worried about inactive tortoise (in NE) - please advise!

CrystalsFamily

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Petsitter reports much activity and some eating again this morning! Didn't finish yesterday's smallish salad but we'll give him some time. So exciting! I won't post every day unless there's a big change but will definitely post how he looks when we get home.
 

Dorrie Siu

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But I WANT you to post every day!! This is so exciting! I wonder what that was that he pooped out?
 

CrystalsFamily

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Reports are that he is active and eating well, sometimes finishing all his food! I'll know better when I get home as the Petsitter doesn't have a basis for comparison (didn't meet him til he was sick). But eating is definitely better than not eating !!

We may never know what that was. Either something he ate at the pet store that was not healthy or not food, or -- I wonder if he was dehydrated while there, or too cool, which caused impaction of normal food. He was well for almost two weeks when he came home, but I know their systems are slow. I know I fed him only healthy stuff, so I do feel some relief at not being responsible! (Unless the zoomed Grassland tortoise food is not right for Russians?? I have ordered some mazuri.)

Other theories?
 

CrystalsFamily

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Well, the latest is not the news I would like to be reporting.... Crystal's not eating again since we returned home Tuesday night. He's not very active either, but perhaps a bit more alert than he had been. He didn't poop the whole time we were gone. I'm generally more hopeful than I was before the upturn, as I think something must be working itself out, even if it's 3 steps forward, 2 steps back. What a huge bummer that we missed the whole period of improvement though!

I spoke to the vet today to see if she had anything to advise based on what he pooped out/ the constipation theory. She said if he was constipated, the most important thing is to continue the soaks as often as possible (I can continue 2-3 times/day), to keep him hydrated and stimulate his metabolism. Also to keep offering him a variety of foods to entice him, but I have to say I don't think that really does much -- he's either interested in food, or he's not. Tried the Mazuri today, 3 pellets moistened to mush, but he didn't go for it, or the zuke, or the watermelon he had started eating while we were away.

As always, open to advice.
 

Nolan1992

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Well I can tell you one thing that could explain the lack of eating (maybe not), I think he could be transitioning over from the crappy diet at petsmart. I am always at petsmart because I buy crickets for my Leopard Gecko there every week. It's a 15 minute drive or so and when I get there I like to chill out and take a look at their animals (especially the ferrets!!!). Well anyways, they exclusively feed all of their reptiles, these things called reptile munchies. http://www.amazon.com/R-Zilla-SRZ09626-Reptile-Munchies-Vegetable/dp/B006L485BA/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1398393559&sr=8-4&keywords=reptile munchies Those are them. Me, being a person who likes to experiment with all different kinds supplementary tortoise diets, decided to get some for my Hermanns tortoise. It turned out they were like crack for him. He absolutely devoured every last bit and I couldn't get him to eat all of the foods he was originally eating without hesitation for about two weeks. I had to man up and just keep offering greens, finally he gave into some radicchio. This is just a weird little hypothesis of mine. I don't really know what else to say, but good luck. Hopefully petsmart will stop feeding them that stuff.
 

Nolan1992

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Or if you're really desperate to get him eating, try the reptile munchies. They're not bad for the tortoise as a supplement to the diet. The bad part was that he wouldn't go back to what he was eating. On a good note, they're full of fiber, they had more tort dumping huge loads daily.
 

CrystalsFamily

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Or if you're really desperate to get him eating, try the reptile munchies. They're not bad for the tortoise as a supplement to the diet. The bad part was that he wouldn't go back to what he was eating. On a good note, they're full of fiber, they had more tort dumping huge loads daily.
I had thought of this as well. But I'm not sure, because he was munching down all the fresh stuff so well for a week and a half before he stopped eating. The last time I was at petsmart, I looked at the munchies, for something to try, and they only had the fruit in stock, not veggies, so I didn't get them. It's probably worth a try if I can get the veggies. I do wonder if eating that dehydrated stuff, in conjunction with not soaking enough, could have led to the blockage.
 

mikeh

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He was eating when you got him home, being fixated on pet store food probably is not it. Ech what a journey it is with Crystal. Senior members advise to add mineral oil to food to aid with constipation. How much I am not sure.
 

CrystalsFamily

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He was eating when you got him home, being fixated on pet store food probably is not it. Ech what a journey it is with Crystal. Senior members advise to add mineral oil to food to aid with constipation. How much I am not sure.
I know. Quite a saga. But I'm going to try to keep hoping that we've turned some kind of corner. I will do a search on mineral oil. I'm a little hesitant without having a way to know if that's a correct diagnosis.... I guess I can search constipation too.
 

