RT Sleeping more

[Mitchie_and_Sunny_27]

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

Okay will do! Thank you Alex!

 

[Mitchie_and_Sunny_27]

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

Hi!! Just wanted to share that Sunny is doing a lot better this week and gained weight (on 8/29 he was 546g and on 9/4 he was 561g). He seems to have his appetite back!! He is getting two salads per day and eating almost all of it with a little left over (a mix of weeds from outside and the testudo mix). He has been spending full days outside all week!! I'm not sure if he grazes on the stuff outside since it's so tall now. Do you notice that torts only like stuff about their same height or is sunny just that lazy? Haha I'm glad my little guy is back to normal

 

[Alex and the Redfoot]

I'm glad is so active now! I don't know about high growing leaves, but probably Sunny just isn't in the mood for grazing on them (technically he is able to).

 

[Mitchie_and_Sunny_27]

I'm glad is so active now! I don't know about high growing leaves, but probably Sunny just isn't in the mood for grazing on them (technically he is able to).

Me too! I cut out giving him the spring mix and he has been doing great. I wonder if that was just making him extra picky or something. I was thinking he might be full from his morning salad and then he gets hungry again in the evening when I bring him in. Either way he is eating! I'm glad about that

 

[Mitchie_and_Sunny_27]

Hi everyone! Sooo. Sunny's appetite has taken a dip this week. He has slowly been gaining weight every week but this week he just seems rather uninterested in food. Do their appetites normally slow with the season change? What should I expect as we get into the colder months? We don't want him to brumate and want to keep him awake.

In other news...
After his soak today. I saw his tail moving back and forth and I noticed something really big coming out of his cloaca. I thought it was a giant stone that he was trying to pass or something, so I lifted him off his basking rock to get a better look and a giant SLUG-like, alien-looking creature came out of his cloaca I HAD NO IDEA WHAT WAS HAPPENING. I almost started crying because I literally thought something was terribly wrong like he had a weird giant parasite!! This probably sounds really dumb but Sunny is my first tort and I had NO IDEA what was happening, so i went straight to Google (trying not to panic) and have come to the conclusion that I think he was flashing?? Oh my goodness, I haven't experienced this before, never seen him do this. What does this mean exactly? Help please.

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

Hi everyone! Sooo. Sunny's appetite has taken a dip this week. He has slowly been gaining weight every week but this week he just seems rather uninterested in food. Do their appetites normally slow with the season change? What should I expect as we get into the colder months? We don't want him to brumate and want to keep him awake.

In other news...
After his soak today. I saw his tail moving back and forth and I noticed something really big coming out of his cloaca. I thought it was a giant stone that he was trying to pass or something, so I lifted him off his basking rock to get a better look and a giant SLUG-like, alien-looking creature came out of his cloaca I HAD NO IDEA WHAT WAS HAPPENING. I almost started crying because I literally thought something was terribly wrong like he had a weird giant parasite!! This probably sounds really dumb but Sunny is my first tort and I had NO IDEA what was happening, so i went straight to Google (trying not to panic) and have come to the conclusion that I think he was flashing?? Oh my goodness, I haven't experienced this before, never seen him do this. What does this mean exactly? Help please.

Hello!! Glad to see you’re back! Sounds like he’s been doing really well
I suspect it could be seasonal change, sometimes no matter how they’re set up, they’re in tune with it. Still, it’s still a bit too early for any kind of brumation prep. Obviously I know you want to avoid it which is fine, your best bet in doing that is making sure your ambient temperature is in the 75-80 range during the day, well lit, and I’d have lights on 14hrs instead of 12.
That said, do you happen to know if he’s brumated before coming to you? Sometimes it can be difficult to keep some tortoises up if they’re determined to do it. It might be worth giving this thread a read to cover all bases

Tom's Brumation Thread

Every fall we get bombarded here on the forum with all sorts of questions and problems regarding hibernation and tortoises "slowing down" for winter. The purpose of this thread is to talk about all aspects of this subject, to dispel some of the myths and mysteries, and give a "how to" list of...

tortoiseforum.org

Again though, keep things nice and warm, bright, and keep offering feeds, hopefully he’ll stay active for you.

Lol the second part of your post had me in stitchesI’m so grateful we have a female he was indeed flashing you, nothing to worry about so long as it goes back in by itselfit’s normal male behaviour, they’ll sometimes pop it out during a soak or it’ll randomly say hello now n thenjust make sure it he retracts it!

 

[Mitchie_and_Sunny_27]

Hello!! Glad to see you’re back! Sounds like he’s been doing really well
I suspect it could be seasonal change, sometimes no matter how they’re set up, they’re in tune with it. Still, it’s still a bit too early for any kind of brumation prep. Obviously I know you want to avoid it which is fine, your best bet in doing that is making sure your ambient temperature is in the 75-80 range during the day, well lit, and I’d have lights on 14hrs instead of 12.
That said, do you happen to know if he’s brumated before coming to you? Sometimes it can be difficult to keep some tortoises up if they’re determined to do it. It might be worth giving this thread a read to cover all bases

Tom's Brumation Thread

Every fall we get bombarded here on the forum with all sorts of questions and problems regarding hibernation and tortoises "slowing down" for winter. The purpose of this thread is to talk about all aspects of this subject, to dispel some of the myths and mysteries, and give a "how to" list of...

tortoiseforum.org

Again though, keep things nice and warm, bright, and keep offering feeds, hopefully he’ll stay active for you.

Lol the second part of your post had me in stitchesI’m so grateful we have a female he was indeed flashing you, nothing to worry about so long as it goes back in by itselfit’s normal male behaviour, they’ll sometimes pop it out during a soak or it’ll randomly say hello now n thenjust make sure it he retracts it!

Aw, thanks so much! I am always so grateful for this forum to help guide me when I get stuck

He spends most of his day in his outdoor enclosure and I bring him inside around 7 pm before it gets too dark and hard to find him. Good to know that it's still too early for brumation. I'll definitely read the post. Thanks for linking it! Unfortunately, I'm not sure if he did brumate in the past with his first human. I know the rescue we got him from avoids brumation but they did not have him for long, I think only 6 months or so.

Okay, phew. That was honestly so terrifying. I kept asking him, "Sunny, what is that??" As if he would answer me back. Oh my goodness. I was not warned about such things, good to know that I can potentially expect this in the future and I won't have a panic attack again lol I'm scarred for life though