Tortoise only wants to be fed by hand? SOLVED

Alex77

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Ok! It's not 95 all-over... It's 26-38 from coldest to hottest.

I keep putting him out in the sun (in his tub) when its over 20 c outside, but he just digs a hole in the earth and hides. i often dig him out and put him back in the sun lol. It is slightly too chilly for that now but it will warmup soon...
 

Yvonne G

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I'm afraid that's the nature of the beast. But he's receiving the benefits of the sun without being directly in it. The rays float around. When you put him out, give him a few more hiding places or plants so he doesn't feel so out in the open. He's prey and he knows it.
 

Alex77

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I believe the sunshine will be the long term key for your torts recovery.

I would advise upgrading your bulb and getting rid of the compact fluorescent coil bulb.

Also, soaking your tort in luke warm water for about 20 minutes per day for a week should help with the constipation and rehydration. Search this forum for instructions.

Good luck.

Doing it all! Thx :)
 

Alex77

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I'm afraid that's the nature of the beast. But he's receiving the benefits of the sun without being directly in it. The rays float around. When you put him out, give him a few more hiding places or plants so he doesn't feel so out in the open. He's prey and he knows it.

He actually seemed more perky today, so I hope I've done something right...!
 

leigti

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Hello Alex 77 I have been a Tortoise owner for about a year and a half now. I have done a lot of research and this forum is definitely the best place for information and advice. I definitely understand how many of the comments people offer can make you feel cut off. They all mean well but, as is normal in many situations, once you are experienced any certain field you forget what it's like to be a newbie. I found out the hard way that my trusted pet store
See him and gave me all the wrong information and that I had to find a good vet with personal Tortoise experience, my vet has to desert tortoises of her own. But even she was not an expert with Russian tortoises and is always open to more information, I put her in touch with this site and have sent her many articles from here and she appreciates it. Don't get discouraged and just do what you can for your Tortoise.
 

CrystalsFamily

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Glad to hear things are looking up a bit. I've had a long road myself since about February, with a Russian tortoise that fell ill about 2 weeks after we brought him home from the petstore. I found that when I could see he was looking more more perky, he was on the upswing (but with some setbacks along the way).

I certainly found that there were a lot of different things to try as I zeroed in on the problem, and that it was a back and forth between this forum and the vet. (I feel mine is smart, knowledgeable about reptiles generally but maybe not expert about torts or tort breeds specifically, and clearly doing much better than consulting a textbook, while not a tortoise-keeper.) I tried many different things before I winnowed the suggestions down to the most helpful.

Here's a great thread where I got a LOT of good, helpful input about constipation, in case that is indeed part of your guy's problem: http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/foods-to-clean-out-the-digestive-tract.91482/

Best of luck with his recovery!! I would guess that the calcium issue might take a while.
 

Alex77

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Thank you for your support and tips! :)
I just found out the poor tort has hookworm too.:( So that was a big downer... Now we have at least another 3 weeks of toil before the tort is (possibly) given the all-clear. But it's good to hear that the torts demeanor means something because today, s/he got up earlier than usual and ate & pooped normally. Was also more active and curious than s/he has been in the past week. I feel guilty leaving my tort in a box full of boring kitchen tissue until it recovers from the worms, but I guess it's got to be done!
 

CrystalsFamily

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Thank you for your support and tips! :)
I just found out the poor tort has hookworm too.:( So that was a big downer... Now we have at least another 3 weeks of toil before the tort is (possibly) given the all-clear. But it's good to hear that the torts demeanor means something because today, s/he got up earlier than usual and ate & pooped normally. Was also more active and curious than s/he has been in the past week. I feel guilty leaving my tort in a box full of boring kitchen tissue until it recovers from the worms, but I guess it's got to be done!
I don't know how similar pinworm and hookworm are in this regard but.... Our vet tested feces and found pinworm, and she was clear with me that it's controversial whether this is a problem or not (might be a "normal" parasite that helps with digestion), but that since he was symptomatic, we would treat for it. She gave one dose of the medicine and said he'd be feeling better in about a week if it had helped; nothing changed in that week, so we didn't do the second dose of meds. (He did have some mucusy poop before that didn't recur after, but he didn't start eating, pooping, and being active again til waaay after that.) Also, she did NOT make me take him out of his habitat and substrate. I changed over all the substrate and sterilized the habitat the day of the treatment so he wouldn't re-infect, and I was supposed to do it again a week later if that seemed to have been the problem. It sounds to me like something else you've tried is already helping your guy (before the hookworm treatment?). The shotgun approach may not be terrible, since you just want him feeling better -- except that it makes it hard to know what worked.
 

