My Tortoise Won't Sleep-Please Help!

[ascott]

Thanks your answers.
The enclosure of my tort is a transparent one (but not glass of course). As for its diet my tort has refused to eat anything but lettuce since I got it which is now more than 3.5 years. I told forum members and was told: "Try other food." I did but it just would not eat. So I kept feeding it lettuce. I soak it in warm water daily. I take it out for a "walk" in the sun when the weather permits.
As for change, well, I changed the carpet of the sitting room in Oct. 2014. My tort seemed astonished at the beginning but later on things went fine: it seemed to have got used to it.
Room temperature is almost the same day and night as I put on the central heating, making room temperature 24-25 degrees celcius. Isn't that ok?
As for the light it's on all night long. Is it too much?
Notice that my tort's been asleep since two hours now. Is it making up some sleep?
Your help would very much be appreciated. Thanks a lot in advance.

I really hope you understand, if you do not change the diet for the tort you will have a sick tortoise, period. I understand your desire to see the tortoise eat so you offer lettuce....however, that tortoise relies on you to do what you are suppose to do to assure its best health, which includes a diverse diet...does the tortoise graze on grass outside when you "walk" the tort?

The carpet change, was there any glue/adhesive used in the installation of the carpet? Do you let the tortoise run about on the floor of your home? What have you done in the prior years during winter time for the tortoise?

 

[Gillian M]

I really hope you understand, if you do not change the diet for the tort you will have a sick tortoise, period. I understand your desire to see the tortoise eat so you offer lettuce....however, that tortoise relies on you to do what you are suppose to do to assure its best health, which includes a diverse diet...does the tortoise graze on grass outside when you "walk" the tort?

The carpet change, was there any glue/adhesive used in the installation of the carpet? Do you let the tortoise run about on the floor of your home? What have you done in the prior years during winter time for the tortoise?

What do you suggest I offer my tort to eat? What do you mean by "diverse diet?" Am thinking of leaving my tort literally w/o food for days so as to oblige it to eat something other than lettuce. Would you agree? Appreciate an answer.
When I take my tort for a "walk" it just "runs around" the pavement. NO grass is available here believe it or not.
As for the carpet, no glue was used...I merely removed the old one and replaced it with a new one. Here, there was obviously a change in colour, size etc. that any pet would notice and feel.
Honestly speaking, I do allow my beloved tort to roam around the house: I live in a flat with only my tort living with me. The place is very clean, extremely quiet and there's absolutely nothing and nobody to annoy my tort, I think. (There's no hair, paper, paperclips etc. on the floor or the carpert).
Not much has changed from the past Winter seasons...but I did a lot of research and then joined this forum to learn more, as I've never dealt with animals/had a pet before.

 

[johnsonnboswell]

You still have not answered the question about how this tortoise hibernated in the past.

 

[Gillian M]

Am awfully sorry. After a lot of research (before joining the forum), once cold Winter began, I used to fill my tort's enclosure with soil so as to prevent dehydration. I then used to leave my tort without food for one week to ten days, so as to get it ready for hibernation, put it in its enclosure and move the enclosure to a rather cold room, where temperature falls to only 12 degrees celcius and sometimes less. I used no light and used to put the enclosure on the floor (there is no carpet and no heating of any kind in the a/m room). If my tort were to wake up for any reason I would give it a warm soak, no food, and put it back to "bed."
Does the above make sense? Have I been doing the right things? Please note that this is not guess work! I repeat: I haven't had a pet before so I did a lot of research. Appreciate an answer. Thanks very much your cooperation.

 

[Gillian M]

You still have not answered the question about how this tortoise hibernated in the past.

Hello. Would you please be kind enough to answer the last message I sent to you in reply to your question as far as hibernation is concerned. Temperature has dropped here to a maximum of only 16-17 degrees celcius and I want to know whether I've been doing the right things for my beloved tort during hibernation. Appreciate an answer as soon as possible. Thank you.

 

[johnsonnboswell]

Sometimes it takes a perplexingly long time before new post show up & I can read them.

These temperatures are still too high for hibernation. The ideal is between 40-45 Fahrenheit. Anything warmer and you have a cold sleep but not hibernation, so the animal is using up reserves and slowly starving. You didn't say how long you keep the animal in this state. The prep time is a bit short, too.

