Sick Baby Greek Tortoise

[anita3]

Hello everyone
I am hoping someone can help me with my new baby golden greek tortoise. I believe he is only a few months old - about the size of a golf ball. I have him in a 4 ft by 3 ft tortoise table. substrate is a mix of sand and soil. heating is 90 during the day with a red light at night - I was told this may help him - so the temp doesn't go down below 85. The problem is that he has not eaten in a few days. He ate light crazy for the first few days and now he does nothing but sleep. Even if I put him in the food dish he does not rouse. I feed him dandelions, meditterean lettuce mixture, green beans. Have even tried steamed squash and commercial tortoise food but he is not interested in anything. I have been soaking him frequently to keep him hydrated and mist him as well. I have tried the carrot soak that I read on the internet but that didnt help at all either. Tomorrow I will try a pedialyte soak which I have also read helps keep their electrolytes up, but I am at my wits end. Any other suggestions?
Anita

 

[lvstorts]

It doesn't sound like anything to panic about. What is your basking temp?

If he ate a lot when you got him and is not not doing much he may be digesting or getting used to new surroundings. Also he's a baby, he sleeps a lot.

Do you allow him access to water in the pen? Plastic lids are great for hatchings. I also mist mine daily.

Can you post a pic?

 

[ascott]

Do you have a basking spot that reaches 100 degrees or so? I would say that if you are keeping your temps on the high side you may actually be promoting his lethargy...the increased temps are good if you have a sick/ailing tort---but if the tort is new to you and is still adjusting and he is not showing any signs of illness, I would be sure to let him have a cool dry side/area that drops to about 72-76 degrees...but not if you use the entire constant high humidity method...

If your tort is too hot all of the time, he will act as you are describing....again, increased temps are beneficial when dealing with a sick/ailing tort.

Also, I would change that sand out as the substrate and use entirely 100% soil....sand can create an increased impaction hazard for a tort, especially a baby tort.....

 

[anita3]

Thanks for your help everyone. The daytime basking light - UVB combination bulb - is approx 92 degrees and I was told by the breeder to keep the tank warm at night until he perked up - so with a red heating light the temp stays at about 84. Anyway, this morning I gave him a bath in a mix of spring water / pedialyte and he is a new tortoise! He instantly started moving around and opened his eyes for the first time in about a week! He even is moving freely around the turtle table and ate some steamed squash that I had made in the hope that he would eat anything. I think he is on the mend! He does have access to shallow water at all times, is misted twice a day - especially because his tortoise table is planted with all edible plants - and has an area where he can escape the heat! Fresh leafy greens are kept in the enclosure at all times, including dandelion, clover, dark greens. I will post a picture of my tortoise table setup soon - once I figure out how to get the pictures off my phone onto the computer LOL. Thanks again everyone. I will keep you posted!