Clyde is not eating properly

[ClydesMom]

Clyde has turned into quite the escape artist. Every time I look up, he has busted out and laying under Lantana bushes (I know, toxic!) Every time I'd find him under it, I'd pull him out, wash him off and put him back in his enclosure just to find he escaped again. My fear was he was eating the lantana (though I have not seen him even nibble at it, just lay under it.) Then I became very concerned because he wasn't walking around as much and wouldn't eat the hay and greens he normally scarfs down. I put him in a tub to soak and he pooped a ton so he was getting food from somewhere. I took him to my exotics vet and she checked Clyde for stones (man is he strong!) but found no evidence and he didn't appear to have any respiratory issues, he weighs over 25# and had clear eyes and nose, no wheezing or heavy breathing. He still isn't eating his hay, hybiscus leaves and lettuce mix I dust with calcium, but I have noticed he eats a lot of poop. I'm trying to keep his poop and the dog poop scooped so he doesn't eat it. I see people mention Muzuri food, I used to provide that all the time but he didn't eat it. I have no idea what he was fed before I got him. He still doesn't seem as active as he used to be but she assures me he is healthy. I don't want him to get sick, I've gotten attached to the little guy. Any suggestions?

 

[Maro2Bear]

Greetings...

Given the absolute scorching heat that your area has been experiencing, does your Sully’s enclosure have a large shaded cool spot to hide out? Big soaking area? Is it possible he’s breaking out of the heat to seek cooler/shaded areas beneath the Lantana?

During our heatwave here, just high 90’s, our Sully waited until 7 pm or so to come out and graze ‘til dark. It’s cooler now, low 80s, comes out around 3 pm now. Still a bit cooler timeframe.

Good luck..

 

[ClydesMom]

Greetings...

Given the absolute scorching heat that your area has been experiencing, does your Sully’s enclosure have a large shaded cool spot to hide out? Big soaking area? Is it possible he’s breaking out of the heat to seek cooler/shaded areas beneath the Lantana?

During our heatwave here, just high 90’s, our Sully waited until 7 pm or so to come out and graze ‘til dark. It’s cooler now, low 80s, comes out around 3 pm now. Still a bit cooler timeframe.

Good luck..

Thank you! I suppose that is possible since it has been off the rails hot here. (114 this past weekend) but we have monsoons as well. His enclosure is actually under two fully mature fruit trees so tons of shade with some large flagstones in a sunny area for basking as well as I have a den made for him. His set up is actually huge, about 12' wide x 25' long(ish) I do flood one half 2x a day for him to soak in but he doesn't. If I spray the flag stone he will come out and drink from that. I have large flat dishes for his food/water but he will not drink water from the dishes. So I soak him twice a week. I find him different places all day long. He liked to hide out under the patio behind the kayaks, or in the corner of the patio behind the pool floats, that sort of thing and then he burrows under the lantana. I never see him out in the grass, even in the evenings. He doesn't touch the hay and will only nibble at the greens when he used to eat a ton. But I suppose it could just be the heat. Sometimes I bring him in the house, he will walk around and then hide behind the toilet. I think my house is too cold for him though, so I don't do it often.

 

[Big Charlie]

Thank you! I suppose that is possible since it has been off the rails hot here. (114 this past weekend) but we have monsoons as well. His enclosure is actually under two fully mature fruit trees so tons of shade with some large flagstones in a sunny area for basking as well as I have a den made for him. His set up is actually huge, about 12' wide x 25' long(ish) I do flood one half 2x a day for him to soak in but he doesn't. If I spray the flag stone he will come out and drink from that. I have large flat dishes for his food/water but he will not drink water from the dishes. So I soak him twice a week. I find him different places all day long. He liked to hide out under the patio behind the kayaks, or in the corner of the patio behind the pool floats, that sort of thing and then he burrows under the lantana. I never see him out in the grass, even in the evenings. He doesn't touch the hay and will only nibble at the greens when he used to eat a ton. But I suppose it could just be the heat. Sometimes I bring him in the house, he will walk around and then hide behind the toilet. I think my house is too cold for him though, so I don't do it often.

Can he dig in his enclosure or in the den? Charlie loves to dig a shallow resting place under a bush. I've never seen him try to eat that bush, by the way; it's just a cool area. This year he hasn't used that bush. He's using a little house we built for him that is open on one side. I think with both the bush and house, he likes being able to look out.

