Concern about Irwin -

[TSchadel]

Hi everybody! It's been a while since I've been on here. I have a question/concern:
I put my approximately 3 yr old tort out for the summer about 2 weeks ago because it's warm enough for him to be out 24/7 and he LOVES being outside. He's 18lbs and approximately 1 1/2-2 feet long. Anyways - he roamed around for a few days - then he went into his house - buried himself - and I haven't seen him since. He has been in his house for about 5-7 days now. He has not come out. Is this normal? Do Sully's do a "mini-hibernation" every so often? I'm concerned because I didn't think they did.
Any information would be very helpful. If I need to get him into a vet - I most certainly will.

 

[zovick]

Has he been in the same outdoor enclosure in previous years or not? Some tortoises are very timid after being moved to new surroundings and will not move for long periods of time.

That being said, have you checked on him in the week that has passed to be sure he is still among the living? If so, try getting him out and placing him in front of some favorite foods to see if he will eat. If he eats and then retreats again, wait a couple more days and repeat the process if he hasn't ventured out on his own. If he is healthy, sooner or later he will get over it and start acting normal again.

 

[TSchadel]

Has he been in the same outdoor enclosure in previous years or not? Some tortoises are very timid after being moved to new surroundings and will not move for long periods of time.

That being said, have you checked on him in the week that has passed to be sure he is still among the living? If so, try getting him out and placing him in front of some favorite foods to see if he will eat. If he eats and then retreats again, wait a couple more days and repeat the process if he hasn't ventured out on his own. If he is healthy, sooner or later he will get over it and start acting normal again.

He was in the same outdoor enclosure last year - the one in my profile picture. He started using it toward the end of summer. I did pull him out last week and gave offered him is absolute favorites - smashed banana/mazuri mix and a couple of hibiscus flowers. He ate on flower, poked around a bit, then when right back in his house. I did "freshen up" his dirt in his house from last year.
I plan on offering him his favorite dish again today and see what happens. He is so far in his house and buried under the dirt that I have to wiggle into it to try to touch him!

 

[TSchadel]

Also - how do I know if he's NOT healthy? I've never had this problem with Irwin - that I know of. He wintered very well in his indoor enclosure - grew leaps and bounds. When it started getting warmer outside - I would take him out in the day and bring him in at night because it was still not warm enough to leave him out. He LOVED being outside and HATED when I would bring him in. Now that he's out 24/7 - he's acting like he doesn't want to be out......
I hope I didn't bring him out too soon. It's in the 80's throughout the day and in the 60's throughout the night. We have been experiencing a very wet start to summer here so it's extremely humid right now.
I started bringing him out when it was in the 60's throughout the day. I accidentally did leave him out a couple of times throughout the night when the temps got in the upper 40's. I sure hope that didn't start some sort of respiratory ailment.....

 

[zovick]

It sounds to me as though he is just in a snit from being moved outside. If you wanted to check out that theory, you could try moving him back into his normal indoor home and see if he resumes his normal routine indoors. If so, he is just going to need some "tincture of time" in the outdoor setting to get used to it.

Since you say he only started using the outdoor enclosure at the end of the summer, he may not have had time to get really accustomed to it before going indoors again. How long was he actually outside in that enclosure previously? And did he act normally then?

 

[TSchadel]

It sounds to me as though he is just in a snit from being moved outside. If you wanted to check out that theory, you could try moving him back into his normal indoor home and see if he resumes his normal routine indoors. If so, he is just going to need some "tincture of time" in the outdoor setting to get used to it.

Since you say he only started using the outdoor enclosure at the end of the summer, he may not have had time to get really accustomed to it before going indoors again. How long was he actually outside in that enclosure previously? And did he act normally then?

Well - efficient me already cleaned out his indoor home for the summer!
I made his outdoor home for him June of last year. It's a refurbished dog house that I lined with a tarp on the ground and up the sides then put dirt in for him to burrow. He sniffed around it for a few weeks but didn't start actually using it until end of August. BUT - when I started bringing him outside this year for "day trips" I would always end up finding him there when I went to bring him in.
The only change I made before he started this "hibernation" was that I used the cocoa-fiber from his indoor enclosure that I cleaned out and put that in his outdoor home to give him more burrow material. I threw out the fiber that was smelly and a little moldy and just used the fiber that was still in good condition.

 

[Bee62]

60 F is too cold for a sulcata tortoise. I would be worried that he is sick, getting a RI.
Please pull him out of his barn and soak him in warm water. If a sulcata tortoises does not want to eat for days there is something wrong and he is possible sick.
Do you have no CHE for the night in his barn ?

