RT Sleeping more

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

Of course! I'm so grateful for this community! You have all been so helpful and encouraging

So according to my notes he has lost 4 grams over the last month. Should I be concerned about that weight loss?

Steady gains/staying the same is the goal but there can be fluctuations so I wouldn’t worry too much just yet but definitely keep an eye on that

 

[Mitchie_and_Sunny_27]

Steady gains/staying the same is the goal but there can be fluctuations so I wouldn’t worry too much just yet but definitely keep an eye on that

Will do! I think I'm going to buy the "herbal hay" from tortoise supply and add that to his food. Do you think that will help him eat more? He just seems generally less interested in his food now that it's gotten bigger. He went straight for the sprouts again when I'm put him outside. So I know he is hungry but he is being picky

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

I’ve not tried that product before but it might be worth trying, sometimes they prefer when you soak the dried stuff first

 

[Mitchie_and_Sunny_27]

I’ve not tried that product before but it might be worth trying, sometimes they prefer when you soak the dried stuff first

Oh that's a great tip! I think I'll try it just to see if he likes it and definitely will try the soaked method. Thank you so much

 

[Mitchie_and_Sunny_27]

Hello everyone! Another update. Sunny seems to be more himself, but today when i soaked him, there was a stone in his water I'm assuming it's a bladder stone. I know hydration and good diet are essential for preventing these. Should I just soak him more? He gets one soak per day for 30 minutes. Please help me, help my little guy

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

Hello everyone! Another update. Sunny seems to be more himself, but today when i soaked him, there was a stone in his water I'm assuming it's a bladder stone. I know hydration and good diet are essential for preventing these. Should I just soak him more? He gets one soak per day for 30 minutes. Please help me, help my little guy

I’m glad he’s more himself! It could’ve actually been the stone throwing him off, I bet he’s feeling better for passing it! One soak per day should be more than enough to keep him nice and hydrated, but seeing as you’ve noticed a stone, instead of upping the soaks, up the time he’s in there, you could go up to an hour for now and monitor if he passes any more. I know it probably scared you to see, but at least he was able to pass it! Keep focused on hydration and hopefully it won’t happen again

 

[Mitchie_and_Sunny_27]

I’m glad he’s more himself! It could’ve actually been the stone throwing him off, I bet he’s feeling better for passing it! One soak per day should be more than enough to keep him nice and hydrated, but seeing as you’ve noticed a stone, instead of upping the soaks, up the time he’s in there, you could go up to an hour for now and monitor if he passes any more. I know it probably scared you to see, but at least he was able to pass it! Keep focused on hydration and hopefully it won’t happen again

That's what I'm thinking too about his off behavior. It definitely was scary! When I rinsed out his little tub I heard the "clunk" of the stone and I thought, "that's weird" so I picked it up to see if it was squishy and nope it was hard, a literal stone I'll increase the length of time he soaks for and hopefully that helps prevent anymore from happening. I also read on here that exercise helps prevent them too. Sunny is a lazy boy. He LOVES to sleep and chill on his basking rock! How do I encourage him to move around more?

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

That's what I'm thinking too about his off behavior. It definitely was scary! When I rinsed out his little tub I heard the "clunk" of the stone and I thought, "that's weird" so I picked it up to see if it was squishy and nope it was hard, a literal stone I'll increase the length of time he soaks for and hopefully that helps prevent anymore from happening. I also read on here that exercise helps prevent them too. Sunny is a lazy boy. He LOVES to sleep and chill on his basking rock! How do I encourage him to move around more?

Lol I can sympathise there because we have a VERY lazy red foot! I do everything possible to encourage her and for the most part she’s like ‘nah I’m good chilling in my hut’luckily they aren’t prone to stones like yours

Some things you can try to encourage him to explore is breaking up his line of sight within his enclosure, usually gets them thinking “ooo I wonder what’s round this corner” instead of being able to see everything from one viewpoint. You could also try setting up a few different feeding spots to encourage him to walk to those different areas to eat

 

[Mitchie_and_Sunny_27]

Lol I can sympathise there because we have a VERY lazy red foot! I do everything possible to encourage her and for the most part she’s like ‘nah I’m good chilling in my hut’luckily they aren’t prone to stones like yours

Some things you can try to encourage him to explore is breaking up his line of sight within his enclosure, usually gets them thinking “ooo I wonder what’s round this corner” instead of being able to see everything from one viewpoint. You could also try setting up a few different feeding spots to encourage him to walk to those different areas to eat

Oh goodness! Yeah he has always been like this since we adopted him Just doesn't roam around, just likes to bury himself and sleep. He sounds a lot like your lazy red foot I was thinking of getting one of those tortoise wheels to see if he would try it, but honestly I don't think he would.

I'll try breaking up his sight lines, thanks for the suggestion. We have a pretty big mound of cypress mulch in the middle of his enclosure but I think he can still see over it. I'll try to make it bigger and set up the different feeding spots thanks for your advice!

 

[Alex and the Redfoot]

That's what I'm thinking too about his off behavior. It definitely was scary! When I rinsed out his little tub I heard the "clunk" of the stone and I thought, "that's weird" so I picked it up to see if it was squishy and nope it was hard, a literal stone I'll increase the length of time he soaks for and hopefully that helps prevent anymore from happening. I also read on here that exercise helps prevent them too. Sunny is a lazy boy. He LOVES to sleep and chill on his basking rock! How do I encourage him to move around more?

Hello!
Stones usually don't form in a week, so what has passed is probably an old days legacy. Proper diet high in fiber and low in protein, good hydration and exercise are important to prevent stones from forming.

I remember, you planned a wonderful outdoor enclosure for him, has he had a chance to try it out? Staying a lot under the basking lamp means he tries to warm up - you can use temp gun to check his plastron temperature.