Alex77

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Hi crystals family, I looked up hookworm and it is a more serious worm (which is what the reptile vet said too) so that's why the substrate had to go. It can reinfect without ingestion, I think, that is why. It is good to know what happened to your tort too tho because I was wondering if there would be side effects from the meds. He is getting 2 doses over next 2 weeks then a repeat test. Fingers crossed he only needs that much treatment!
 

CrystalsFamily

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Hi crystals family, I looked up hookworm and it is a more serious worm (which is what the reptile vet said too) so that's why the substrate had to go. It can reinfect without ingestion, I think, that is why. It is good to know what happened to your tort too tho because I was wondering if there would be side effects from the meds. He is getting 2 doses over next 2 weeks then a repeat test. Fingers crossed he only needs that much treatment!
I see. Well, good you are taking care of everything then! I know you said you expected better of a petshop in Germany, but it seems your guy did not have such a good life before he landed with you. It's great you are getting him in shape now. Lucky little guy. This seems to be a recurring story on the forum. I think there must be a lot of very poorly cared for tortoises out there (it's a complicated job!), and those of us who find the forum are the ones remediating that in a few cases. I have read that it's not actually possible to tell how old they are, as they can be quite different sizes based on the amount and quality of food they were fed -- so maybe your tort had some poor living conditions even before the pet store. Unless they somehow document when they got him/her from the breeder? I find myself wishing I could know Crystal's true life story....
 

Alex77

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Yeah I know I seem to have it covered but it still helps a lot to read others' experiences :) Torts are mysterious enuf as it is, and throwing worms and meds into the mix just makes one more anxious about what might go wrong. I had read some horror stories about torts with worms which doesn't really help, I guess... Lol.

My Gaia was eating his/her cuttlebone today tho... this is the first time s/he has ever touched it, i nearly applauded! then S/he started doing very energetic laps around the quarantine tank in the sun. I am hopeful...

You're right about the pet shop thing. It seems like ill torts would almost be the norm, even if they are certified - high turnover of pets and little attention. My certificate has the breeders name and a birthdate on it tho, which helps unravel the mystery and maybe trace the problems Gaia's having. Where did you get Crystal?
 

CrystalsFamily

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Yeah I know I seem to have it covered but it still helps a lot to read others' experiences :) Torts are mysterious enuf as it is, and throwing worms and meds into the mix just makes one more anxious about what might go wrong. I had read some horror stories about torts with worms which doesn't really help, I guess... Lol.

My Gaia was eating his/her cuttlebone today tho... this is the first time s/he has ever touched it, i nearly applauded! then S/he started doing very energetic laps around the quarantine tank in the sun. I am hopeful...

You're right about the pet shop thing. It seems like ill torts would almost be the norm, even if they are certified - high turnover of pets and little attention. My certificate has the breeders name and a birthdate on it tho, which helps unravel the mystery and maybe trace the problems Gaia's having. Where did you get Crystal?
I got Crystal at a petstore chain (Petsmart), I am embarrassed to say. In hindsight, I feel I should have known better. I had done quite a lot of research about tortoises beforehand, and still I have learned a LOT more since. I don't know if it's the same meds, but Crystal had no ill effects from them that I could tell. Hope Gaia continues to improve steadily!
 

Alex77

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Not your fault Crystal... it is just a bad idea to even sell torts at a pet store, given how many of them end up ill and abandoned. But I don't think you're to blame for that.... rather, it's just a nasty industrial trade that needs to be reined in by law. I agree with what you said though... pretty much anyone who's on this forum and has a store bought tort is probably going to end up doing a better job than the pet shop would. If only we knew before hand what a bad state they were being kept in... but like you, I did a lot of research and still ended up buying from a bad guy. There need to be stricter standards for the welfare of these animals. It's very sad to see on Ebay and sites like that, how many people are giving up these creatures when they're a bit too big/expensive/etc to take care of. Breaks my heart.
 

Star-of-India

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Well, at least Crystal also got a good home! I've never purchased an animal of any kind from the big chains, but I don't think that'd be something to be embarrassed by if I'd had done so.

It's a dilemma, there are risks in buying pets from almost any source. Clearly purchasing from the chains encourages them, but in cases like Crystal, a tort has found a good home and I think that's great!
 

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