Not sure what's wrong

[hoshi]

For the past 4-5 day's he hasn't been eating much and has been sleeping all the time.

He used to love cilantro - now he doesn't even sniff it. I've tried everything from carrot to cucumber, he will only eat the node of hibiscus flowers (not the petals) and only a little plain mazzuri. He refuses to eat anything else. He used to eat a ton of cilantro, weeds, strawberry.

He's also been sleeping a LOT.

I'm not sure what's wrong - nothing has changed other than the weather - its gotten sick hot here. His pen has 75-92 so he is well set with that. He's also getting his soaks every morning - this morning he didn't poop (thats a first).

I'm worried because his appetite has dropped and his sleep has increased. Is this normal? What can I do?

Thanks

 

[SILVERSTAR]

Sorry i dont have advice jus bumping up ur topic.............but did u say you feed a ton of strawberry?????

 

[HLogic]

I wouldn't panic as long as he is drinking... However, if the bulk of his diet is cilantro you may want to mix it up a bit more. Give it another few days. He may be responding to the change in weather - possibly aestivating. Try offering him something 'special' or new in a day or two.

The above is, of course, assuming he has not been subjected to extreme temperatures, shows no signs of another malady (runny nose, respiratory distress, etc.) and you are reasonably sure he has not been eating the substrate or has been exposed to pesticides or other toxins.

 

[hoshi]

His eyes are clear. His nose is fine. He looks healthy and hasn't been exposed to anything new.

I've tried cucumber, carrot, green beans, cilantro, tomato, bell pepper - he hasn't eaten anything. I'm just about to wake him for his soak and will try again.

Do Stars aestivate?

 

[chondroaddict]

You may want to try feeding it sweet gourd or papaya mixed with grass. Mine only eats these. It is always best to try to feed them a varied diet so they get all the nutrients they need.

 

[ISTortoiseLover]

Caped crusader, did you check your sidekick for parasites?

 

[Peacebone]

My Indian Star loves Cactus pads diced up (the spineless kind you can find at the grocery store) If you have any way of obtaining these I would try it. Also sometimes there is still a spine or two so just give the pad a once over.

 

[seanang168]

Is it a male or female? I presumed is a male since you say he. If it is a female, she may be undergoing a period of miscarriage and usually she will lose her appetite during this period.

Did you check whether his base shell is hard or soft? You can do a gentle depression at his base shell to see if he is getting enough calcium. Could be a start of malnutrition due to insufficent calcium to build his shell.

 

[cork_screw]

I like how he mentions this,

"I'm not sure what's wrong - nothing has changed other than the weather - its gotten sick hot here. His pen has 75-92"

Yet there's 7 reply posts and none of them address the blarring obvious. Since stars get sensitive to the temperature and his pen has gotten up to 92, you would think someone would mention something about with weather/temperature, but nope. Nobody.

Not a single suggestion like bringing it in the house (if it's ac'd or central aired) and seeing how he adjusts for a day or two and see if that brings his appetite back. Many torts become listless and estivate when it's hot.

 

[Yvonne G]

Hey, cork_screw: That's why we need you here on the forum...to keep us in line. Thanks for mentioning that.

May we know your name and where you are?

 

[hoshi]

Isn't the temp supposed to be 70-92?

 

[tortoises101]

Isn't the temp supposed to be 70-92?

Not throughout the whole pen. The 92 should only be as basking temp, not ambient temp.

 

[SILVERSTAR]

wowser baked potato

 

[geekinpink]

Hi hoshi, if i remember right your from india?

I'm in the philippines and we sort of have the same weather... most breeders i know here actually only use 5-10 watts yellow bulb for basking since it's always hot here anyway...

i'm guessing here base on my experience but I use to put the same heat as you do and my tort would not come out of her pen, when i was advised to change it to a lower wattage and actually turn it off during the afternoon, she became very active

another thing...is he getting enough sunlight? He might be having a hard time digesting and sunlight helps that...if he's not digesting he won't eat.

 

[hoshi]

I don't put him in sunlight because he has the MVB on. I usually turn it on post 3-4pm so its not tooo hot. He also has a UVB tube which I turn on every now n then. Should I do this and also place him in direct sunlight?

I have a 100W MVB.

 

[tortoises101]

If you have a seperate outdoor enclosure with plenty of shady spots then go ahead and put him outisde. But no matter what, NEVER put him in a container in direct sunlight. And since it's hot where you live, a sprinkler and/or a mud wallow is also recommended.
You mentioned be has a 100w MVB indoors. In that case you wouldn't need a seperate UVB bulb. An MVB already emits tons of UVA and UVB.

 

[geekinpink]

In that case, 100w MVB should be enough. Is he/she still not eating? It's frustrating huh? I've only been taking care of torts for a short time and my tort went from sleeping all day to being very active then back to sleeping all day again..and mine is also very finicky, does not like most food i give. When mine started to eat less and sleeps a lot, i got very worried, then i read somewhere here that they put a camera overnight to survey the tort, i did it too and found out she's been sleeping all day bec at night she is very active. She walks around surveying her pen and eating. After a month or 2 she started to reverse her habits and sleeps at night now. I have no idea if this is normal tort behavior but that's my observation in mine. As long as your tort eats (even a little), poos, drink etc. I think it's fine. Stars tend to sleep A LOT too!

By the way, how long does he/she sleeps?