Hi all,
Having a bit of trouble with hydrating Henri, my otherwise healthy and happy male greek, approx 15 years old. My major issues is controlling his hydration. He refuses to drink from the terra cotta dish in his table, and will not voluntarily soak either. I try to keep his humidity at proper levels but it is very dry this time of year and sometimes a struggle. Dont want yo use an auto mister for fear of shell rot. I had assumed he was ok hydration wise, as he has never showed signs of lethargy, no sunk in eyes, etc.
However, the other day he went to an area of his table (under the ramp to the second level) that he has never gone to, to dig himself in and sleep. He almost always sleeps in one of two other places, and digs himself in a night. So this was odd behavior. In addition, he stayed there all day without coming out! I placed some food beside him and, hoping for the best, went to work the next day. I came home to find the food untouched and was, at this point, very worried. Normally he is an eating machine and will literally trample anything in his path to get to food. He had moved however, and was sunning under his lamp as per usual. It was roughly 6pm which is after his active time, but regardless I talked to him and moved his food dish around which typically gets his attention very quick. Sure enough he ran over like normal and devoured some water-soaked greens like his normal self. After this tho, he urinated and released a very large amount of white uric (about the diameter of an oreo cookie), leaving me wondering if that's why he wasnt acting himself. To have stored up that much, he must have been dehydrated, despite having water readily available, as well as having his zoomed grassland f pellets always soaked into a mush. He loves the mush and this is most of his diet this time of year as I live in Canada and most supermarket Greens are no good for him, or simply not nutritious enough. We have basic grocery stores here and collard greens, escarole are hard to find! I bought grow lamps, clover seed, and dandelion seed and am growing them indoors, but this is slow and doesn't provide quite enough for daily. Also, the dandelion isnt dandelion, and I dony know what it is! Will try to post a pic for identification later. Obviously I am not feeding the unidentified greens.
I believe dehydration is an issue. I spritz the enclosure to decrease dust and add moisture, as well as pour water into the soil of his "forest" micro climate. Soil is coco coir with mushroom soil (organic and fully neutral/depleted).
On to soaking. He absolutely hates these, and will hiss and hide, or alternatively splash around trying to escape. I tolerate this despite our mutual discomfort, because I fear forhis overall health. However the stress incurred is also obviously not ideal.
So, I am hoping to get some advice and info as to how I can increase regular hydration. In the summer time this is a non issue, as the weeds he eats are very lush, and are spritzed with additional water. One approach is to offer more water rich foods such as cucumber, grapes, or watermelon. However I have read that these should be fed very sparingly if at all (I will give as a treat perhaps once a month), and therefore cannot be a hydration staple. I have also noticed that he is pooping less frequently as well. His metabolism is likely slower this time of year but I dont feel confident attempting to brumate quite yet. Was his lethargy and lack of appetite for 2 days a result of dehydration? The uric acid build up? The uric was not crusty or flaky at all, and there seemed to be plenty of water in the pee as well. Fed him some cucumber the next day and he pee'd again, this time with no urates. He has resumed his normal routine but I am left rather concerned by our apparent inability to keep him regularly hydrated, if in fact his was the issue. Why would he store that much urates when water is readily available? Why wont he drink? And what can I do to stabilize this process in the least stressful and hands off way possible? What foods can be offered often for hydration? How often may he have cucumber, watermelon, grapes, or lettuce? Will these upset his stomach, gut flora, or vitamin levels? How much longer before his soaks (every week, sometimes bi weekly) become normalized part of his routine?
Any advice or tips are appreciated! Thank you,
Randy & Henri
Having a bit of trouble with hydrating Henri, my otherwise healthy and happy male greek, approx 15 years old. My major issues is controlling his hydration. He refuses to drink from the terra cotta dish in his table, and will not voluntarily soak either. I try to keep his humidity at proper levels but it is very dry this time of year and sometimes a struggle. Dont want yo use an auto mister for fear of shell rot. I had assumed he was ok hydration wise, as he has never showed signs of lethargy, no sunk in eyes, etc.
However, the other day he went to an area of his table (under the ramp to the second level) that he has never gone to, to dig himself in and sleep. He almost always sleeps in one of two other places, and digs himself in a night. So this was odd behavior. In addition, he stayed there all day without coming out! I placed some food beside him and, hoping for the best, went to work the next day. I came home to find the food untouched and was, at this point, very worried. Normally he is an eating machine and will literally trample anything in his path to get to food. He had moved however, and was sunning under his lamp as per usual. It was roughly 6pm which is after his active time, but regardless I talked to him and moved his food dish around which typically gets his attention very quick. Sure enough he ran over like normal and devoured some water-soaked greens like his normal self. After this tho, he urinated and released a very large amount of white uric (about the diameter of an oreo cookie), leaving me wondering if that's why he wasnt acting himself. To have stored up that much, he must have been dehydrated, despite having water readily available, as well as having his zoomed grassland f pellets always soaked into a mush. He loves the mush and this is most of his diet this time of year as I live in Canada and most supermarket Greens are no good for him, or simply not nutritious enough. We have basic grocery stores here and collard greens, escarole are hard to find! I bought grow lamps, clover seed, and dandelion seed and am growing them indoors, but this is slow and doesn't provide quite enough for daily. Also, the dandelion isnt dandelion, and I dony know what it is! Will try to post a pic for identification later. Obviously I am not feeding the unidentified greens.
I believe dehydration is an issue. I spritz the enclosure to decrease dust and add moisture, as well as pour water into the soil of his "forest" micro climate. Soil is coco coir with mushroom soil (organic and fully neutral/depleted).
On to soaking. He absolutely hates these, and will hiss and hide, or alternatively splash around trying to escape. I tolerate this despite our mutual discomfort, because I fear forhis overall health. However the stress incurred is also obviously not ideal.
So, I am hoping to get some advice and info as to how I can increase regular hydration. In the summer time this is a non issue, as the weeds he eats are very lush, and are spritzed with additional water. One approach is to offer more water rich foods such as cucumber, grapes, or watermelon. However I have read that these should be fed very sparingly if at all (I will give as a treat perhaps once a month), and therefore cannot be a hydration staple. I have also noticed that he is pooping less frequently as well. His metabolism is likely slower this time of year but I dont feel confident attempting to brumate quite yet. Was his lethargy and lack of appetite for 2 days a result of dehydration? The uric acid build up? The uric was not crusty or flaky at all, and there seemed to be plenty of water in the pee as well. Fed him some cucumber the next day and he pee'd again, this time with no urates. He has resumed his normal routine but I am left rather concerned by our apparent inability to keep him regularly hydrated, if in fact his was the issue. Why would he store that much urates when water is readily available? Why wont he drink? And what can I do to stabilize this process in the least stressful and hands off way possible? What foods can be offered often for hydration? How often may he have cucumber, watermelon, grapes, or lettuce? Will these upset his stomach, gut flora, or vitamin levels? How much longer before his soaks (every week, sometimes bi weekly) become normalized part of his routine?
Any advice or tips are appreciated! Thank you,
Randy & Henri