I think my male tortoise is trying to starve himself to death

Potato_king

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Hello,
My male tortoise is rejecting all the food I give him And didn't eat anything but few bites for days
Even his favorite food
he is active and he looks healthy, he does everything including harrassing my other tortoise and chasing her down
He also plays around and do the wiggle thing tortoises do
I would take him to the vet but I don't trust the vets here at all, that's why I would rather ask the experienced people here
In my previous thread I posted few pictures for their garden
The only problem I have noticed on him is dehydration. I'm soaking him everyday since I got him but it's useless, their food is fresh too
Also he does something very irritating, he walks on the food plate and sometimes he poops on the food. He is driving me crazy, I would take him back to his previous owner but I know they won't take good care of him
 
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Potato_king

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Can we see pictures of him, and enclosure? it's hard to judge and give feedback when we can't see what's going on behind the scenes. @Tom @ZEROPILOT
Thank you for the feedback
I'm putting them in a big garden
141C2787-FC3F-4647-B73C-03B9EB4D2EBB.jpeg

A851E4FC-9973-40BC-A399-DC8B17975A59.jpeg
The garden Is very big that's why I'm not separating them, they have hiding places and water for drinking and soaking
Also I noticed him drinking for the first time two days ago
 

TeamZissou

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It is possible that he is eating enough food from the stuff growing the garden such that he does not want the food that you are offering.

Has he lost weight? Is he pooping regularly? Have you been weighing him, has he lost any weight?

Is it still insanely hot, I remember you mentioning 43+ C temps in the past.
 

Potato_king

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It is possible that he is eating enough food from the stuff growing the garden such that he does not want the food that you are offering.

Has he lost weight? Is he pooping regularly? Have you been weighing him, has he lost any weight?

Is it still insanely hot, I remember you mentioning 43+ C temps in the past.
Thank you very much for the feedback, he didn't lost weight. In fact he has gained some weight. He doesn't poop on the water when I soak him but he poops in different places in the garden, including on the food I give him. He poops very little each time.
This year the temperature here is very fluctuated. It goes from 40c or more to 30c in a day. And it has been raining, so the weather is becoming much cooler
 

TeamZissou

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Well, if he has not lost weight and is pooping, that is a good sign that he is not impacted, which can be a reason for not eating. But, be sure he feeds on a clean surface such as a terra cotta saucer so that he does not ingest any of the sand or dirt in your garden.

Are his eyes and nose clear? Any discharge?

Otherwise, I don't see any red flags that would cause concern.
 

Potato_king

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Well, if he has not lost weight and is pooping, that is a good sign that he is not impacted, which can be a reason for not eating. But, be sure he feeds on a clean surface such as a terra cotta saucer so that he does not ingest any of the sand or dirt in your garden.

Are his eyes and nose clear? Any discharge?

Otherwise, I don't see any red flags that would cause concern.
His eyes are black and clear and his nostrils are clear too. Actually I was going to ask about the dirt. We are hosing the garden with water before it gets dry and the tortoises like climbing on the food saucer and some of the dirt from their legs gets in the food. This happens almost every day but I don't let them eat it, I wash the food over and over.
 

TeamZissou

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His eyes are black and clear and his nostrils are clear too. Actually I was going to ask about the dirt. We are hosing the garden with water before it gets dry and the tortoises like climbing on the food saucer and some of the dirt from their legs gets in the food. This happens almost every day but I don't let them eat it, I wash the food over and over.

Ingesting a little dirt is inevitable. You just want to avoid feeding directly on loose sand or dirt since much more of it will stick to the food. It sounds like you have a good method in feeding on a saucer and rinsing the food.
 

ZEROPILOT

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It sounds like he is showing agression and territorial signs.
And he may be ill. Or he could be too stressed at the housing situation to eat.
Hopefully his possible ailment isn't contagious. There should always be a few months quarantine period or you could end up with a lot of serious issues.
Hopefully itll all work out soon.
 

TaylorTortoise

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Well, if he has not lost weight and is pooping, that is a good sign that he is not impacted, which can be a reason for not eating. But, be sure he feeds on a clean surface such as a terra cotta saucer so that he does not ingest any of the sand or dirt in your garden.

Are his eyes and nose clear? Any discharge?

Otherwise, I don't see any red flags that would cause concern.
What do you mean by impacted?
 

TaylorTortoise

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It sounds like he is showing agression and territorial signs.
And he may be ill. Or he could be too stressed at the housing situation to eat.
Hopefully his possible ailment isn't contagious. There should always be a few months quarantine period or you could end up with a lot of serious issues.
Hopefully itll all work out soon.quarantine
Quarantine period? What do you mean by this? If not there could be a lot of serious issues? Do you mean involving the other torts?
 

Krista S

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What do you mean by impacted?
Google is a wonderful resource when you’re unsure of something. Here’s the definition of impaction from Wikipedia:


Impaction is bowel obstruction that can occur in various kinds of animals when they consume something that they cannot digest. For example, in reptiles, common causes of impaction are rocks and sand, which might be accidentally consumed when the reptile attacks its prey. In livestock, rough fodder such as straw can risk impaction. Once the substance is ingested it will block the digestive tract and, if untreated, cause death.”
 

Krista S

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Potato_king

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It sounds like he is showing agression and territorial signs.
And he may be ill. Or he could be too stressed at the housing situation to eat.
Hopefully his possible ailment isn't contagious. There should always be a few months quarantine period or you could end up with a lot of serious issues.
Hopefully itll all work out soon.

Thank you for the feedback,
You're right! He has been very aggressive and territorial lately! He is scouting the garden many times everyday and trying to take over my female tortoise's hiding place
Quarantine sounds like a good idea! I have another garden prepared for emergency, I will move one of them and see What happens
 

ZEROPILOT

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Quarantine period? What do you mean by this? If not there could be a lot of serious issues? Do you mean involving the other torts?
Yes.
Any time you introduce a new tortoise into your already established tortoises area, you need to quarantine the new tortoise to minimize the risk of infection from parasites, etc.
I once had two new, free RF that acted just fine, make 9 others in a group very ill.
As I recall, the ordeal cost me about a grand when it was all over with.
If I'd quarantined them, I would've noticed that they had pinworms and I could've dealt with it sooner.
 

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