Research can lead to a lot of conflicting information. I'm not sure what the best source for info on Greeks is. There must be a care sheet here somewhere. Or go to russiantortoise.net because so much care is the same & this is very thorough.

Daily soaks are too much for an adult tortoise. It makes the food pass through the guts too rapidly.

Only healthy animals should be hibernated. Thats why we ask so many questions about routine care.

What kind of bulb are you using?

You obviously care a great deal about your animal and are trying to do right by him.

 

[Yourlocalpoet]

What do you suggest I offer my tort to eat? What do you mean by "diverse diet?" Am thinking of leaving my tort literally w/o food for days so as to oblige it to eat something other than lettuce. Would you agree? Appreciate an answer.
When I take my tort for a "walk" it just "runs around" the pavement. NO grass is available here believe it or not.
As for the carpet, no glue was used...I merely removed the old one and replaced it with a new one. Here, there was obviously a change in colour, size etc. that any pet would notice and feel.
Honestly speaking, I do allow my beloved tort to roam around the house: I live in a flat with only my tort living with me. The place is very clean, extremely quiet and there's absolutely nothing and nobody to annoy my tort, I think. (There's no hair, paper, paperclips etc. on the floor or the carpert).
Not much has changed from the past Winter seasons...but I did a lot of research and then joined this forum to learn more, as I've never dealt with animals/had a pet before.

This website gives a lot of detailed information about plants/weeds/flowers/grasses that are safe and unsafe to feed your tortoise.

http://m.thetortoisetable.org.uk/m/tortoise_home_1.asp

Diverse diet means, lots of different things as opposed to a lot of one thing. Some lettuces are fine to feed, what lettuce does your tortoise eat?

Unfortunately, if you want to give your tortoise a healthy, varied diet, you need to be a gardener and if your tortoise is addicted to one kind of food only, sometimes tough love is needed. Offer your tortoise 'good foods' it will eat them eventually.

If you don't have the heart to do this, introducing new feeds in a small quantity, mixed in with the food it will only eat is a good way to start. You can then increase the quantity of good foods and phase out the copious amounts of lettuce.

Hope that helps.

 

[Gillian M]

Sometimes it takes a perplexingly long time before new post show up & I can read them.

These temperatures are still too high for hibernation. The ideal is between 40-45 Fahrenheit. Anything warmer and you have a cold sleep but not hibernation, so the animal is using up reserves and slowly starving. You didn't say how long you keep the animal in this state. The prep time is a bit short, too.

Research can lead to a lot of conflicting information. I'm not sure what the best source for info on Greeks is. There must be a care sheet here somewhere. Or go to russiantortoise.net because so much care is the same & this is very thorough.

Daily soaks are too much for an adult tortoise. It makes the food pass through the guts too rapidly.

Only healthy animals should be hibernated. Thats why we ask so many questions about routine care.

What kind of bulb are you using?

You obviously care a great deal about your animal and are trying to do right by him.

Thank you very much for the message as well as your help. If you mean hibernation, then my tort hibernates from about mid Nov till more or less end March. Is that too early?
Research has definitely confused me and not always helped me, I can assure you. However I didn't have much of a choice.
I soak my tort daily because it needs to urinate daily. And since temperature began to drop, my tort has begun to lose appetite (expected) and consequently has had constipation. Excuse my saying this: it takes the poor thing so much effort to poop.
I use UVB bulb.
How does the above sound? I'd appreciate an answer....the issue is seriously worrying me...as you said: I care for my beloved tort and love it I can assure you, so I want to make sure I'm not doing anything harming the poor thing,
Is my beloved tort not to hibernate? It has hibernated peacefully in the past years.

 

[Gillian M]

This website gives a lot of detailed information about plants/weeds/flowers/grasses that are safe and unsafe to feed your tortoise.

http://m.thetortoisetable.org.uk/m/tortoise_home_1.asp

Diverse diet means, lots of different things as opposed to a lot of one thing. Some lettuces are fine to feed, what lettuce does your tortoise eat?

