sunlight and he gets his regular baths. But whether he is inside or outside he is walking extremely slow and has been lazy for 2 months now or so. I checked him, no abscesses no respiratory issues, no bubbles from his mouth or nose and he doesn't scratch his face on his feet so he looks completely fine to me but the sudden laziness and slowness is what I don't feel so good about.[/QUOTE]

Well, sounds to me here are the reason likely your issue...and if the tortoise continues like this, his slow down will likely result in total shut down...what type of floor do you have in your house..which you are also making the tortoise live on...so in turn you are not providing the basics the tortoise needs and requires from you..why are you doing this behavior?
 

Aya A.R

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Cairo, Egypt
Well, today I placed him back in the enclosure he tried to climb out of it..
I thought maybe something bothering him with it I checked it and cleaned it again and double checked the lights which he has no problem with, I purchase them from the pet store and he had them before this whole slowness/laziness started and he ate and slept in the enclosure eventually after a small stroll. Now it is really hot in Egypt. I was told by the vet to place a small fan on medium speed nearby no AC of course, the fan is not right next to him however taking your advice here I turned it off. I hope he likes the enclosure again but let me point out that his problem started also while he was okay with his enclosure. And also can someone tell me how to get him to eat his cuttlebone? I have been trying for a long while but he just doesn't.
 

johnsonnboswell

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It's too hot under the lights. Turn them off.

Pet stores sell dangerously bad equipment. Telling us that you have the right lights is not informative. You probably don't have the right one.

Reread the care sheet and see what you can change. Your environment is not suiting your animal. If you change it, you can save his life.
 

Aya A.R

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Joined
Apr 25, 2014
Messages
36
Location (City and/or State)
Cairo, Egypt
It's too hot under the lights. Turn them off.

Pet stores sell dangerously bad equipment. Telling us that you have the right lights is not informative. You probably don't have the right one.

Reread the care sheet and see what you can change. Your environment is not suiting your animal. If you change it, you can save his life.

Yes I turn them off. The lights are UVB and I put them as per the manufacturer's recommendations of heights also I'm very open to suggestions for bulbs if you have any, I just am not sure what you want to know and I'll take a picture if that helps or get you exact name written on them. Point is, he was fine in that very same enclosure for 5 years and the sudden changes in his behavior have just started recently.

Btw is more sunlight a recommendation ?
 
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