Tortoise not growing

Status
Not open for further replies.

Samantha

New Member
5 Year Member
Joined
Nov 1, 2011
Messages
2
Hi, my son has two spur thighed tortoises approx 3 1/2 months old. One has grown quite significantly and the other doesn't appear to have grown at all. We are very concerned about her. She does not appear very interested in food and seems to spend longer sleeping than the other one and is not as active. Would really appreciate some advice on how to encourage her to eat more etc.
 

HipsterTorts

Member
5 Year Member
Joined
Jul 31, 2011
Messages
440
Location (City and/or State)
Southern California
Are you keeping them in the same enclosure?
If so then it sounds like a case of bullying to me. The smaller tortoise may be intimidated by the larger one or the larger one may be pushing the smaller one around. It doesn't take much for a smaller tort to get stressed out when it's housed with another tort that may only be slightly bigger.
IMO I would separate them. Get the smaller one its own enclosure to live in. The stress from bullying can lead to the death of a tortoise. I know what long time bullying can do to a tortoise so I'd separate them as soon as possible. Believe me you'll see a big change in the smaller tortoise.
 

Tom

The Dog Trainer
10 Year Member!
Platinum Tortoise Club
Joined
Jan 9, 2010
Messages
63,264
Location (City and/or State)
Southern California
Samantha said:
Hi, my son has two spur thighed tortoises approx 3 1/2 months old. One has grown quite significantly and the other doesn't appear to have grown at all. We are very concerned about her. She does not appear very interested in food and seems to spend longer sleeping than the other one and is not as active. Would really appreciate some advice on how to encourage her to eat more etc.

Hello and welcome. Try reading this:
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/Thread-Pairs#axzz1ceplKLIo

And here are a bunch of threads I put all in one place. Many of them might help you:
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/Thread-Helpful-Threads?highlight=Helpful+Threads#axzz1ceplKLIo
 

yagyujubei

Active Member
5 Year Member
Joined
Oct 16, 2010
Messages
2,407
Location (City and/or State)
Amish Country
I would wake her and put her right in front of her food. If she walks away do it again. Try new foods for her. I have had good results with rolled oats softened with warm water for problem eaters. A scale is a great investment for monitoring weight, especially for little ones. Usually after a warm soak their interest in food is piqued. Be persistant. A steady weight gain is imperative.
 

Samantha

New Member
5 Year Member
Joined
Nov 1, 2011
Messages
2
Thank you for all the replies. We have been waking her morning and evening to encourage her to feed for the past few days and feeding her on her own. Tonight we have separated them and my son is offering her some soaked oats as I type! Fingers crossed that she starts to improve.....
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

New Posts

Top