Henry's Wild Mood Swings

[Jenncure]

Hello, I'm new to forum. I have a 3-4 year old Russian named Henry that we've owned for just over a year.

In this past year, his level of activity changed a lot. He seems to have "upswings" and "downswings" every few weeks or months. For a while, he will be quite active and eat all his food and spend most of his time basking in his lamp and exploring his enclosure. Then, for a few weeks or months he will mostly hide under his log and eat almost nothing.

This doesn't seem to be hibernation or estuvation, as it happens so frequently. We live in Virginia, and there are often not drastic weather changes related to his behavior. Is this behavior typical for Russians?

I've attached a couple photos of Henry here. I really appreciate any feedback!

 

[dmmj]

With my russians their activity levels seem to be the same throughout the year, I have had mine now for over 12 years, and year after year they seem to be level. Has he ever been checked by a vet?

 

[Jenncure]

We haven't had him to a vet yet, no. We just relocated, but recently found a vet in the area with a good reputation.

Is there a physical problem his behavior points to?

Often just when we decide he should go to a vet, he pulls out of his apathy and becomes active again.

 

[ascott]

What is that thing he is trying to get into in the works first pic? From the second pic the enclosure seems waaaay to small for that size of Russian.....do you have an outdoor enclosure as well? They really love outdoors...

 

[dmmj]

High parasite loads can cause lethargy, which is why I asked if he had seen a vet.

 

[ascott]

Oh yeah...Welcome to the Forum

 

[Jenncure]

In the first pic, he kind of fell asleep in the midst of digging into this food dish - haha. And we do plan on getting him a larger enclosure. How large do you think we need?

We don't have a suitable outdoor enclosure, but take him outside in the back yard to run around frequently.

High parasite loads - does that mean worms?

 

[dmmj]

parasites = worms there are a lot of beneficial gut flora, but when they have parasites or high levels of them it can often affect them physically.

 

[Maggie Cummings]

If you have a back yard of your own you can make him a cheap easy enclosure out of cinder blocks. Cruse construction sites and you can gather up lots of blocks for your enclosure...Russians do best outside

 

[Jenncure]

Thanks for the welcome - our back yard is more of a brick courtyard. I suppose we could keep him out there in the summer, but it does get very cold over the winter, so he would still need to be inside for a good part of the year. Also, this area gets pretty humid, and as a desert toirtoise, wouldn't that be harmful?

 

[lynnedit]

If there is an area with dirt in your courtyard, you can use the cinder blocks or similar to create a spot outside. As long as there is some shade, and hides and some plants to burrow under, he can avoid overheating.

I am afraid your tortoise might not be too happy. He is digging at his/her food dish because he wants to burrow down. He might be too hot, etc. Aquariums are nice for smaller torts, but yours needs something larger.
When they do get stressed, they are more susceptible to parasites, as David mentions. A vet check is probably in order (reptile vet).

A change in environment seems to be essential.
Make his indoor tortoise enclosure as big as you can manage. 8'x2.5' is not too big. 5' x 2' is OK. Sides of 16" will allow you to have adequate substrate.
You can build one, or use an overturned bookcase with the shelves removed, lined with a heavy duty shower curtain, for example. If the sides are not high enough, you can add an edge to prevent climbing out.
Try changing out the substrate to organic topsoil (you can get this at garden centers). There are other substrates you can use, but this is the easiest right now. Reptile bark chunks are too dry.

 

[Maggie Cummings]

If it's a brick courtyard, make sure he can't escape and give him the run of the place...

 

[PS95]

My torts definitely follow an annual cycle - high activity in the spring and summer followed by low activity in the fall and then almost constant sleep under their substrate in the winter. This is the case even though they are on a tort table under a timed UVB bulb except for supervised excursions to the backyard (our neighborhood has predators that like to munch on pets). Somehow they unfailingly know what season it is.

 

[Jenncure]

Thanks for the responses everyone. We've decided to build him a new indoor enclosure, about 3x3, on top of an old coffee table we had no use for.
Also plan to take him to the vet for a checkup soon. I called for details, and a well-check costs about $100 (ouch) but this vet has a very good reputation with tortoises.
So hopefully we will have a happier Henry very soon!