Worried about my little Herman tortoise šŸ¢

Claire walsall

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I have had my little Herman tort for 10 months he has always been fairly active but lately is not waking when the light comes on and only nibbling at his food. I am waking him to bath him daily and he is straining a little! When he is awake he sits still for a long time. The only change was buying a bigger cave in the main part of the enclosure which he didnā€™t seem to like and now sleeps in the covered sleeping section which is away from the light. Need some advice here as Iā€™m getting worried about him. Could this be temperature related? Or maybe diet. Any advice would be appreciated. I can send some pictures of the enclosure if it helps.
 

zolasmum

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I have had my little Herman tort for 10 months he has always been fairly active but lately is not waking when the light comes on and only nibbling at his food. I am waking him to bath him daily and he is straining a little! When he is awake he sits still for a long time. The only change was buying a bigger cave in the main part of the enclosure which he didnā€™t seem to like and now sleeps in the covered sleeping section which is away from the light. Need some advice here as Iā€™m getting worried about him. Could this be temperature related? Or maybe diet. Any advice would be appreciated. I can send some pictures of the enclosure if it helps.
Welcome from Devon. I'm sure someone with more knowledge will reply to you soon, but meanwhile, I suggest you send photos of his enclosure, and details about his lighting, food, and substrate in advance - it may be something really easy to fix.
Best wishes
Angie
 

Lyn W

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I have had my little Herman tort for 10 months he has always been fairly active but lately is not waking when the light comes on and only nibbling at his food. I am waking him to bath him daily and he is straining a little! When he is awake he sits still for a long time. The only change was buying a bigger cave in the main part of the enclosure which he didnā€™t seem to like and now sleeps in the covered sleeping section which is away from the light. Need some advice here as Iā€™m getting worried about him. Could this be temperature related? Or maybe diet. Any advice would be appreciated. I can send some pictures of the enclosure if it helps.
Yes if you post the info Angie mentioned and his temps - ambient, basking, overnight etc with pics of his lamps that will help members try to work out what's going on.
 

Claire walsall

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Welcome, please send good pics of the enclosure, lights and heat source. A lot of time it is a heat problem.
Thank you all please see pictures of my current set up and photos of the temperatures the heater rarely comes on and he spends most of his time in the separate sleeping area which is usually covered He does love the tortoise diet balls and eats little gem lettuce, cucumber rarely and the odd tomato. He seems to enjoy a little bit of grass when I occasionally take him outside. The main base of the enclosure is soil special for tortoises from Amazon.
 

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Lyn W

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You probably haven't seen this before but this is the most up to date caresheet you need
If you compare everything you are using at the moment with the recommendations in the caresheet you should be able to work out yourself what changes you need to make regarding substrate. diet, heating, lighting etc and temps etc.
Most tort problems are caused by things that we do or don't do for them but that will help you correct any mistakes that most of us have made starting out.

Pellets shouldn't be used as substrate because they are very dry and if they get wet can go mouldy- see the caresheet for better options. It will also give you ideas for a much more varied diet that your tort needs.
I've not seen the lamp you have before but if you've had it a while the chances are the uvb output has faded and needs replacing.
Many of us use a T5 HO uvb tube kit (I like Arcadia), with a separate flood basking bulb and a CHE (run through a thermostat) for night and extra heat when needed.
Short, supervised outdoor time in a secure enclosure safe from predators is great at this time of year. They can get uvb from the sun but also need shade and water available so that they don't overheat.

Dried pellets are Ok as an occasional supplement but dark leafy green weeds should be the main diet. If you haven't already found it www.thetortoisetable.org.uk is also a good guide to IDing tort safe foods.
 

zolasmum

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When you say he is straining in his bath, do you mean like he wants to poo? He might be constipated, if he isn't moving about much Or do you use moss in his enclosure at all? That can cause a blockage if he eats it.
Angie
 

Claire walsall

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When you say he is straining in his bath, do you mean like he wants to poo? He might be constipated, if he isn't moving about much Or do you use moss in his enclosure at all? That can cause a blockage if he eats it.
Angie
He does seem constipated he seems to only want to eat the tortoise balls and lettuce everything else he walks away from. I rarely see him drinking so hoping bathing him is helping. I can remove the pellets in his enclosure but I do change them regular so donā€™t think this is a problem. I am worried since he is sleeping in the separate sleeping area he is not warming up enough and have not got the temperature right. I am changing the bulbs every 6 weeks as they seem to stop working and I replace them. The light comes on at 7am and goes off at 10 Even though I have a separate heater it is set low so rarely comes on.
 

