etherealequus
New Member
Hi everyone. I used to have an account on here a few years ago, but I've since deleted it. Well, here I am again. First, let me introduce myself and my tort. I'm Khloe, I'm a college student living in Pittsburgh, PA. I've had my Russian Tortoise, Oscar, for nearly seven years. Since getting him, I've learned a lot regarding proper husbandry; I buckled down and built a custom, two-level enclosure for my little dude so he could have more space. He had been absolutely thriving for the past few years; he was insanely active (borderline annoying, actually
) and ate like a pig. As of the past month or so, he's been basically unrecognizable in terms of his behavior. He is lethargic all of the time: he refuses to bask, doesn't move out of the same spot on the cool side unless I physically force him out, will go right back to his log as soon as I move him, doesn't eat nearly as much, sometimes doesn't eat at all, never soaks unless I put him in the pool, etc. etc.
I took him to my exotic vet twice. He did a physical exam and dewormed him, said everything looked great and that Oscar's weight was right where it needed to be. I noticed Oscar had diarrhea after the dewormer, so I supplemented his gut flora with NutriBAC df until his bowel movements returned to normal. When I told the vet he still wasn't better, they took an x-ray, which looks good and shows no abnormalities. The vet basically told me to just force Oscar to move around and to keep taking him outside daily, which I have been doing. Unless it is raining, he goes out for an hour to two hours each day; when he's outside, he runs around like crazy, but he only goes along the perimeter of our fence, so I can't help but think he might just be looking for a hiding/burrowing spot to get away from the sun? I'm really at a loss here; this has become the biggest source of stress in my life at the moment (and I'm in college! during a pandemic!)
I knew everyone on here would understand this stress, so that's why I wanted to make this post. I'm really hoping someone can help me out or offer any bit of advice. I'll list some basic care info below. I could also attach pictures of Oscar, the x-ray, his enclosure, etc. if anyone thinks that could help. Please, if you have experienced anything similar or have any idea what could be going on with him, I'm willing to try anything at this point.
Diet: mainly a mix of organic greens (homegrown dandelion, kale, collard, endive, radicchio); I supplement occasionally with calcium powder (Repti Calcium without D3)
Lighting: 100W ZooMed Spot Lamp; 10.0 UVB/UVA ReptiSun Strip Light
Temperatures: hot side is 90 to 100F (directly under light); cool side is 70 to 75F
His enclosure has a shallow pool that he used to soak himself in daily. I use a mix of sand and coconut coir (EcoEarth, boiled and then baked before being used) for the substrate. He has two hide logs on the cool side, which he never seems to leave now.
I'm sure I'm forgetting some info; forgive me, I'm really just so upset about this whole situation. I really took for granted how nice it was to have a healthy, active tortoise. Now, I get upset even thinking about him because I'm just so afraid there's some underlying bigger issue.
Thanks in advance for any help, it is greatly appreciated.
) and ate like a pig. As of the past month or so, he's been basically unrecognizable in terms of his behavior. He is lethargic all of the time: he refuses to bask, doesn't move out of the same spot on the cool side unless I physically force him out, will go right back to his log as soon as I move him, doesn't eat nearly as much, sometimes doesn't eat at all, never soaks unless I put him in the pool, etc. etc.I took him to my exotic vet twice. He did a physical exam and dewormed him, said everything looked great and that Oscar's weight was right where it needed to be. I noticed Oscar had diarrhea after the dewormer, so I supplemented his gut flora with NutriBAC df until his bowel movements returned to normal. When I told the vet he still wasn't better, they took an x-ray, which looks good and shows no abnormalities. The vet basically told me to just force Oscar to move around and to keep taking him outside daily, which I have been doing. Unless it is raining, he goes out for an hour to two hours each day; when he's outside, he runs around like crazy, but he only goes along the perimeter of our fence, so I can't help but think he might just be looking for a hiding/burrowing spot to get away from the sun? I'm really at a loss here; this has become the biggest source of stress in my life at the moment (and I'm in college! during a pandemic!)
I knew everyone on here would understand this stress, so that's why I wanted to make this post. I'm really hoping someone can help me out or offer any bit of advice. I'll list some basic care info below. I could also attach pictures of Oscar, the x-ray, his enclosure, etc. if anyone thinks that could help. Please, if you have experienced anything similar or have any idea what could be going on with him, I'm willing to try anything at this point.
Diet: mainly a mix of organic greens (homegrown dandelion, kale, collard, endive, radicchio); I supplement occasionally with calcium powder (Repti Calcium without D3)
Lighting: 100W ZooMed Spot Lamp; 10.0 UVB/UVA ReptiSun Strip Light
Temperatures: hot side is 90 to 100F (directly under light); cool side is 70 to 75F
His enclosure has a shallow pool that he used to soak himself in daily. I use a mix of sand and coconut coir (EcoEarth, boiled and then baked before being used) for the substrate. He has two hide logs on the cool side, which he never seems to leave now.
I'm sure I'm forgetting some info; forgive me, I'm really just so upset about this whole situation. I really took for granted how nice it was to have a healthy, active tortoise. Now, I get upset even thinking about him because I'm just so afraid there's some underlying bigger issue.
Thanks in advance for any help, it is greatly appreciated.