 

[The_Four_Toed_Edward]

Here is the saga of my tortoise Edward and his bladder stones so far, if you are interested: https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/gritty-urates-or-cuttle-bone-being-passed-or-what.215927/

 

[Mitchie_and_Sunny_27]

Hello!
Stones usually don't form in a week, so what has passed is probably an old days legacy. Proper diet high in fiber and low in protein, good hydration and exercise are important to prevent stones from forming.

I remember, you planned a wonderful outdoor enclosure for him, has he had a chance to try it out? Staying a lot under the basking lamp means he tries to warm up - you can use temp gun to check his plastron temperature.

Hi, Alex! Thanks for checking in on me and Sunny that's what I was reading on the forum too, that maybe it was an old stone? Because I know the rescue didn't have the capacity to soak him regularly and I don't know if his prior owner to that ever soaked him (I assume not since he wasn't getting proper care). So it's definitely possible. He does get outdoor time in his enclosure (I forgot to post that we finally finished it mid-July), minimum two hours daily but sometimes longer depending on the weather. It's been really hot this week though, so I've been worried about him being out there too long. His indoor enclosure is around 70, under the CHE its 80 and the basking rock is between 95 and 100.

 

[Mitchie_and_Sunny_27]

Here is the saga of my tortoise Edward and his bladder stones so far, if you are interested: https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/gritty-urates-or-cuttle-bone-being-passed-or-what.215927/

I'll check it out! Thanks for sharing and sorry to hear about Edward (what an awesome name btw!)

 

[Alex and the Redfoot]

Hi, Alex! Thanks for checking in on me and Sunny that's what I was reading on the forum too, that maybe it was an old stone? Because I know the rescue didn't have the capacity to soak him regularly and I don't know if his prior owner to that ever soaked him (I assume not since he wasn't getting proper care). So it's definitely possible. He does get outdoor time in his enclosure (I forgot to post that we finally finished it mid-July), minimum two hours daily but sometimes longer depending on the weather. It's been really hot this week though, so I've been worried about him being out there too long. His indoor enclosure is around 70, under the CHE its 80 and the basking rock is between 95 and 100.View attachment 378143

You definitely had a heatwave there. Yet, unless the enclosure is in the full sun at noon, temperatures allow to keep him outdoor full day. And the next week (with nightime lows in 50F) probably too - russian tortoises are very hardy species.

As for the stone, I really don't think it formed under your care.

 

[Mitchie_and_Sunny_27]

You definitely had a heatwave there. Yet, unless the enclosure is in the full sun at noon, temperatures allow to keep him outdoor full day. And the next week (with nightime lows in 50F) probably too - russian tortoises are very hardy species.

As for the stone, I really don't think it formed under your care.

It does get quite a bit of sun at noon, he usually hides on the left side of his cold frame because that part gets shade. I was thinking of moving my big porch umbrella over part of the enclosure to offer more shade. Do you think that would be help, even when it's very hot outside? Full day would be like 12 hours or longer?

We adopted him in June. Does it take quite a bit of time for stones to pass? Thanks for your reassurance and advice

 

[Alex and the Redfoot]

Yes, the umbrella will help - under direct sun surface temperatures get significantly higher. Double or triple layered shade works even better - e.g. bush under the umbrella or shade cloth under the tree. Don't expect him to roam around during sun peaks, though (it's normal for tortoises to hide in the middle of the day).

Full day - yes, either 12 hours or day and night if you have a safe night shelter for him (not necessary heated). 50-60F at night is not extremely low for adult russian tortoises if they can catch some sun in the morning.

Passing stones can take a lot of time. Probably, it's possible that he won't pass them all for a lifetime but being hydrated and properly fed will prevent new stones from forming and older from growing larger.

 

[Mitchie_and_Sunny_27]

Yes, the umbrella will help - under direct sun surface temperatures get significantly higher. Double or triple layered shade works even better - e.g. bush under the umbrella or shade cloth under the tree. Don't expect him to roam around during sun peaks, though (it's normal for tortoises to hide in the middle of the day).

Full day - yes, either 12 hours or day and night if you have a safe night shelter for him (not necessary heated). 50-60F at night is not extremely low for adult russian tortoises if they can catch some sun in the morning.

Passing stones can take a lot of time. Probably, it's possible that he won't pass them all for a lifetime but being hydrated and properly fed will prevent new stones from forming and older from growing larger.

Okay I'll move the umbrella and look into the shade cloth and good to know that he likely won't roam around during sun peaks, sometimes when I got out there and watch him, he is moving about but when I go get him to some back inside he has retreated to the left, outer side of his cold frame.

Oh wow! We definitely haven't been leaving him out there for a full 12 hours. Should we work ourselves up to that or do you think it's fine to start that right away? Also we bring him inside if it's going to rain, sometimes we get big downpours.

Good to know about the stones. We will keep monitoring him. Today he gets weighed, so hopefully he checks out fine. Thanks for your help!

 

[Alex and the Redfoot]

I think he already knows his outdoor pen well enough to stay full 12 hours.

If the pen is flooded by rains - then you can bring him in. If there are just muddy puddles here and there in 90F - I would leave him outside.

 

[Mitchie_and_Sunny_27]

I think he already knows his outdoor pen well enough to stay full 12 hours.

If the pen is flooded by rains - then you can bring him in. If there are just muddy puddles here and there in 90F - I would leave him outside.

True! Once he is done with his soak, I'll put him outside for the day and see how he does sounds good about the rain, I'm sure the rain actually does him some good anyway! Thanks for the help

 

[Alex and the Redfoot]

Ok, don't forget to tell us how it goes!