zolasmum

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He does seem constipated he seems to only want to eat the tortoise balls and lettuce everything else he walks away from. I rarely see him drinking so hoping bathing him is helping. I can remove the pellets in his enclosure but I do change them regular so donā€™t think this is a problem. I am worried since he is sleeping in the separate sleeping area he is not warming up enough and have not got the temperature right. I am changing the bulbs every 6 weeks as they seem to stop working and I replace them. The light comes on at 7am and goes off at 10 Even though I have a separate heater it is set low so rarely comes on.
If you soak him in a container with a lot of floor space and fairly high sides, he may start scrabbling about a lot to try to get out. This would help get his bowel movements working. He may not like it, but it would be worth sticking at it to get things started - keeping the water warm all the time, and up to the bit where the top and bottom shells meet. If it doesn't work, try again anyway - and if he just sits in the water, push him about gently to get him moving
What is his name, by the way ? I'm afraid I can't help you much about lights and temperatures, but I think you are keeping his lights on a bit too long each day - if he is a baby, he does need a lot of sleep.
Angie
 

Claire walsall

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Thank you for your reassurance I so bath him every day and will continue to do this. My babies name is Rocco and iā€˜ve had him since sep 2021. He was so tiny when I had him and such a finicky eater just like me lolā€¦ my main concern is that he is not waking in the morning I had a similar
problem when i first got him and brought a temperature controlled heater during the winter but it rarely comes on now. Think I need to read some info on temperatures but an open top enclosure is so difficult to stabilise. I could always hear him scratching around his enclosure but he is so quiet now and sleeps most the day.
 

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zolasmum

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Thank you for your reassurance I so bath him every day and will continue to do this. My babies name is Rocco and iā€˜ve had him since sep 2021. He was so tiny when I had him and such a finicky eater just like me lolā€¦ my main concern is that he is not waking in the morning I had a similar
problem when i first got him and brought a temperature controlled heater during the winter but it rarely comes on now. Think I need to read some info on temperatures but an open top enclosure is so difficult to stabilise. I could always hear him scratching around his enclosure but he is so quiet now and sleeps most the day.
Would you be able to put a clear plastic cover over his table on some sort of framework ? Make it into some sort of tent - you would be able to see him and lift it up easily.?
Angie
 

zolasmum

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I just wanted to say we have a Hermanns tortoise too - he will be 22 next week. He is wonderful! I wish this forum had been around then, when we got him - it was hard to find any useful information. You have access to real experts here,(and I don't mean me, because I'm not) - and you know you can get great advice - Rocco will get sorted out - don't panic !
By the way, Rocco looks lovely.
Angie
 

Claire walsall

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I just wanted to say we have a Hermanns tortoise too - he will be 22 next week. He is wonderful! I wish this forum had been around then, when we got him - it was hard to find any useful information. You have access to real experts here,(and I don't mean me, because I'm not) - and you know you can get great advice - Rocco will get sorted out - don't panic !
By the way, Rocco looks lovely.
Angie
I have got to admit when I first got Rocco I do not know what I would have done without this forum. Wow 22 thatā€™s wonderful do you have a picture.
 

MenagerieGrl

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So, I see a temp gauge in one of your pictures, do you have a Hygrometer in the enclosure too?
 

zolasmum

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I have got to admit when I first got Rocco I do not know what I would have done without this forum. Wow 22 thatā€™s wonderful do you have a picture.
This was last year's birthday picture. The background is Fowey in Cornwall, where we had gone for the day with Zola. My husband added to the picture images from much earlier photos of him - one in which he was 2 years old, and one 3 years. They are not to scale exactly - that would take a lot of work to get right - however you can see the difference in his shell markings over the years. When we got him, he had a smallish split in the edge of his shell by the middle of his neck - this has grown wider and longer over time - we think someone trod on him when he was a baby, - and he wasn't very well for some time. He is very strong and healthy now.
Angiegrowing-up_sm.jpg
 

TammyJ

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This was last year's birthday picture. The background is Fowey in Cornwall, where we had gone for the day with Zola. My husband added to the picture images from much earlier photos of him - one in which he was 2 years old, and one 3 years. They are not to scale exactly - that would take a lot of work to get right - however you can see the difference in his shell markings over the years. When we got him, he had a smallish split in the edge of his shell by the middle of his neck - this has grown wider and longer over time - we think someone trod on him when he was a baby, - and he wasn't very well for some time. He is very strong and healthy now.
AngieView attachment 346744
Awesome photo work!
 

Claire walsall

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This was last year's birthday picture. The background is Fowey in Cornwall, where we had gone for the day with Zola. My husband added to the picture images from much earlier photos of him - one in which he was 2 years old, and one 3 years. They are not to scale exactly - that would take a lot of work to get right - however you can see the difference in his shell markings over the years. When we got him, he had a smallish split in the edge of his shell by the middle of his neck - this has grown wider and longer over time - we think someone trod on him when he was a baby, - and he wasn't very well for some time. He is very strong and healthy now.
AngieView attachment 346744
Really good photo work and great to see both now and before. I am a little obsessed with taking pictures of Rocco to. thanks for sharing heā€™s lovely
 

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