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

[lismar79]

So good to hear!

 

[CrystalsFamily]

View attachment 80559
Here's our silly guy sitting in his salad and just munching away! He's been eating a nice big pile every day and asking for more! (But not that red pepper -- he still doesn't go for much of the fancy stuff. Greens, greens, greens. He did eventually come around to the pumpkin, took a very few tiny nibbles of the aloe after seeing it for many days, and munches on the cactus sometimes if there's nothing else on offer.)

I am cleaning up poop all the time! (Had almost forgotten about that messiness!) It's getting steadily bigger and is nice and moist. He no longer wants to hang out in the soaks for more than a few minutes (more like he was before), and I'd say his energy is back to normal.

I will probably keep up the baby food soaks 1x/day for another week, then maybe water soaks daily for a bit, before I start cutting back to every couple days. Maybe in another week or so I will also think about easing temps back into normal ranges (105/80s/70s), and letting them go down at night (at this point I think that will only be down to 70-75 anyway). Unless anyone thinks otherwise, I will probably let him eat more than normal for a while, as he's got like a month and half to make up!

 

[lismar79]

How wonderful. So glad this all came out good!

 

[Jen Rosell]

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?

I have to say, I only had my "Pebbles" for a week yesterday. Bought at Petsmart and they told me to give Grassland Tortoise food WITH fresh greens, however they didn't tell me I needed to soak them first.....Found that out after from a member on this forum that if they consume them dry when they get in digestive system they could possibly form a blockage because they swell.... Sure enough yesterday I went back to store to get additional supplies and I looked at the tort in their habitat and there was a plate of dried whole pellets (or whatever they are).... Like I said, very new to all of this but do you think that could have happened?

 

[JoesMum]

I doubt that there has been serious impaction, maybe a touch of constipation. I hadn't realised that you had only had your tort a week.

Tortoises don't handle change well. It takes time for them to start trusting a new enclosure and new people... some can take months to stop hiding away! The usual advice with a new tortoise is to establish a routine so that it learns what happens and becomes more confident.

Having the lights on a timer mean that that they go on and off at the same time each day.
Bathing first thing in the morning, before the tort has warmed up properly, reduces stress and the tort is more likely to rekax in the warm water than try to escape.
Feed straight after the soak... they soon cotton on to this.
Then walk away and leave them be. Standing over the tort watching is intimidating.
Gradually they work out that you mean food and you are to be trusted and you will have less hiding away... until you decide the enclosure isn't big enough, or needs renovation... at which point they reserve the right to decide that you aren't trustworthy again!

Some torts are much quicker to work things out; hopefully yours is

 

[CrystalsFamily]

I have to say, I only had my "Pebbles" for a week yesterday. Bought at Petsmart and they told me to give Grassland Tortoise food WITH fresh greens, however they didn't tell me I needed to soak them first.....Found that out after from a member on this forum that if they consume them dry when they get in digestive system they could possibly form a blockage because they swell.... Sure enough yesterday I went back to store to get additional supplies and I looked at the tort in their habitat and there was a plate of dried whole pellets (or whatever they are).... Like I said, very new to all of this but do you think that could have happened?

Interesting. I have always moistened it, but that could be it if that's standard practice at Petsmart (along with the dehydrated veggie food -- the salesperson seemed impressed that I intended to feed fresh food).

 

[Jen Rosell]

Interesting. I have always moistened it, but that could be it if that's standard practice at Petsmart (along with the dehydrated veggie food -- the salesperson seemed impressed that I intended to feed fresh food).

I was pretty disappointed with Petsmart, they set me up with lighting that was all wrong and did not mention I needed a UVB light....

 

[CrystalsFamily]

I was pretty disappointed with Petsmart, they set me up with lighting that was all wrong and did not mention I needed a UVB light....

They're really just out for turnover, not good care. And I really doubt the employees are trained much at all. You just get lucky if you get one who knows something. And let's face it, there's a LOT to know about tortoises.

 

[leigti]

It's not just large chain stores that don't know what they're doing. My local mom-and-pop pet store gave me all the wrong information also. I did check out the local Petco and found that there care sheet was not too bad, there were some errors on it but it was still 10 times better than what my local pet store said. I don't know if Petsmart has cure sheets for their tortoises. It is too bad that employees are not trained better.