Should i be worried

[codyv34]

Hello, as some of you know Igore and i are new around here. on Saturday it will be 2 weeks that i have had Igore. he is in a 54 Rubbermaid tub with a 100w zoo med power sun bulb. I had been feeding him is Pet store food, mixing in with some collard greens and then later mustard greens and i took the petstore food out completely when i he ate a decent amount of the mustard greens. Tonight i picked him up some mediterranean salad mix that i will use as a base, and ill mix in other greens and flowers etc. but my Problem is that he still isnt eating very much, if anything. He gets fresh food every morning, along with fresh water, he does drink daily and i also soak him regularly at no less then 2 times a weeks so far. so I am confident that he his staying hydrated. I have read other threads on here where people said problems they had with there torts, trying to see if he had any similar symptoms. But to my knowledge, and my own person judgement he appears to be healthy, and i think im doing a fairly good job giving him the proper home, aside from getting his diet completely figured out, but i have had him for a short enough time that i dont feel that should have affected him. there was only one time where i felt he ate a noticeable amount of his food. As far as how active he is i cant accurately tell you because i wake up early in the morning and go to school and some days right from school to work so i may not get home until the evening, so im not sure how much he moves about during the day. As far as temps go his cool side is in the 75-80 range. and his warm side is in 85-90's range, and his basking spot is appropriate as well. so on paper i feel like Igore is being taken good care of, but i may be wrong, could he still just be getting used to me and his new home, or may there be some sort of issue Im not seeing.

thank you,

Cody

 

[gopherhockey03]

Ya don't worry at all. One of my Tortoises didn't eat for about four weeks. He is prob still getting use to his new casa.

 

[Maggie Cummings]

I think you need to bump up the hot side closer to a steady 100 degrees. Offer him dark leafy greens every morning. He needs to get used to you and his new house. I would feed him Spring Mix mixed with whatever good produce you can get...turnip greens collards greens, romaine, red and green leaf lettuces. I mainly feel he's not hot enough, what is his humidity level? Is his basking light on for 14 hours?

 

[codyv34]

yes his basking light is on for at least 14 hours day. i Normally just place thermometer in his eclosure daily just to make sure everything is in check, along with An Electrical test meter i have for my job that i can use for temperatures as well. Im leaving my thermometers in there for a little longer now to get a better idea of the temp, and i need to get something to measure the Humidity, Yes i know i should already have this but im not going to lie. His substrate is dry and its also winter here so the air in my house is fairy dry as well so i can safely tell you that it is on the less humid side, but i will be getting something to accurately measure it tomorrow, that is a promise

 

[lynnedit]

And he has to get used to his new home, and changed (for the better) diet. You are feeding him good stuff, he just has to adjust.
Give him a week or two. If you don't want to do 'tough love', then you can grind up some of the pellets he is used to and dust them on his food. But food wise, he really will be OK.
You can use a teapot or watering can and add some water to the substrate so it is moist. Most humidity gauges are not very accurate, unfortunately, so you can just go by the quality of the substrate (moist underneath).
I think you are doing fine.

 

[Laura]

try colored foods.. just a bit to entice him. carrot, berry, red letuce...

 

[lynnedit]

...and radicchio (red, like a small head of lettuce). Mine go crazy for this.

 

[codyv34]

...and radicchio (red, like a small head of lettuce). Mine go crazy for this.

the Mediterranean salad mix i bought has that in it so hopefully it will do the same for him

 

[codyv34]

I think you need to bump up the hot side closer to a steady 100 degrees. Offer him dark leafy greens every morning. He needs to get used to you and his new house. I would feed him Spring Mix mixed with whatever good produce you can get...turnip greens collards greens, romaine, red and green leaf lettuces. I mainly feel he's not hot enough, what is his humidity level? Is his basking light on for 14 hours?

i am thinking you are right about a needed temp increase. i have the MVb positioned so it would be 12 in away from his shell. which is what i was told i should do in another thread, so the bulb itself can not be placed closer to increase the heat, unless you feel that it can be closer. It seems like as far as a second heat source that a CHE is the popular option. Or do you have any other recommendations

 

[Tom]

I use the temps to adjust the height of my bulbs. The instructions on the package are a good starting but, but since every enclosure is different, things must be adjusted.

Have you been soaking him? Hydration helps and it also get things moving in the GI tract.

The other factor is the time of year. I don't know where he came from or how old he is, but most of them know its time to be asleep, even though we keep them warm. I'll bet in springtime your little man will come alive.

 

[codyv34]

I use the temps to adjust the height of my bulbs. The instructions on the package are a good starting but, but since every enclosure is different, things must be adjusted.

Have you been soaking him? Hydration helps and it also get things moving in the GI tract.

The other factor is the time of year. I don't know where he came from or how old he is, but most of them know its time to be asleep, even though we keep them warm. I'll bet in springtime your little man will come alive.

yes i have been soaking him. every other day for the last week or so. hes from Petsmart so i assume he is from the wild, i was wondering if the time of the year had to do with it also, since his biological clock so feels like he should be asleep correct?