Unfortunately, if you want to give your tortoise a healthy, varied diet, you need to be a gardener and if your tortoise is addicted to one kind of food only, sometimes tough love is needed. Offer your tortoise 'good foods' it will eat them eventually.

If you don't have the heart to do this, introducing new feeds in a small quantity, mixed in with the food it will only eat is a good way to start. You can then increase the quantity of good foods and phase out the copious amounts of lettuce.

Hope that helps.

Thanks your help.
I feed my tortoise Roman lettuce...I once tried Iceburg lettuce which my tort refused belive me. What of leaving my tort w/o food for a few days, and once it gets really hungry it'll eat...."anything" I offer. It has not eaten anything for the past two days.
One thing I can confirm: my tort did get addicted to lettuce and now it's going to be a tough job to deal with that addiction, I know.

 

[ascott]

I would also like to know...what type of greek are you dealing with? There is some variety and some local differences --some greeks will brumate for short periods and some will not at all--entirely dependent on where in the world they are from.....perhaps see first if yours is the type that like to brumate or not....

@kimber_lee_314
@GBtortoises
@HermanniChris

 

[Gillian M]

I would also like to know...what type of greek are you dealing with? There is some variety and some local differences --some greeks will brumate for short periods and some will not at all--entirely dependent on where in the world they are from.....perhaps see first if yours is the type that like to brumate or not....

@kimber_lee_314
@GBtortoises
@HermanniChris

Frankly speaking I don't know what type of a Greek tort mine is.I only know it is Greek, and don't even know whether it's a male or a female, and didn't think the latter issue mattered. Please correct me if I'm mistaken. Thank you.

 

[peasinapod]

Frankly speaking I don't know what type of a Greek tort mine is.I only know it is Greek, and don't even know whether it's a male or a female, and didn't think the latter issue mattered. Please correct me if I'm mistaken. Thank you.

Male/female only matters because females sometimes lay eggs without a male being present. That way if your tortoise is female and shows a strange behaviour it could be because she's trying to lay eggs or she could be eggbound.

 

[Gillian M]

Male/female only matters because females sometimes lay eggs without a male being present. That way if your tortoise is female and shows a strange behaviour it could be because she's trying to lay eggs or she could be eggbound.

Thanks a lot your help. I've a feeling (and ony a feeling) that my tort iis a female, so please don;t take my words for granted.
Today it was nice and sunny so I took my tort for the usual "walk," hoping thing would change. However it didn't enjoy it like it did in the past. How am I to know if it's a female and if it's trying to lay eggs? Am I to take it to a vet? The matter is worrying me, Please help! Thanks.

 

[Levi the Leopard]

Do you know how to upload photos? A photo of your torts underside and tail will allow "us" to sex your tortoise.

In a nut shell:
If you see a thick, long tail it's a male.
Short stubby tail, it's a female.

 

[Gillian M]

Do you know how to upload photos? A photo of your torts underside and tail will allow "us" to sex your tortoise.

In a nut shell:
If you see a thick, long tail it's a male.
Short stubby tail, it's a female.

I'm afraid I'm stil having trouble with taking photos on the laptop. I'll get someone's help asap.With reference to your message as per sex of my tort well..its tail is rather short, which somewhat confirms that it is a female.
My tort has not eaten for the past 4-5 consecutive days although the weather is relatively warm. What on earh am supposed to do? Please help!
Thanks a lot.

 

[peasinapod]

Thanks a lot your help. I've a feeling (and ony a feeling) that my tort iis a female, so please don;t take my words for granted.
Today it was nice and sunny so I took my tort for the usual "walk," hoping thing would change. However it didn't enjoy it like it did in the past. How am I to know if it's a female and if it's trying to lay eggs? Am I to take it to a vet? The matter is worrying me, Please help! Thanks.

I didn't mean to imply that your tortoise was trying to lay eggs right now. It was more of a general statement why knowing the sex could help.

 

[Gillian M]

The issue with my tort is getting more serious day by day...it has been without any sort of food whatsoever for the past six days or so, although temperature here is 20 degrees celcius which is relatively warm.

Moreover, my tortoise used to eat only lettuce, now refuses to eat that too! What am I to do? The matter is worrying me a lot. PLEASE HELP!

Thank you.