CrystalsFamily

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So Sunday night Crystal passed another one of those plug-looking things. Monday he still didn't eat, but today he showed interest and got through about a quarter of a lettuce leaf. Three steps forward, two steps back..... Still soaking frequently and waiting.
 

Dorrie Siu

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Okay I'm going to throw this out here.

Dorrie had an issue last week where she didn't eat for three days, and didn't poop. I soak her every day for half hour, I offered different foods, yada yada. Heat was fine, so was humidity.

So I decided to do a little more homework.

I went down the street to the trail and canal where there is some wild cactus growing. Was meaning to take just a little bit but a dog came barreling after me, apparently a pit bull that got out of a yard that backs up to the trail. I grabbed top of the cactus, gave it a good downward yank, and ran for the life of me.

As I ran back to the car, I realized when I tried to open the door that my hands were covered with spikes.

ANYWAY...

I cut it up in tiny pieces.

She ate it.

She pooped what looked like the soil from her substrate and rocks.

I fed it to her for a week until all her poop was nice and clean again. Now she eats normal and has her energy back.
 

CrystalsFamily

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Okay I'm going to throw this out here.

Dorrie had an issue last week where she didn't eat for three days, and didn't poop. I soak her every day for half hour, I offered different foods, yada yada. Heat was fine, so was humidity.

So I decided to do a little more homework.

I went down the street to the trail and canal where there is some wild cactus growing. Was meaning to take just a little bit but a dog came barreling after me, apparently a pit bull that got out of a yard that backs up to the trail. I grabbed top of the cactus, gave it a good downward yank, and ran for the life of me.

As I ran back to the car, I realized when I tried to open the door that my hands were covered with spikes.

ANYWAY...

I cut it up in tiny pieces.

She ate it.

She pooped what looked like the soil from her substrate and rocks.

I fed it to her for a week until all her poop was nice and clean again. Now she eats normal and has her energy back.
Interesting. You just chanced on this, or you found some info that said cactus would clean her out? I'm not sure where I would get my hands on some..... (Or whether there might be other foods that would work similarly? If he would eat them.) Maybe I will start a new thread asking if there are foods or other things people know will help clean them out. (I never found anything specific about mineral oil, except one post saying "add a little" to their food -- and I remain hesitant about that.
 

Dorrie Siu

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I spoke to a lady who runs a tortoise and turtle rescue near me. I got the cactus pads from the trail near my house. Or you can go a any latino store and ask for Nopales. Sometimes you can just find them at a regular grocery store.
 

CrystalsFamily

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I spoke to a lady who runs a tortoise and turtle rescue near me. I got the cactus pads from the trail near my house. Or you can go a any latino store and ask for Nopales. Sometimes you can just find them at a regular grocery store.
Don't know if I can find a Latino store here either! But I will look at the grocery store. Someone on the thread I started under the Diet forum also mentioned cactus, as well as aloe vera, which I have seen at my grocery store. So I've got something to work with -- if he'll eat it!
 

Nolan1992

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I spoke to a lady who runs a tortoise and turtle rescue near me. I got the cactus pads from the trail near my house. Or you can go a any latino store and ask for Nopales. Sometimes you can just find them at a regular grocery store.
you can buy them in bulk on tortoisesupply.com as well
 

CrystalsFamily

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you can buy them in bulk on tortoisesupply.com as well
Oh, I'll check that out! Don't know if I should buy bulk without knowing if he'll touch the stuff, but I'll take a look at the price and amount. You know, I was just in AZ and could have grabbed some prickly pear while on a hike, but I didn't really know what was best to look for or whether it would stay fresh enough for when we got home.... darn.
 

CrystalsFamily

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So, I did not mean to abandon my cherished and esteemed team of advisers here in this thread. I went and posted in the Diet forum on that specific question of foods that may help constipation, got some good additional feedback about that, and now have started getting some other advice as well. Just wanted to let you all know you can follow here: http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/foods-to-clean-out-the-digestive-tract.91482/. Especially (spoiler) if you want to get a glimpse of Crystal's man parts (I know, I know, I really have to post a picture of his face one of these days!) and weigh in on whether they look totally normal.
 

CrystalsFamily

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Hey folks. I've sort of switched over to updating on the thread I posted above, but wanted anyone over here who wants a periodic update to have one, after all the drama, so here it is:

Crystal's continued to do well the rest of this week. This upswing is definitely longer-lasting than the last, and I continue to see poops pretty frequently. They are very small, and I am not counting them as normal yet, but they are looking greener and moister as time goes on. And he's peppy compared to his former state. He doesn't eat as much some days as others, but when he does, it's with gusto! His eyes are open wider, and he's more responsive. Definitely feeling better, especially right after soaks and deluxe soaks.
 

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