Hello folks, I have a very senior desert tortoise that I inherited from a family member who passed away. This is my first year with him, so I have so much to learn and understand about his behavior and habits! Last Saturday, he woke up from his brumation (he was in the garage), so I put him outdoors into his yard. It's been pretty nice and sunny. However, he is barely moving and really just mostly sleeping. He does come out of his house, but doesn't get very far. Then he sleeps. He hasn't drank water or eaten. I'm very worried because he's such an old guy, and I don't know what to do to get him more awake and active and eating. It's been 5 days like this. Any advice is appreciated. I do have a herp vet and have an appt this Friday. Thanks so much
Trouble waking up after waking up!
- Thread starter New Mom
- Start date
They are typically slow coming out of hibernation. Do you have something to soak him in?
Totally normal....however, hydration is of the utmost importance....so lets just get you to get the guy to take in some water to begin with (the old saying you can lead a horse to water but you can not make him drink---yeah, well I bet you can encourage this old horse to drink)...
So, you said he slept in the garage...so likely some of the environmental q's are a bit muffled, especially if the tort is old and had his old set up and now is in a new world....I would fetch the old timer (how old is he presumed to be?) and place him in the sun whilst you prepare his warm bath...I would get a tote and rinse it out well, I would place at least an inch or 2 of tepid water in the tote (I would then have two jugs with that same temp of water near the tote within reach)...then gently place the tortoise into the water within the tub....wait a moment...then get one of the jugs (oh yeah, be sure it--the jug that is-- is small/handy enough to be used in the space within the tote---it sucks when you realize you cant access all parts of the tort because the jug is too big for the space the tort is in) and gently begin to pour slowly the water over the tortoise shell --begin at the tuchus and move towards the front of the shell and when you pass each limb, including the head--slowly drizzle the water over all--and continue to do this until the depth of the water just crests the horn on the tortoise...this will allow the tort the ability to easily drop/dunk its head into the water and begin to drink (don't be alarmed if the tort appears to be doing itself in by submerging its mouth/nostril and eyes directly into the water --keep close watch on the sides of the tortoise neck, you will begin to see pumping type motion when the tort actually begins to drink..very subtle but viewable....just down hang over the tort gawking in on him....do it on the sly and as reasonable still on your part as you can..don't cast shadows over the tort while this is going on or jar/hit the tote---calm, relaxing warm bath...now, you can leave the tort in this soak for a couple of hours and no harm will come---as long as the water does not turn to cold...so you can yes, do this outdoors...I personally place the soaking bath in the sun 3/4 of the way with a bit of shade so the tort can retreat if need be....the sun can begin to offer the slow trickle charge they need along with the body hydrating....be patient...
I have an old man here who sleeps in the closet all winter in his own tote and this year when I brought him out this last Sunday, he lounged about in the sun and then soaked for half hour or so...drank for like what seemed like 10 minutes....then I placed him into his yard and he walked a bit, took a bite or two and then beelined for his burrow and had hunkered down there and still is there now---my son did a foot tickle test and he is still alive and kicking but apparently had his drink and decided he was not done sleeping...so be it.
Thanks Ascott, I will try this water bath tomorrow after the vet visit. The vet is going to give him a vitamin A/D3 injection. Hope this combination will work to get him going! How often should I (or can I) give him these soaks? By the way, he's approximately 70-75 years old.
Also, would it be helpful or harmful to let him sleep out in the sunshine (without water soak) for a while? I was thinking I could do the sunbathing in the morning before his vet appt, then take him to the vet, then come back and do the soak. Would that be a good combo to get him going?
NOOOOOO, no vitamin shot, your tortoise will pay the price for that shot....there is no reason, none....that the tortoise should be given a vitamin injection just because he is coming out of brumation.....imagine, being asleep for months---slow and steady....I also would hold off on a car ride or anything else that is highly stressful....seriously, please do not do a car ride and ESPECIALLY do not do the vitamin injection....a vet that recommends this over the phone is crazy.....perhaps ok for a mammal but for a reptile you can create a horrible situation....
Please understand that it can take this tortoise 2-4 weeks before any type of normal resumes...you should offer the long warm water soaks BEFORE you do anything else...and remember, a tortoise way of life is low and slow....please do not expose this tortoise to the things you have described....he has not been given a chance to come round on his own...5 days or a weeks is nothing in the span of a tortoise life....
That age of a tortoise is going to take a few years to gain a new "normal" because he has not be relocated into your care and location....you see, this is a creature of habit, routine--same ole same ole....and once that is disrupted it can take ALONG time for the animal to regroup and start anew....but he will if you give him the opportunity...the things you have described are very normal....no need for alarm...certainly no need for vitamin a injections...please do research on harm that injection in particular can cause...skin slewing from the injection site, animal swelling and simply dying....the vet I am sure means no harm...but ignorance has many times over killed perfectly normal tortoise due to the direct inexperience of do gooder vets.....