 

[ClydesMom]

Can he dig in his enclosure or in the den? Charlie loves to dig a shallow resting place under a bush. I've never seen him try to eat that bush, by the way; it's just a cool area. This year he hasn't used that bush. He's using a little house we built for him that is open on one side. I think with both the bush and house, he likes being able to look out.

Yes, he can dig that is part of the problem with him escaping his enclosure. I also soak the area outside his den. We are looking for a new home with land and I will build him his own wonderland planted with tortoise friendly bushes and plants and lots of grass. I have also been looking at tortoise houses that are insulated to keep them cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter out here. I want to build it big enough to house him for many years. I showed the vet photos of his enclosure and she felt it was a great place for a tortoise, personally I think he likes being out with George our pitbull.. they love each other. It's crazy. LOL!

 

[Melis]

Does he eat the fruit from the trees?

 

[ClydesMom]

Does he eat the fruit from the trees?

Not at all, they are lemon and grapefruit. Sometimes the fruit or leaves fall and we clean it up, but he shows no interest. I think they know instinctively what isn't good for them. Not saying that some wouldn't eat some things. But nobody is out in the wild making sure tortoise avoid certain plants and they avoid them there so it makes sense that I don't see him nibbling the citrus leaves or the lantana he loves to lay under. LOL! There is a sage back there as well and he avoids it completely... maybe he doesn't like the smell? IDK. LOL!

 

[Tom]

After the tortoise escaped the first time, you should have corrected the problem. I don't understand why there have been repeated escapes.

It is a mistake to think that they won't eat the wrong things and die. Some of the time, some of them demonstrate a dislike for one food or another, but other times they eat toxic plants and die. Our back yard with all of our foreign plants from all over the globe is not the wild.

Letting him in the house is a dangerous practice and should never happen. Again, many get sick, injured, impacted or killed this way, and every person who does it was sure it was safe.

Tortoises in your area need a burrow to escape the heat. If its 114, it is still 114 in the shade and they cannot cool down. Your tortoise might be suffering from heat stress and this could also be causing the lack of appetite. Flooding the pen and soaking should be helping with this, but your tortoise needs a cooler area that is under 100 degrees, and underground is the only way I know to make that happen. Can you start a burrow for him in an advantageous area? Often they will continue a burrow if you start it for them.

Beware of dog. They do not "love" each other. The loving family pet usually ends up eventually chewing up the family tortoise. They should have no access to each other. Again, every time this happens, the person didn't see it coming, and was sure there would never be a problem. Just don't risk it. You've been lucky so far, but that luck will run out and your tortoise will pay the price.

 

[Big Charlie]

I completely agree with what Tom said. To add, your tortoise should not be able to see out of his enclosure. If he knows there is a place outside of it, he will want to get to it. Tortoises are bulldozers, and get stronger as they get bigger. You'll want to get him out of the habit of breaking out before he gets bigger and stronger.

 

[ClydesMom]

After the tortoise escaped the first time, you should have corrected the problem. I don't understand why there have been repeated escapes.

It is a mistake to think that they won't eat the wrong things and die. Some of the time, some of them demonstrate a dislike for one food or another, but other times they eat toxic plants and die. Our back yard with all of our foreign plants from all over the globe is not the wild.

Letting him in the house is a dangerous practice and should never happen. Again, many get sick, injured, impacted or killed this way, and every person who does it was sure it was safe.

Tortoises in your area need a burrow to escape the heat. If its 114, it is still 114 in the shade and they cannot cool down. Your tortoise might be suffering from heat stress and this could also be causing the lack of appetite. Flooding the pen and soaking should be helping with this, but your tortoise needs a cooler area that is under 100 degrees, and underground is the only way I know to make that happen. Can you start a burrow for him in an advantageous area? Often they will continue a burrow if you start it for them.

Beware of dog. They do not "love" each other. The loving family pet usually ends up eventually chewing up the family tortoise. They should have no access to each other. Again, every time this happens, the person didn't see it coming, and was sure there would never be a problem. Just don't risk it. You've been lucky so far, but that luck will run out and your tortoise will pay the price.

