Not eating!

[PattyBling]

Hi,
I have recently noticed my tortoise is eating very very little (about 1/20th of what she used too) and I am starting to get worried!
I know it is probably something to do with the cold but still I just wanted some advice or information anyone might have.
Thanks!!

 

[dmarcus]

Hello and welcome to the forum...

What kind of tortoise do you have and where do you live?

 

[PattyBling]

I am not sure of the breed! I am useless and have forgotten, she is female and has two horn like things near her bottom! I live in England moving between the north east, and midlands!

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi PattyBling:

Welcome to the Tortoise Forum!!

May we know your name?

In order for us to give you GOOD information, we need to know what kind of tortoise you have. (And just a gentle hint: in order for you to be able to take good care of your tortoise, YOU need to know what kind you have).

The different species of tortoise require different care.

Take a picture of the tortoise for us.

 

[ascott]

Welcome to the Forum The We LOVE PICS

What type of enclosure do you have your tortoise in now? What type of heating bulbs do you use for your tortoise right now? What do you feed your tortoise on a daily basis? I agree with what was explained, you should take a picture of your tortoise and let us take a peek see ....where did you get your tortoise from? How long have you had your tortoise? How big is your tortoise? Lol...just a few questions..

 

[GBtortoises]

I am not sure of the breed! I am useless and have forgotten, she is female and has two horn like things near her bottom! I live in England moving between the north east, and midlands!

Based on that brief description, it sounds as though you might have a subspecies of Greek tortoise, Testudo gracea.

You may want to consult one of the websites based in England and geared toward keeping tortoises in that climate. One very excellent one is:

www.shelledwarriors.co.uk

 

[cherylim]

Welcome, from another UK tortoise owner!

As others have said, you really need to know what species your tortoise is to care for it properly. Looking forward to the pictures - and what's her name?

 

[PattyBling]

The problem was I was told the wrong species by the breeder so researched it myself! She told me it was a Hermann's but due to the Spurs I disagree! I did know but this was all my own detective work and didn't want to give you guys false information. From what I have researched and looked at I would say she is a Testudo graeca. She is about 2 years old, and I got her for my 21st in September last year!
I normally feed her salad, consisting mostly of rocket normally!
She currently lives in a Vivarium, with a heating bulb, and on the floor I have that rainforest style soil! She is moving around a fair amount, but still not eating really!
Thanks for that website I will look into it!!

 

[PattyBling]

Also I forgot her name is Lady Tata, or Lady T for short!
And her are a few photos I have of her when I first got her!
All my more recent ones are on my phone!

 

[PattyBling]

http://s1089.photobucket.com/albums/i345/PattyBling/

 

[cherylim]

The problem was I was told the wrong species by the breeder so researched it myself! She told me it was a Hermann's but due to the Spurs I disagree! I did know but this was all my own detective work and didn't want to give you guys false information. From what I have researched and looked at I would say she is a Testudo graeca. She is about 2 years old, and I got her for my 21st in September last year!
I normally feed her salad, consisting mostly of rocket normally!
She currently lives in a Vivarium, with a heating bulb, and on the floor I have that rainforest style soil! She is moving around a fair amount, but still not eating really!
Thanks for that website I will look into it!!

Just a heating bulb? Does she have UV light? And access to calcium in some form?

 

[Maggie Cummings]

She looks like a Hermanni to me, but I am not super familiar with all the different subspecies involved. We need to know how you are keeping her and what kinds of lights she has. How long do you have her lights on? What temps are you keeping her? I think you are probably keeping her too cold and her lights are not on for long enough. They should be on for 12 to 14 hours a day and she should have a UVB light because you don't have enough sun in the UK and she could be suffering from a lack of UVB.
So my 'guess' is that she is too cold, not enough UVB and she needs a more varied diet. But we need more info from you, my guess is just the beginning...

 

[JoesMum]

If she has spurs, she'll be graeca... Like Joe. He is rather older.

I suspect heat amd light are the problem.

You should be aiming for 12-14 hours of simulated daytime. UVB is essential. Natural light levels in the UK are low at the moment, so you need to make sire there is sufficient additional light.

You need around 35C under a basking lamp/ceramic heater and a daytime background temp of 25-30C.

Make sure your tort can get away from the hot spot otherwise she will become inactive... It's a fine balance between too hot and too cold. She'll also appreciate a hidey place.

Get into a lights, heat, bath, feed routine and hopefully she'll respond. I do this with Joe. He becomes active about an hour after the lamps and heat come on. I bathe him after am hour, even if he's still dopey, (20 mins in luke warm water) and he toilets in his bath water. As soon as he's back in his enclosure, he eats.

He spends a considerable amount of time snoozing under his lamp after he eats... often returning for more food in the early afternoon.

Try leaving a tray of living lettuce from a supermarket for your tort to browse on. It doesn't wilt as quickly as picked leaves. Torts have excellent colour vision and are attracted by the colour red... try a little red pepper or tomato as a bribe.

 

[PattyBling]

I have spoken to my Dad who bought the bulb and it is a UVb lamp! I have bought a new salad with a variety of leaves and colour which she normally wolfs down... she has barely touched it but she is sleeping at the moment! I make sure the lamp is on for around 12 hours a day and because I am at uni it tends to go on at the same time every day!
I try to bathe her once a week in the kitchen sink (our bathroom one doesn't have a plug) but may try increasing the amount of baths I give her!
Am also gonna try adding some of the pellet type food into her diet to see if she eats any of that!
I reckon just because the North is so cold she is just dozy! She has a habit of climbing the walls of her Vivarium and falling on her back/sliding back down which she does for a few hours after her light goes on!

 

[Maggie Cummings]

What does the light look like? Is it a coil bulb? 'generally' speaking torts are not happy when they act like that. There is a reason for not being happy in their viv. So you need to figure out what is wrong with her. You need to go over your husbandry and figure out where you are going wrong...

 

[dmmj]

Looks herman to me and before I forget welcome
I would imagine he is to cold, when they get cold they stop eating and often stop moving. They need to be warm what are the temps in her enclosure? do you provide supplemental calcium? I know it is cold in the UK right now, so maybe if the temps are not high enough, you need a hotter bulb or another bulb?

so what are the temps?
you soak him but does he also have access to a water bowl in which to drink from?
do you have access to chemical free weeds? a little variety does not hurt.

 

[PattyBling]

Its not a spiral its straight down!
Yeah that's what I thought and why I got worried! As I am at Uni atm her Viv. isn't as good (e.g. not as many rocks or space) as my one at home so hopefully she will brighten up after I travel home on friday!
I think tomorrow I am going to have to research into way of making her Viv. better and try and implement them the best I can!

---

I am just growing some tortoise seeds atm to add to the viv. for her! I have the calcium powder you add to the food. There is always fresh water in her vivarium in a little rock pool thing!

 

[ascott]

Its not a spiral its straight down

Do you mean a compact flourescent bulb? like this style;

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Energiesparlampe_01_retouched.jpg

 

[foxgeorge]

Are you giving him pumpkin...change her diet, try with apples or pears or strawberries if your tortoise can eat sure, specify what specie it is =S

 

[Yvonne G]

Are you giving him pumpkin...change her diet, try with apples or pears or strawberries if your tortoise can eat sure, specify what specie it is =S

Hi foxgeorge:

Won't you take a few moments to start a new thread in the "introductions" section and tell us a bit about yourself?

If this tortoise is a greek or hermanns, it wouldn't be a good idea to give it fruit.