Oh my goodness, I will cancel the appointment! But now I'm freaked out because he's had these vitamin injections twice in the past year. I trusted the vet because he's a well-known tortoise expert.
For now, I'll let my old guy take it slow and give him the soak tomorrow. How often should I do these soaks? And is it ok for him to nap in the warm sun?
Thanks so much for helping. I want to do everything I can to help him transition into his new home as smoothly as possible.
No no no vitamin A!!!!!!! You can easily overdose him which will kill it!
That is a very old school though to tortoise care, we now know that kills them so no more injections.
Just a quick history on this. There are 2 ways your body (or your torts) handles vitamins. You have water soluble and fat soluble vitamins. vitamin C and B12 are water soluble, meaning that once your body has taken in 100% of its daily allowance of this, the excess is just processed and you urinate the excess out. Energy drinks claim to have something stupid like 600% of your daily allowance of B12, you just pee out the remaining 500%.....no harm no foul. Fat soluble vitamins are different, that remaining 500% gets stored in your fat cells and you overdose your body as it burns that fat off.
Vitamin A is a fat soluble vitamin. It is not guaranteed to kill your tort but they are small so getting the correct dosage is hard to do, the smaller the tort the harder it is on them. There is no reason to give your tort this injection because it's slow coming out of hibernation, that's totally normal. First give it a soak and see if you can get it to drink. Good luck.
That is a very old school though to tortoise care, we now know that kills them so no more injections.
Just a quick history on this. There are 2 ways your body (or your torts) handles vitamins. You have water soluble and fat soluble vitamins. vitamin C and B12 are water soluble, meaning that once your body has taken in 100% of its daily allowance of this, the excess is just processed and you urinate the excess out. Energy drinks claim to have something stupid like 600% of your daily allowance of B12, you just pee out the remaining 500%.....no harm no foul. Fat soluble vitamins are different, that remaining 500% gets stored in your fat cells and you overdose your body as it burns that fat off.
Vitamin A is a fat soluble vitamin. It is not guaranteed to kill your tort but they are small so getting the correct dosage is hard to do, the smaller the tort the harder it is on them. There is no reason to give your tort this injection because it's slow coming out of hibernation, that's totally normal. First give it a soak and see if you can get it to drink. Good luck.
He could have Been given the correct dose which means he'd be perfectly fine. Vitamin A is given to sick torts so if it wasn't sick then there was no reason for it. How long ago did he get them and how far apart were the doses? Without knowing the exact dose and weight of the tort, none of us could tell you if its okay or not.
There's no point in stressing over it. They get D3 from the sun and or your UVB light. If he lives outside there's no need for the D3 either.
NO!!!! DO NOT LET THE VET GIVE THE OLD MAN A VITAMIN A,D,E INJECTION!!!!!!
It happens much too often - the vet doesn't figure out the correct dosage and gives too much vitamin A. This causes the tortoise's skin to slough off.
Your tortoise is sitting in the sun so that he can warm up his inner core. This is perfectly normal. He's doing what tortoises have done for hundreds of years. Ascott has given you wonderful information.
oops! Sorry. I reacted before I finished reading all the other posts. So, I guess you get the picture, huh? No vitamin injections.
Okay...so now the mind frame is damage control...he roused Sat...so only about 5 days now....not eating is no big deal, the not drinking is the hugely important factor---so please do the long warm water soaks....also, since he has had two injections please keep an eye on the injection sites as well as the legs in which the injections were done....please discontinue any further shots, at this point...
You see, a brumating tortoise has alot going on within them---and when they come out of brumation, (please see this article to simply wrap your mind around what their body is designed to do and how important it is to avoid introducing things into the mix...
http://www.naturalhistorymag.com/htmlsite/1202/1202_feature2.html ) the best step is to begin allowing a reliable water source to be available---to stimulate the tort in any way possible to take in water----to allow flushing of the stuff from last season, or more---to allow intake of clean fluid...when an injection is done (all too often the dosage is the problem and also the sudden rush of the material itself is too much too fast on the delicate system)...so, if the tort has only been awake for 5 days or so---when ever did two events already present itself for injections? Has he had two injections within that time frame already?
Apology in my prior post....I did not see here that you clearly said when the other two shots were....lets just go down the path of happy fluffy thoughts and hope he was not affected by these....
Yes, napping in the warm sun is perfectly normal, desirable and he will likely do it for hours (since the full summer intense sun has not begun)...food items can be given to the tort in lieu of injections....vitamins are much better introduced into the body at the pace the tortoise can consume them in....and as he knows, he is a slave to the sun, just as the rest of us are to remain fully functioning at our peak.....he is recharging, he is getting the systems up and running....
What is his prior environment before he moved to the current one a year ago....what is that comparison?
They will absorb water through the skin and cloaca. I believe the soaks would be recommended daily (30 to 45 mins) until the tort is eating on it's own. Make sure the water they are soaking in is nice and warm.