 

[ClydesMom]

I guess I should have been more clear about his enclosure. After Clyde escaped the first time (by climbing over the wire fencing), I remade the enclosure again, adding areas for him to dig because he loves to dig and climb. I dug down and then built up cinderblock walls 2' high. He has dug under these walls as well. So I ask... how deep are the walls to your outdoor enclosure in the ground? These cinderblocks are 8" tall and there is a whole block in the ground with 3 more on top making a total of 24" tall walls above the ground. I'd love any suggestions on how to prevent him from getting out. My vet has inspected his enclosure and I have temp gages so I can prevent over heating, she felt that his enclosure was above and beyond what they normally see, which is why I ask questions on here, you never know who has a tortoise that behaves like Clyde. I have had exotic reptiles, birds, etc for more than 30 years. This is, however, my first tortoise.

He has cool areas and warm areas in his enclosure. His den I made him is insulated with straw and slopes down in the back, but because we have torrential monsoons, it had to be done in such a way as it wouldn't flood, so again, there are cinder blocks down in the ground to prevent flooding, but he can dig down if he choses. I take the top off so the bedding can be changed and not get moldy and can hold added moisture in our dry heat. I flood areas so he can play in the mud and I still take him out to soak 2x per week because it is very hot and I want to make sure he is staying hydrated. I don't think over heating was his problem, he was not impacted because we did an x-ray and checking for stones or impaction.

I say he loves George because when George barks he come running out of his den. I have never seen a tortoise act this way and neither has my vet. And while George has never harmed anything or anyone, I would never leave Clyde unsupervised with him anymore than I'd leave a child unsupervised. I agree accidents happen with the most well behaved animals. Clyde is back to eating normally. I switched up his offerings with prickly pear pads, some natural grasses and red pepper and he is scarfing his food down again. I'm slowly adding back some greens and hay and he seems to eat those too but he still seems to like eating poop, his or any other he can find. I appreciate everyone's feed back.

 

[Big Charlie]

I guess I should have been more clear about his enclosure. After Clyde escaped the first time (by climbing over the wire fencing), I remade the enclosure again, adding areas for him to dig because he loves to dig and climb. I dug down and then built up cinderblock walls 2' high. He has dug under these walls as well. So I ask... how deep are the walls to your outdoor enclosure in the ground? These cinderblocks are 8" tall and there is a whole block in the ground with 3 more on top making a total of 24" tall walls above the ground. I'd love any suggestions on how to prevent him from getting out. My vet has inspected his enclosure and I have temp gages so I can prevent over heating, she felt that his enclosure was above and beyond what they normally see, which is why I ask questions on here, you never know who has a tortoise that behaves like Clyde. I have had exotic reptiles, birds, etc for more than 30 years. This is, however, my first tortoise.

He has cool areas and warm areas in his enclosure. His den I made him is insulated with straw and slopes down in the back, but because we have torrential monsoons, it had to be done in such a way as it wouldn't flood, so again, there are cinder blocks down in the ground to prevent flooding, but he can dig down if he choses. I take the top off so the bedding can be changed and not get moldy and can hold added moisture in our dry heat. I flood areas so he can play in the mud and I still take him out to soak 2x per week because it is very hot and I want to make sure he is staying hydrated. I don't think over heating was his problem, he was not impacted because we did an x-ray and checking for stones or impaction.

I say he loves George because when George barks he come running out of his den. I have never seen a tortoise act this way and neither has my vet. And while George has never harmed anything or anyone, I would never leave Clyde unsupervised with him anymore than I'd leave a child unsupervised. I agree accidents happen with the most well behaved animals. Clyde is back to eating normally. I switched up his offerings with prickly pear pads, some natural grasses and red pepper and he is scarfing his food down again. I'm slowly adding back some greens and hay and he seems to eat those too but he still seems to like eating poop, his or any other he can find. I appreciate everyone's feed back.

I think he comes running out of his den when George barks because he realizes there is an intruder near his territory. I don't think he likes him.

My tortoise will go stand near cats in our yard. If you didn't know better, you would think he is trying to be friendly, but what he is trying to do is intimidate them into leaving. He does the same thing with repairmen that come into our yard.

 

[Melis]

He got out by digging under the walls?

 

[vladimir]

Clyde is back to eating normally. I switched up his offerings with prickly pear pads, some natural grasses and red pepper and he is scarfing his food down again. I'm slowly adding back some greens and hay and he seems to eat those too but he still seems to like eating poop, his or any other he can find. I appreciate everyone's feed back.

I'm glad to hear Clyde is eating normally again. Can you share some pictures of the enclosure? I ask because I am currently using cinder blocks for a perimter wall, but mine aren't buried at all currently.

It sounds like you had a pretty secure perimiter so I'm curious what his escape looked like. Pictures of Clyde would be welcome also