Baby Greek random bursts of activity and lack of appetite

turtel.turtle

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Hello, I've been seeing some concerning things in my baby Greek tortoise. I got her a little more than a month ago, and she hasn't eaten for nearly a week, and today has had multiple bursts of energy. She'd be in her hide, and suddenly run out at full speed for no apparent reason. Then she'd slow down, and stop, look around almost as though she is confused. I was worried, and let her calm down for a little, and gave her a warm soak under her basking light. I drizzled her carapace with warm water, and a few minutes into her soak(she drank a little and was still for the most part) she started violently scraping at the edges of her tub, and trying to climb out. I was surprised, so I dried her plastron and let her back inside her enclosure. She then froze, and began another rampage around the borders of her enclosure. From the seems of it, all her scurries were around the sides and into the corners of her tortoise table, so I've begun to wonder if she wants to get out. She scrapes at the sides, and tries to climb out. However, I do not think that her enclosure is too small for her, since she is about 2 inches long, and her enclosure is 24 inch by 39.4 inches long.
Here is some background information:

The hottest area of her enclosure-where her basking light mainly shines- ranges from 95-105 degrees fahrenheit

the coolest sides range from 75-80 degrees farenheit

her enclosure is 24 by 39.4 inches and is painted with a cool grey eco friendly paint(12 feet high)

coconut coir substrate that is 3-4 inches deep

humidity currently ranges from 40-60, used to be 50-70 but my spray bottle has stopped working, so I've been just mixing water into her substrate whenever she has soaks. I admit it's a drier than I would like, but her lack of appetite has been going on before the humidity drop

has warm soaks daily under her bask daily for 10-20 minutes she used to poop there, but lately she hasn't, likely since she hasnt been eating

I offer here escarole, dandelion leaves, clovers, sow thistle, nemesia(flower and leaves), a little of lemon balm, mustard greens, cucumber. She used to mainly eat escarole, mustard greens, and cucumber. I began offering her more types of foods when she stopped eating(sow thistle, dandelion leaves and flower, strawberry is what I gave her after she stopped eating she has some at first but then stopped eating)

she has a hide that is very humid(maybe about 80), about 12 inch by 5 inch

she has a shallow water dish that is about 3 times her size, so yes, she can enter her bowl

at night, the temperature does not go below 70 degrees fahrenheit, and I use a ceramic heat emitter for reptiles to keep it warm

she often falls asleep under her bask, and she has a cuttlebone available

she has a 12 inch by 6 inch(about)

I have let her out of her enclosure a few times into my room after soaks for her to dry, while I moistened her substrate with water. I've now stopped letting her out because I read that it can be stressful for babies to be let out. Any advice about the situation would be greatly appreciated:(
 

Tom

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Are you using any UV bulbs? What type?

We've been having terrible weather for the last month, but has she seen the sun yet? What did she do outside?
 

Yvonne G

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When you see that frantic type behaviour it's usually fear. What has changed about the way you care for this baby?
 

turtel.turtle

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Are you using any UV bulbs? What type?

We've been having terrible weather for the last month, but has she seen the sun yet? What did she do outside?
when I said that she went outside, I meant my room, she nibbled a little bit of carpet, so I immediately put her into a plastic tub, no water. I have a 100 watt mvb light bulb, and a ceramic dome that can handle up to 200 watts.
I can't identify a symptom of illness(something I forgot to mention), her shell is nice and hard, top and bottom, she doesn't smell fishy, no swelling or teariness in the eyes, she thermo regulates, basks, and is pretty active. I wasn't able to identify worms in her feces when she was pooping, and she has no rashes or red areas on her skin.
She just seems to have no appetite, I've been wondering if she's a picky eater?

Also yes, she has seen sun once, I took her outside for a little bit when it was warm enough, but she kind of froze, so I took her back inside and I have not taken her out since.
 

turtel.turtle

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When you see that frantic type behaviour it's usually fear. What has changed about the way you care for this baby?
Something that has changed is that I added more substrate(coconut coir) into her enclosure, it used to be 1-2 inches deep, but I have added more to 3-4 inches deep right now. I have noticed that she hasn't burrowed after I deepened the substrate, but she seems a little busy running around, so I havn't given it much thought. Other than that, nothing has changed
 

Gijoux

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Something that has changed is that I added more substrate(coconut coir) into her enclosure, it used to be 1-2 inches deep, but I have added more to 3-4 inches deep right now. I have noticed that she hasn't burrowed after I deepened the substrate, but she seems a little busy running around, so I havn't given it much thought. Other than that, nothing has changed

Without seeing your enclosure it is a little difficult to speculate, but I would add some live safe plants, like Boston Fern, Pothos Ivy, Spider Plant, Aloe, Coleus, and Prayer Plant. Tortoises require lots of places they can hide in order to feel safe. Make sure your enclosure is large enough. If it is too small you may see that frantic climbing at the walls. Try adding the original foods you were feeding cut up with just a little of the new food you are trying to feed. Tortoises are real funny about change. Good luck and try not to worry too much.
 

turtel.turtle

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Without seeing your enclosure it is a little difficult to speculate, but I would add some live safe plants, like Boston Fern, Pothos Ivy, Spider Plant, Aloe, Coleus, and Prayer Plant. Tortoises require lots of places they can hide in order to feel safe. Make sure your enclosure is large enough. If it is too small you may see that frantic climbing at the walls. Try adding the original foods you were feeding cut up with just a little of the new food you are trying to feed. Tortoises are real funny about change. Good luck and try not to worry too much.
Okay! I'll try adding some safe live plants inside of her enclosure. However, it may take a few days... I have tried making her whole space darker by turning off my room lights(not her mvb lamp) and putting a towel over the tops of her enclosure to help make it darker.
 
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