Sleeping a lot and not eating

[Hilary burkes]

Hello,
Mark has been sleeping a lot and not really eating well. the only thing he wants to eat is clovers from my yard but acording to the tortiose table that should onlu be fed in moderation
I soaked him yesterday and it didn't seem to help
Thanks

 

[Tom]

We'll need more info.

How are you housing him? What size and type enclosure? What are your four temps? What substrate? What heating and lighting? How often do you usually soak? How long have you had him? Where did you get him?

 

[Hilary burkes]

We'll need more info.

How are you housing him? What size and type enclosure? What are your four temps? What substrate? What heating and lighting? How often do you usually soak? How long have you had him? Where did you get him?

He spends most of his time outside in the yard and when he comes in at night he is in a 40 gallon aquairium (thank you petsmart) I do not know what his temps are out side but he moves from sun to shade a lot but his temp inside is 75-80 on the cool side and the humidity is at 75 right now but we live in the dessert and use a swamp cooler. He has grass and dirt outside and repi bark inside I have a heating light and a under the tank heater I havent used yet, and and Uv light inside. I soak him every 3 days We have had him about a month and a half and I got him from petsmart

 

[daniellenc]

What type of tortoise?

 

[Tom]

He spends most of his time outside in the yard and when he comes in at night he is in a 40 gallon aquairium (thank you petsmart) I do not know what his temps are out side but he moves from sun to shade a lot but his temp inside is 75-80 on the cool side and the humidity is at 75 right now but we live in the dessert and use a swamp cooler. He has grass and dirt outside and repi bark inside I have a heating light and a under the tank heater I havent used yet, and and Uv light inside. I soak him every 3 days We have had him about a month and a half and I got him from petsmart

Most of this sounds pretty good.

• I'd get something bigger for indoor times. That 40 is likely to stress him out even if its only for an hour of daytime in the morning or evening.
• I looked up your weather and it looks like daily highs in the 80s and 90s, so that is good. Are there plenty of hiding places and lots of shade? A pic might help us to see any issues.
• What type of UV bulb are you using inside? You really don't need indoor UV if your tortoise is outside all day every day. A simple flood bulb for basking indoors is really all you'd need.
• Petsmart sells wild caught imported tortoises. Many of them come in with all sorts of hidden pathogens and maladies that don't surface right away. If we eliminate all the other possibilities, this might be your issue.

 

[Hilary burkes]

We'll need more info.

How are you housing him? What size and type enclosure? What are your four temps? What substrate? What heating and lighting? How often do you usually soak? How long have you had him? Where did you get him?

The pet store said

What type of tortoise?

Petsmart said greek but the vet said russian so I am not sure

 

[Tom]

The pet store said


Petsmart said greek but the vet said russian so I am not sure

The tortoise in your avatar pic is a russian.

 

[Hilary burkes]

this is what we have so far I am still looking for more hiding spots as well as something for him to climb on/over.

He has just started acting like this the last couple of days he is usully all over the place and would follow us around to get food but he has had no interest in food for two days, (unless it is the clover in the yard that is not part of his enclouser)

 

[Hilary burkes]

The tortoise in your avatar pic is a russian.

than you that is Mark

 

[Hilary burkes]

What type of tortoise?

Russian I think

 

[daniellenc]

Most pet store tortoises are wild caught and several years old. A 40 gallon is more than likely too small. What are your temps on the warm side, what have you been offering as food, do you use several hides? There are lots of reasons a tortoise won't eat well one being illness but the other major one is environment. I'm new myself but have taken ALL the advice given here and @Tom is someone's who advice I would trust!

 

[daniellenc]

I would definitely add more hides and dig a burrow. Russians both dig and burrow naturally. At Home Depot they sell terra cotta saucers for water and plastic tubs you can cut a side out for hiding. The saucer for water should be dug in so it's level with the ground. You can use flower pots dug into the ground as a natural burrow and there are lots of threads here on other easy cheap burrows to build. I am guessing you put food out there right? Your Russian was probably fed pellets at petsmart and isn't used to greens. Get some Mazuri and soak it in water adding it to grocery store greens and weeds. You should probably search pet store tortoises it seems this is a common problem

 

[Hilary burkes]

Most pet store tortoises are wild caught and several years old. A 40 gallon is more than likely too small. What are your temps on the warm side, what have you been offering as food, do you use several hides? There are lots of reasons a tortoise won't eat well one being illness but the other major one is environment. I'm new myself but have taken ALL the advice given here and @Tom is someone's who advice I would trust!

He spends most of his day outside becase of how small his tank is. i have been offering him Kale collared greens spider plant mint basil mustard green lettus and very little fruit. he really sees to like kale and collared greens the best and I use the basil and mint as a "treat"
Right now he has two hides outside and one in his tank. we live in colorado in the dessert so we are pretty warm right now it is 94 in the shade, I do spray down his area in the middle of the day and when we are not busy he gets free rome of the whole yard but we have to watch him because there are spots in the fence were he can get out

 

[Hilary burkes]

I would definitely add more hides and dig a burrow. Russians both dig and burrow naturally. At Home Depot they sell terra cotta saucers for water and plastic tubs you can cut a side out for hiding. The saucer for water should be dug in so it's level with the ground. You can use flower pots dug into the ground as a natural burrow and there are lots of threads here on other easy cheap burrows to build. I am guessing you put food out there right? Your Russian was probably fed pellets at petsmart and isn't used to greens. Get some Mazuri and soak it in water adding it to grocery store greens and weeds. You should probably search pet store tortoises it seems this is a common problem

yes i put his food and water out there and I feed him greens from the grocery as well as some of my spider plant and a little bit of fruit. He was eating really well until yesterday he would eat from us and from his dish and now he isn't eating anything (as far as I can tell from his food dish) and every time i go out there he is sleeping

 

[daniellenc]

Maybe get a fecal done and start adding new foods? 94 could be too warm but if you're misting his outdoor space and he has shade I don't know. However, they are diggers and escape artists. Definitely get his pen secure!