Re' "Bring Out of Fridge?"

KarenSoCal

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Back in Feb, @Tom advised me to leave Chug in his fridge til at least March, which was exactly the best thing to do! We had a really cold spell that would have been a problem.
Anyway, I have been having health issues, and didn't want to bring him out until I was certain I could care for him, so I left him in the fridge until this past Wed.
I allowed him to warm as slowly as possible to room temp, gave him a slightly warm soak, and put him in his enclosure.
Since then, I have been warm water soaking for an hour each morning. He sleeps in his dogloo, suns himself in the morning, walks around a bit, then goes back to sleep.
So far I have not seen him drink, but there are bubbles from both ends in the soak. No sign of a URI, no interest in food...he just seems sleepy.
He was in the fridge 4 months, and lost 10 gms over that time. He is 1540 gms.
Do you all think he's ok, and just needs more time and warmer temps to perk up? Or should I be worried? My instincts tell me he's ok, but they've been wrong before...these are from today.
20180325_125008.jpg20180325_124957.jpg20180325_124954.jpg
Oops, don't know why they're upside down!
 

ascott

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Yours area temps are fantastic....every tort is diff...and your tort does still look young....some torts hit the dirt running after brumation and others take a couple to a few weeks to find their bounce....the eyes seem clear in the pic and not sunken in....are you offering him goodies to get him jump started? Or is there food/weeks growing in his space for munching?
 

KarenSoCal

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Yours area temps are fantastic....every tort is diff...and your tort does still look young....some torts hit the dirt running after brumation and others take a couple to a few weeks to find their bounce....the eyes seem clear in the pic and not sunken in....are you offering him goodies to get him jump started? Or is there food/weeks growing in his space for munching?
Thanks for responding!
But since this was posted, Chug has fully awakened, is doing marathon walks in his enclosure, and is eating, drinking, peeing and pooping just like he should.
He has become a bit picky about his food (he really only wants to eat red foods), but not letting him get by with that! [emoji848].
He's doing great!
 

ascott

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Thanks for responding!
But since this was posted, Chug has fully awakened, is doing marathon walks in his enclosure, and is eating, drinking, peeing and pooping just like he should.
He has become a bit picky about his food (he really only wants to eat red foods), but not letting him get by with that! [emoji848].
He's doing great!
Red foods are yummy....don't deprive him of all goodies...goodies are good for the soul, for sure :)
 

orv

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Red foods are yummy....don't deprive him of all goodies...goodies are good for the soul, for sure :)
KAREN: Red foods may indeed be "yummy", but red fruits such as strawberries or watermelon should be avoided. Their abundance of sugar encourages an overgrowth of bad bacterias in the gut. I sneak our CDTs a small amount of strawberry on very special occasions, maybe their birthdays. Now red roses or hibiscus . . . that's indeed another story. I'm not sure at all why red foods in general seem attractive to them, but it appears to be universal. By the way, this time of year they will devour all the yellow/orange gazania flowers I can supply and they've completely decimated my California Poppies over the last few years until none even sprouted up this Spring.
 

KarenSoCal

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KAREN: Red foods may indeed be "yummy", but red fruits such as strawberries or watermelon should be avoided. Their abundance of sugar encourages an overgrowth of bad bacterias in the gut. I sneak our CDTs a small amount of strawberry on very special occasions, maybe their birthdays. Now red roses or hibiscus . . . that's indeed another story. I'm not sure at all why red foods in general seem attractive to them, but it appears to be universal. By the way, this time of year they will devour all the yellow/orange gazania flowers I can supply and they've completely decimated my California Poppies over the last few years until none even sprouted up this Spring.
Thank you, Orv! I'm happy to report that I've never given Chug any fruit...the red he wants is red greens... radicchio, red leaf lettuce, red veined dandylion...that kind of red. Oh, and bouganvilia flowers as a treat. [emoji6]
 

orv

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Thank you, Orv! I'm happy to report that I've never given Chug any fruit...the red he wants is red greens... radicchio, red leaf lettuce, red veined dandylion...that kind of red. Oh, and bouganvilia flowers as a treat. [emoji6]
Most of the above sounds yummy! Bouganvillas are poisonous I've heard. Can our tortoises eat them without being poisoned?
 

orv

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Most of the above sounds yummy! Bouganvillas are poisonous I've heard. Can our tortoises eat them without being poisoned?
I just Googled "bouganvilla flowers" and found that while the flowers themselves are probably safe, the sap in the stems and leaves can be poisoneous. I hope that this imformation is helpful.
 

KarenSoCal

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I just Googled "bouganvilla flowers" and found that while the flowers themselves are probably safe, the sap in the stems and leaves can be poisoneous. I hope that this imformation is helpful.
Thanks, Orv! I've used The Tortoise Table as a reference, but I can't get their site at the moment. Going by my memory, I think they said only the flowers, so our info matches up.
I only give him a flower now and then, maybe once a week.
I appreciate your research!
 

KarenSoCal

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ascott

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KAREN: Red foods may indeed be "yummy", but red fruits such as strawberries or watermelon should be avoided. Their abundance of sugar encourages an overgrowth of bad bacterias in the gut. I sneak our CDTs a small amount of strawberry on very special occasions, maybe their birthdays. Now red roses or hibiscus . . . that's indeed another story. I'm not sure at all why red foods in general seem attractive to them, but it appears to be universal. By the way, this time of year they will devour all the yellow/orange gazania flowers I can supply and they've completely decimated my California Poppies over the last few years until none even sprouted up this Spring.

The CDT here turn their nose up to watermelon as well as strawberries....the Redfoots here though will eat them like someone is about to steal them right from their mouth....all red flowers are devoured by the CDTs, roses are a fav... and the Redfoot turn their nose to the flowers...
 

orv

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The diets of each of our tortoise breeds has evolved over the eons according to the available foods in their environment. Our CDTs surely love their red foods, in general, that is. Red geraniums . . . not so much. I wish that they did, for geraniums I have plenty of.
 
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