Weird behaviour....Eating from the floor :S

[tootiturtle]

Hi tortoise forum members.

My Egyptian tortoise is fine and eating well. But lately since summer, it started to behave unusually when it comes to placing him on the floor. He starts to pin the floor as if he's eating it. And if there's something lying a piece of hair or stone he will eat and swallow it. Before I managed to get a small piece of a stone which is used to absorb cats or dogs pee out of his mouth before he swallowed it. This time, my brother was playing with it and within moments, it approached the floor and ate a small stone of charcoal and swallowed it The stone is small enough to be picked up by his peak. He is almost 2 years old and he's small in size.

Can someone please tell me will this cause him any health problems? And why does he keep doing on this?
Also I cant get him to lay in the sun. He keeps running away and he does this behavior more commonly when placed on the floor in the sun!

I live in Egypt. Please help me know why is he doing this. Thank you.

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi Tootiturtle:

That's one of the reasons why we always think its a good idea to NOT allow your tortoise to run around on the floor. Yes, it can be harmful to the tortoise to eat items that are found on the floor. It could cause impaction. If he eats a long hair, it could wrap around the intestine and cause a big problem. Its always a good idea to just keep your tortoise in a habitat that is made especially for the tortoise. And outside is best.

 

[Tom]

Yvonne is right about that.

As far as why: It is speculated the they eat weird things because they have a dietary deficiency of some mineral or trace element. Are you supplementing with calcium? Lots of variety in the diet? Vitamin supplement once or twice a week in small quantities?

Some tortoises just seem to do this. My Daisy eats pebbles when she's outside sometimes while none of my other ones ever have. They all get the same diet and supplement routine. What I do for her now is soak her to empty out her bowel, feed her as much as she'll eat, and then put her in her outdoor dirt pen. If her belly is already full, she tends to not eat rocks.

As far as avoiding sun, here are a couple of possible factors. 1. He may be warm enough already, and more sun will over heat him. 2. I don't know Egyptians, but most little torts tend to be a bit shy. They don't like to be out in the open in broad daylight for fear that a predator will make a snack of them. They tend to relax a bit if they have an outdoor pen with lots of shade, cover and hiding spots. Once they get used to the environment, after being in it for a few days, they tend to get a bit more comfortable.

Good luck.

 

[tootiturtle]

Yvonne is right about that.

As far as why: It is speculated the they eat weird things because they have a dietary deficiency of some mineral or trace element. Are you supplementing with calcium? Lots of variety in the diet? Vitamin supplement once or twice a week in small quantities?

Some tortoises just seem to do this. My Daisy eats pebbles when she's outside sometimes while none of my other ones ever have. They all get the same diet and supplement routine. What I do for her now is soak her to empty out her bowel, feed her as much as she'll eat, and then put her in her outdoor dirt pen. If her belly is already full, she tends to not eat rocks.

As far as avoiding sun, here are a couple of possible factors. 1. He may be warm enough already, and more sun will over heat him. 2. I don't know Egyptians, but most little torts tend to be a bit shy. They don't like to be out in the open in broad daylight for fear that a predator will make a snack of them. They tend to relax a bit if they have an outdoor pen with lots of shade, cover and hiding spots. Once they get used to the environment, after being in it for a few days, they tend to get a bit more comfortable.

Good luck.

I had him for a few months now. He eats well but not regularly. I give spray Vitamin D and calcium powder on his food sometimes. I know the weather is kinda hot but I wanna get him some sunlight :S I can't afford UV lambs because they are too expensive and they aren't available here.

And he didn't show any sign of pain or illness till now. Does anyone have any idea if it's deadly harmful to him? And what type of things will happen to him. I m afraid there aren't any options of treating him here in my area! :S I m so worried. Can someone please try to tell me is it going to pass out, or digested or will stay in his belly and cause diseases? T_T

PS: He's a desert tortoise. He should be used to this kind of temperature and it's just about 39 C outside!

