Adjusting period: sleepy, doesn't eat

[Raluca_Schachter]

Hello everyone! I've just got an adorable Russian from Petco, female, captive bred, about 5 inches long. I've seen her a couple of times before buying and she was always very active, eating and she'd always come to the glass to watch me when I talked to her! The moment I brought her home, all she wanted to do is hide, bury and sleep. I brought her home late afternoon, now it's morning and she didn't eat or drink anything...She stays on the patio roaming free through plants and pots, and during the night she sleeps in her tank in coconut fiber. I plan to let her live outside, bring her in the front yard too on the grass, where she'll have even more room to roam but now she'd just probably find another place to hide!
I know it takes about 3-4 days to adjust but since I'm new to this I really don't know if all this is normal..How long can they go with no food and water?
I live in Southern California, temperatures are in the 60s at night, 80-90 during the day, with 50-70% humidity. I know she's been active at the store but now she's just the opposite...Any suggestions?

Oh, and should I give her a preventive parasite treatment? Do I really need to go to the vet for that? I've seen some anti-parasitic treatments online but I'm not sure if it's safe to just try it on with no testing...? Like a routine treatment?
Thank you!!

 

[Jacqui]

First, relax a little okay, you going to be a great tortoise keeper. Now you just got her, so she has just under gone a whole bunch of new things, especially a huge change in her environment. She is mostly likely feeling (to use human terms) stressed, disoriented and confused. Give her a few days to just settle in... then you can start worrying. As for the not eating, if she has good weight, she could go several weeks without eating and still be okay.

Mean time, be sure you have everything as well set up for her as you can. Check what those temps are actually doing down on her level on that patio. Make sure she isn't getting too hot without a cooler place to go to. Plenty of shade on it too? What temp is her inside bed?

 

[Raluca_Schachter]

Ok, everything is fine now! She finally got out and ate, is super active and curious, she's exploring everything! There is one thing that drives me nuts though: I think I made my daughter (7) wash her hands a hundred times by now, it's getting really stressful on everybody! I was told by everyone to do this. I have a natural sanitizer that I also use instead...How likely is it to get sick from a tortoise??
Thank you all!

 

[TortoiseBoy1999]

Ok, everything is fine now! She finally got out and ate, is super active and curious, she's exploring everything! There is one thing that drives me nuts though: I think I made my daughter (7) wash her hands a hundred times by now, it's getting really stressful on everybody! I was told by everyone to do this. I have a natural sanitizer that I also use instead...How likely is it to get sick from a tortoise??
Thank you all!

Well it's just precautionary, it is really your choice, but I personally think it's best to wash your hand's because they MAY carry salmonella and it's better safe then sorry you know? So I would personally AT LEAST rinse off my hands after handling let's see what everyone else say's

 

[Raluca_Schachter]

Thanks. We are cautious about that but I'm not going to go overboard. Although, the main idea here is not to have direct contact to mouth from the tortoise and its feces. By the way, since it's roaming free on my patio, she also leaves droppings all over which I clean right away. I wonder what other natural cleaning agents I could use that don't harm her and eliminate possible pathogens? I usually hose down teh patio every night when I water the plants. Would that be enough? If anyone has a similar situation, I'd appreciate your input.

[/QUOTE]

Well it's just precautionary, it is really your choice, but I personally think it's best to wash your hand's because they MAY carry salmonella and it's better safe then sorry you know? So I would personally AT LEAST rinse off my hands after handling let's see what everyone else say's
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Thank you! I'm much more relaxed now, thanks for the reply and I'll surely watch the temps. Today she was fine with that.

First, relax a little okay, you going to be a great tortoise keeper. Now you just got her, so she has just under gone a whole bunch of new things, especially a huge change in her environment. She is mostly likely feeling (to use human terms) stressed, disoriented and confused. Give her a few days to just settle in... then you can start worrying. As for the not eating, if she has good weight, she could go several weeks without eating and still be okay.

Mean time, be sure you have everything as well set up for her as you can. Check what those temps are actually doing down on her level on that patio. Make sure she isn't getting too hot without a cooler place to go to. Plenty of shade on it too? What temp is her inside bed?

 

[Laura]

I'd just watch with your eyes and not handle so much... that stresses them out too. Not to mention accidental falls.