Sleeping, not eating, seems...depressed?

[EchoTheTort]

Hello,
I have a 3 year old Hermann tortoise who sleeps all day, every day and barley eats.

She is only ever up if I have dragged her out of her bed to feed her and even then, she only stays out for about 5 minutes. The only food I can get her to eat is tortoise pellets, so she is getting little to no lettuce or weeds in her diet. I soak the tortoise pellets in water and sprinkle on calcium and vitamin powders. I only give her these twice a week, as I try to encourage her to eat normal food, but the only way I can do this is by cutting up leaves very small and hiding it in her pellets.

I bathe her a few times a week in warm water and the only time she is active is when I let her walk around on the floor, which I cannot do very often as I have 2 dogs-even when I put her in her outdoor run on sunny days she just hides and sleeps, she has even gone to the extent of digging a hole under her hide to sleep in.

Her sister past away last year and she has been like this ever since, but it has recently got even worse, it seems like she has given up on living-that's the only way I can describe it.

I am very concerned so if you have any advice and help it is very much appreciated.

Many thanks,
Amelia

 

[Gillian M]

Very sorry to hear abou your tortoise's condition.

I have had my beloved Greek tort for a bit more than four years. It got into a 'strange' mood a couple of weeks ago: it would NOT eat, drink, LET ALONE MOVE. The matter worried me, as you can imagine. Things went back to normal. It seems that animals too get 'moody' at times. After all, they too have A BRAIN and A NERVOUS SYSTEM.

Sincerely hope to hear your tort is better, soon.

 

[EchoTheTort]

Very sorry to hear abou your tortoise's condition.

I have had my beloved Greek tort for a bit more than four years. It got into a 'strange' mood a couple of weeks ago: it would NOT eat, drink, LET ALONE MOVE. The matter worried me, as you can imagine. Things went back to normal. It seems that animals too get 'moody' at times. After all, they too have A BRAIN and A NERVOUS SYSTEM.

Sincerely hope to hear your tort is better, soon.

Thank you for your concern, hopefully she will get back to her normal self soon, I hate seeing her unhappy all the time.

 

[teresaf]

Perhaps her sister got a parasite or something that she passed on to her and now she is sick? @Yvonne G may be able to give you some help.

 

[johnsonnboswell]

Perhaps whatever caused her sister's death is now causing this problem. Reread the care sheet and see what changes you can make to her habitat. Time for a new UVB bulb? A better bulb? See what you can do. Substrate improvements? More space? Worth a try.

 

[dmmj]

Reptiles don't get depressed like mammals do. Something is causing her mood changes. Diet temps sometime
Ever get a visit?

 

[Gillian M]

Thank you for your concern, hopefully she will get back to her normal self soon, I hate seeing her unhappy all the time.

Hi. How is your tort's 'mood' today? Any improvement? Did it eat, drink, move?

Hope to hear things are better now back to normal. And good luck.

 

[Tom]

This is not a "mood". This is a reaction to some environmental parameter, or possibly a pathogen as johnsonnboswel pointed out.

How are you housing her? What size enclosure? What heating and lighting equipment? UV bulb? What type? What are your four temps? Warm side, cool side, basking area and overnight low.

Tortoises should live for decades at the very least, if not centuries. Something killed your other tortoise. You need to figure out what, because it appears to be killing this one too.

 

[EchoTheTort]

Perhaps whatever caused her sister's death is now causing this problem. Reread the care sheet and see what changes you can make to her habitat. Time for a new UVB bulb? A better bulb? See what you can do. Substrate improvements? More space? Worth a try.

Thanks for your feedback, I will look into how much uvb she is getting, her substrate should be fine- sterilised top soil and play sand mix. I change her cage layout sometimes which occupies her but this only lasts a short while. She has a reasonable sized cage and run so I don't really know what else I can do.

 

[EchoTheTort]

Hi. How is your tort's 'mood' today? Any improvement? Did it eat, drink, move?

Hope to hear things are better now back to normal. And good luck.

Hello, she is the same today, she didn't get up as far as I'm aware :/

 

[EchoTheTort]

This is not a "mood". This is a reaction to some environmental parameter, or possibly a pathogen as johnsonnboswel pointed out.

How are you housing her? What size enclosure? What heating and lighting equipment? UV bulb? What type? What are your four temps? Warm side, cool side, basking area and overnight low.

Tortoises should live for decades at the very least, if not centuries. Something killed your other tortoise. You need to figure out what, because it appears to be killing this one too.

She is housed in a large guinea pig cage which has good ventilation. I don't know what the exact temperature is in the day but she has a heat lamp and a cooler side of her cage as well. At night the temperature does not go below 16 degrees. Her sister died of an animal attack which I don't want to discuss so it is definitely not something passed on from her. I really can't work out what's going on, I've made the room warmer and still no difference.
thankyou for your help

 

[teresaf]

ALLOT of folks here will advise you to get rid of the sand. they accidently/purposely ingest it and it can cause blockages. make sure shes pottying regularly...

 

[Tom]

She is housed in a large guinea pig cage which has good ventilation. I don't know what the exact temperature is in the day but she has a heat lamp and a cooler side of her cage as well. At night the temperature does not go below 16 degrees. Her sister died of an animal attack which I don't want to discuss so it is definitely not something passed on from her. I really can't work out what's going on, I've made the room warmer and still no difference.
thankyou for your help

All reptiles are very dependent upon the correct temperatures. You need to know your and make the necessary adjustments. THis could very well be your problem.

We all know that 16 is fine at night for a healthy adult hermanni, but it might be too cold for your young one in a dry open cage, especially when she might not be getting warm enough during the day. They behavior you describe is the behavior of a tortoise that is too cold. I would use a ceramic heating element on a thermostat and keep the night temp and cool side temp around 22-23 all the time.

Then for 12-13 hours a day, get the warm side up around 29-30 and the basking area directly under the bulb around 35-37. You need a reasonably accurate thermometer to check these temps and make the necessary adjustments. Over here we use digital thermometers with remote probes from the hardware stores. Just move the probe around to see the temps anywhere in the enclosure.

Also, what size is your tortoise? Smaller ones need a reasonable amount of humidity. This is very difficult to achieve with an open topped enclosure. All of your warm humid air just dissipates up and into the room air. Think about a large vivarium or some sort of closed chamber. This will make it much easier to hold in heat and humidity, which is what yours seems to be lacking.

Soaks. With an open top and low humidity, you should be soaking daily for a while to ensure good hydration.

Finally your substrate. Sand is outright dangerous and shouldn't be used. It is possible that this is your problem too. An impacted tortoise will also behave in the way that you describe. Daily soaks will help to get things moving if this is the case. I would get rid of the sand ASAP. I also don't like "topsoil" What is it? What's it made of? What mixture of composted plants is making up the actual stuff in your tortoise enclosure. Is it oleander? Azaleas? Some other toxic material? We don't know. Better to use something that we know is safe.

Please read these and see how what you are offering differs. Hopefully we can save your tortoise!
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/thread...or-other-herbivorous-tortoise-species.107734/
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/sticky-hermanns-tortoise-care-sheet-updated.101410/
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/beginner-mistakes.45180/

 

[johnsonnboswell]

How damp or dry is the substrate? The perfect substrate is more than it's composition. Something to check.