 

[Tom]

There is really no way to predict what will lodge in the intestine and what will pass through. The trick is to try and prevent them from ingesting things that they shouldn't. This is fairly easily accomplished by keeping them in their pens and keeping foreign objects out of their pens. To help it pass you can give him daily, warm water, shallow soaks in a tub of some sort. This will keep him hydrated and help keep his bowels moving. Exercise in a big pen will help move things along too.

Desert tortoises frequently go underground or find a cooler retreat when it gets hot. Because it comes from the desert doesn't mean it likes it hot. If you put him in an outside pen, he will be getting the necessary UV even when he's hiding in the shade, because UV refracts and bounces around outside.

 

[tootiturtle]

I soaked him in water and he made a normal poo with some white matter which I know as uric acid. He's moving as he should, eating as well and looks pretty normal to me. Any idea when the signs will appear on him or does that mean nothing happened, thank God?

Also Tom, do you mean if I just put him in the balcony and there's sun, there's no need to put him in the direct sun rays? Anywhere near it will provide him with sufficient UV?

Thanks for answering in advance, and TY ALOT for this info you made me feel much better now. ^^

 

[movealongmosey]

Tortoises will try to eat anything, they usually are attracted to color. Alot of the time my redfoot just "tries" things out like a towel maybe a rug, which is not to say I let him eat anything on the ground. I just know that if it's big enough for him to not swallow theres no harm in letting him learn for himself that "no you can't eat granite, because it's not food" Tortoises are very intelligent and I think that after trying something once (like going over the edge of a coffee table) they wont do it again. My mosey now sticks his head out over the ledge and is very cautious. Hope my blabbering is of some help lol.

Katie

 

[Tom]

It takes several days for most items to work their way through a tortoises very long digestive system. I've seen it take weeks on some of my big ones. I would just feed him normally and keep doing daily soaks.

Yes, he will catch enough bounced around UV rays to do what he needs if he is outside in Egypt. Mine often try to stay in the shade too. The idea behind an outdoor pen is to give them ACCESS to sun and let them choose to stay in it or not. Forced sun would not be a good idea. A lot of species and individuals will avoid a whole lot of sun. Some only like dappled sun as it comes trough trees or bushes. Most small tortoises prefer to hide amongst bushes or some sort of cover and maybe catch the edge of some sunshine. Give him a large outdoor pen with some substrate and some "furniture" like potted plants, large rocks, terra cotta flower pots on their sides and half buried, etc.. This will allow him to thermoregulate and feel secure, while getting his exercise and UV. Just make sure that he's safe from predators and that at least half the pen is in full shade at all times. Any of them can overheat, but little ones are especially sensitive to it.

Since I don't know Egyptians, I don't know what their UV requirements are. I hope one of our Egyptian keepers can tell us if they are one of the ones that need a little or a lot.

 

[tootiturtle]

Thanks Katie and Tom for this amazing help. I will do as you told me and I will try to provide these things.

Yeah, I do hope someone who keeps them can tell me because I care a lot about their proper growth and a nice looking shell without any bone disorders ^_^. Been worried about this issue much. Will be waiting for help and will inform you all if something will happen during the next few days or if all is ok or not.

Ty once again, great help, great forums!

 

[egyptiandan]

I can believe I missed this.

Tom and Katie have given you some great advice already.

Egyptians though don't like hot temperatures and at this time of year they are aestivating (summer hibernation) in the wild. They will be dug down into the soil to wait out the hot temperatures. Temperatures over 30C trigger the need to aestivate, so putting him out on the balcony at 39C will only want to make him try to hide to get away from those temperatures. Try to only put him out on the balcony in the morning when temperatures are under 32C. When it gets above 32C you need to bring him inside.

Danny

 

[tootiturtle]

GUYS PLEASE POST IN THE WHATS WRONG WITH MY TORTOISE THREAD. Thank you! I ll update the information there!