Shocked and need advice

[Helen]

Hello, this is my first post although I've been referring to this excellent forum since I got my Russian tort in March. Valentino is my first tort and he's fabulous! Today though, his behaviour has left me stunned. We live in the UK and as it is a sunny day I took Val into the garden. I noticed him paying a lot of attention to something and when I checked, the little sod was ripping a dead mouse apart and eating it! My cat must have killed the mouse earlier - it was still soft and bloody. I know Russians are not meat eaters so I'm perplexed. Not least because Val's been off his food a bit lately and I've been bending over backwards to tempt him to eat. I've even taken to giving him electrolyte (pinch of sea salt & sugar) and baby food soaks daily. Could these have upset him? He's hardly eating any of the weeds, flowers & dandy lions that he's loved all summer but he sure was enjoying that mouse! He shouldn't be eating mice...right? Btw, he (or she) is approximately 18 months old. Any ideas what's wrong? Advice and guidance much appreciated. If the pic shows, it's him being lovely and doing what he did all summer. Thank you.



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[Yvonne G]

Hi Helen, and welcome to the Forum!

I'm guessing that your little guy is off his food because the days are getting shorter and the nights cooler. He is preparing for brumation. But the opportunity to eat carrion was just too attractive to pass up. Yes, vegetarians DO consume the occasional carrion.

 

[Billy6789]

My Hermann tortoise eats dead fledgling birds if he finds one, but he prefers them when they've dried out a bit. I was shocked first time it happened but it did him no harm and he was very upset when I took it off him!

 

[Jacqui]

Hi! *waves* I agree with Yvonne 100%. I hope the mouse was indeed left by the cat, not killed because of what it had eaten. Other then that, eating the mouse has no doubt given Valentino some things good for him. Are you going to hibernate/brumate him?

 

[Helen]

Thank you for the replies! I feel reassured that Valentino is not a complete savage. Im pretty sure the cat killed the mouse, it's a common occurrence. I'm going to overwinter him this year because I've only had him since March and, to be honest, I don't feel confident enough to hibernate him this year. Thanks again.


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[sopo]

I would have freaked out too but glad it's nothing to be alarmed about. Love the pics with the pretty flowers and he/she's a cutie.

 

[Grandpa Turtle 144]

Hello and welcome to the TFO . From
What I read and Sean could the RT be
consuming it for the calsume ?

 

[animalfreak]

Oh my gosh he/she is super cute!! I love how it stretched as far as it could for those yummy flowers!

 

[DixieParadise]

Love his little picture. That is a nice garden he has to play around in.