New tort

[MummyTortie]

hi
I have a new tortoise (have had him 3 months now) he is about 1.5 years old. Everything seemed great when we first got him but recently it seems all he wants to do is sleep and he doesn't eat very much at all. If he is out his table for any reason he appears to be livlier and wanders around but once he goes back in be just goes into his hide and sleeps. He would sleep for days without eating if you didn't wake him up. I don't want to hibernate him because I don't know enough about it and he is too small at 83g. I've also noticed that his breath is a bit clicky sometimes but I've not seen any bubbles at his nose. When he does eat he also seems to take a couple of bites and then rub his face on his forelimbs- is this normal? And if not what can I do to help him?

Thanks

 

[JoesMum]

Hello and welcome from Kent, UK. We've had our Greek since 1970

The shorter days are affecting a lot of tortoises at the moment. They sense the hibernation season even when kept indoors.

To keep a tortoise awake you need the lights on for 14 hours a day and it must be warm enough!

I'm going to ask a few questions about your setup as it helps to diagnose any problems.

Photos of both the enclosure and lighting will save a thousand words.

1. What are the 4 important temperatures in the enclosure? Warm side, cool side, directly under the basking lamp and overnight minimum.

2. What lamps do you have for basking and UVB?

3. Is there any sign of a discharge from the nose or mouth?

4. What do you feed your tortoise?

5. How often do you soak your tortoise and for how long?

6. Is the enclosure a closed chamber with some sort of lid?

7. What's the humidity in the enclosure?

8. Do you have a digital thermometer or a dial-type analogue one?

Finally, I recommend that you read the following if you haven't already. They're written by species experts working hard to correct the outdated information widely available on the internet and from pet stores and, sadly, from some breeders and vets too.

Beginner Mistakes
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/beginner-mistakes.45180/

Care of Baby Testudo
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/thread...or-other-herbivorous-tortoise-species.107734/

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi, and welcome to the Forum!

 

[ZEROPILOT]

Welcome.
Yes. Share photos with us or at least a very detailed description of the housing, heating, food and lighting so that we can better help you move forward.