baby tortoise only wants to sleep

[jacko]

Hi, ive got 2 baby Mediterranean tortoises,both about 1 month. 1 of them is doing quite well, eating in the morning and sleeping at night. The other one only wants to sleep and dig under the bark and never eats or drinks. They live indoors under a uva lamp and under a heat lamp. The temperature is at around 32 degrees Celsius at the hottest part. What could be wrong with it please

 

[Grandpa Turtle 144]

Hello Jack welcome to the TFO from AZ . Baby torts hide inte beginning a lot cause in the wild the first to move is eaten . Have a great tort day !


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[Jabuticaba]

Hello and welcome. Seems like your babies are doing what babies do best: Sleep.


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[jacko]

thanks for the replies guys. What I'm worried about though,is the difference in behaviour between the two. As I said, one of them is eating,moving around during the day,then sleeps. The other one doesn't even want to know about food, just wants to sleep all day. Ive picked her out of her hiding place a few times to show her the food, but she's not interested,she just goes dig again and sleeps. Can she survive without eating anything.

 

[ascott]

thanks for the replies guys. What I'm worried about though,is the difference in behaviour between the two. As I said, one of them is eating,moving around during the day,then sleeps. The other one doesn't even want to know about food, just wants to sleep all day. Ive picked her out of her hiding place a few times to show her the food, but she's not interested,she just goes dig again and sleeps. Can she survive without eating anything.

No, the tortoise can not live without eating anything. It is a common thing to occur when you have a pair of tortoise forced to reside in the same space....tortoise are a solitary animal. With that being said, it is very common (but not natural) in a pair situation for one to be the dominant/aggressive one and this means that the other is forced into a submissive role. If the two were in the wild, they would not hang out with one another...no buddy system going on there among tortoise (many reptiles for that matter). If they were not confined to the enclosure, and lets say they ran across one another in the wild---they would either, fight one another until one wins and the defeated tort would make its way quickly away from and out of the territory of the victor....or, one would spot the other and quietly try to leave without confrontation....in a captive situation this is not an option, the only option is for the submissive tort to retreat out of the way, out of the line of fire of the aggressor/dominant one...in doing so it is trying to avoid being bullied, however, the down side is, the submissive tort does not eat, does not drink, does not bask, does not exercise---essentially it can become ill and weak and waste away. Sounds harsh right? However, it is just the way tortoise are....nothing personal at all....a tortoise will seek the best food, best sleeping spot, best watering source and also right to procreate...and this is how they survive...so when placing a pair together--very unnatural behavior happens. Bullying is usually very subtle, but very effective for the dominant tort....

 

[jacko]

wow, that really does sound harsh. My friend had baby hatchlings and be offered me one, and I was greedy and asked for two, my reasoning was that 1 baby tortoise by itself would get upset!! So should I try to separate them? Will they be ok by themselves?

 

[lismar79]

I would seperate and see how the little one does

 

[johnsonnboswell]

They will be fine by themselves. They are not now and will not ever be fine together, and it will only get worse. Put aside your thinking of them as creatures in need company. They don't want it, don't need it, and one is doing its best to kill the other and will succeed if you don't step in. Step in. Now, before it's too late.

 

[Gillian M]

Welcome to the forum! I agree with what the members told you: torts like being alone (which may sound "funny" I know). So don't worry about...lonliness....they like it! What about separating them, leaving emotions behind? Good luck and keep us updated.

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi, and welcome to the Forum!

You don't always see overt bullying. Most often what happens is 'mental' bullying. Just being in a more dominant tortoise's territory is enough to cause the more submissive baby stress. Set him up in his own little habitat. Soak him in warm water daily for 15 minutes. Move him out in front of the food every time you think about it - several times a day..and don't let him just hide all day long.

 

[Tom]

I completely agree with the posters above about separating them, but I also wonder what your temps are and what type of UV light are you using? There are four temps to know: Warm side, cool side, basking area and over night low.

 

[jacko]

unbelievable! I just seperated them and the sleepy one started eating straight away! I had never seen it eating so happily before. Thanks so much everyone for guiding me. I would have never thought about that! Lettuce is all they eat though. I tried lots of other things,especially with the "dominant" one, since the other one hardly ate. They just seem to like lettuce a lot,I bought trixie tortoise mix,but they dont seem to like it. I have calcium powder that I sprinkle over their lettuce. Will they be fine with lettuce alone?
I'm really happy to see the other tortoise eat thanks again. Only problem now is that I have to set up another vivarium properly for the little fella,and I'm a bit tight on space!

 

[johnsonnboswell]

No, lettuce alone is not a complete healthy diet. Try chopping up other greens along with it so they get some of the mixture together.

Offer cuttlebone. Some tortoises don't like the taste of the calcium powder so don't put it on foods they reject.