 

[TSchadel]

60 F is too cold for a sulcata tortoise. I would be worried that he is sick, getting a RI.
Please pull him out of his barn and soak him in warm water. If a sulcata tortoises does not want to eat for days there is something wrong and he is possible sick.
Do you have no CHE for the night in his barn ?

Really? I was under the impression that 60's and even 50's were fine temps for Sullys. I do not have a CHE for it - but I can get one in there ASAP!

 

[Bee62]

Really? I was under the impression that 60's and even 50's were fine temps for Sullys. I do not have a CHE for it - but I can get one in there ASAP!

No, 50 - 60 F is too low for a tropical species like a sulcata. They need night temps that never drops below 75 - 80 F.
You must buy a CHE, and you must look what`s going on with your "big boy", if he is sick. As I said, a sulcata that doesen`t want to eat is a sick sulcata in my opinion.

 

[TSchadel]

No, 50 - 60 F is too low for a tropical species like a sulcata. They need night temps that never drops below 75 - 80 F.
You must buy a CHE, and you must look what`s going on with your "big boy", if he is sick. As I said, a sulcata that doesen`t want to eat is a sick sulcata in my opinion.

Okay. I will use his inside CHE and put it in his outside home TODAY!

 

[Yvonne G]

Be sure it's up high enough so his carapace doesn't get too hot.

 

[TSchadel]

Be sure it's up high enough so his carapace doesn't get too hot.

I'm bringing him back in. I'm getting his indoor enclosure back together now. I have him soaking in warm water in the bathtub and have already called my vet!
THIS IS HORRIBLE! I absolutely NEVER intended to hurt my Irwin!!! I really thought it was warm enough for him to be out 27/7 as he normally LOVES being outside.....

 

[Bee62]

Please keep us updated with your Irwin. I hope he is not sick. Does he wants to eat after the warm soak ?
Bringing him back inside to see what is wrong with him is a good idea !

 

[TSchadel]

UPDATE ON IRWIN:
Hello All - sorry I didn't let you know about Irwin yesterday - but I could not get onto the website until now.
I brought Irwin in the house and gave him a very long and warm soak. While he was soaking - I went and put a CHE in his house outdoors. I then offered him his favorite foods - and he ate them! He went back into his now heated house so I went indoors. When I came out to check on him about an hour later - he was in his food garden happily munching away!! I also weighed him - he actually weighs 1lb more than when he did when I put him out there - he's at 19 lbs now.
PHEW!!!! I'm so very glad that I didn't hurt him with my inept knowledge of him!!! I thought I was doing pretty good with him - but boy do I still have a lot to learn.
THANKS TO ALL who gave me advice - it was greatly received!

 

[Souptugo]

I'm not sure if CHE is good in that type of closed up night box (you might have too hot and too dry effect). You might want to get a radiant heating panel instead. Do you have a thermostat? How do you know if it's not overheating at night?

 

[TSchadel]

I'm not sure if CHE is good in that type of closed up night box (you might have too hot and too dry effect). You might want to get a radiant heating panel instead. Do you have a thermostat? How do you know if it's not overheating at night?

It's actually not closed up. It's what is on my profile picture. Literally a converted dog house. I don't close up the opening. I checked throughout the night and it did not overheat and got as high as 87 degrees. I turned it off when I took a break at work at approximately 9:30am.

 

[Big Charlie]

It's actually not closed up. It's what is on my profile picture. Literally a converted dog house. I don't close up the opening. I checked throughout the night and it did not overheat and got as high as 87 degrees. I turned it off when I took a break at work at approximately 9:30am.

Regardless, eventually you'll need to change the CHE out for a radiant heat panel. The CHE concentrates the heat in too small an area so large tortoises get too hot in the center top while still being cold in their extremities. They can end up with burns. When he is small, it isn't a problem. If it is really cold, like you said it got down to 40, you'll need to cover the doorway to keep the heat inside.

You can buy a thermostat for the CHE that will keep it at the temperature you need. This is the one I have: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01486LZ50/?tag=exoticpetnetw-20
I have my thermostat set to 80 F. I picked this one because I can plug two heat devices into it. For Charlie, one radiant heat panel isn't enough. He also has a heater on the floor.

 

[Bee62]

UPDATE ON IRWIN:
Hello All - sorry I didn't let you know about Irwin yesterday - but I could not get onto the website until now.
I brought Irwin in the house and gave him a very long and warm soak. While he was soaking - I went and put a CHE in his house outdoors. I then offered him his favorite foods - and he ate them! He went back into his now heated house so I went indoors. When I came out to check on him about an hour later - he was in his food garden happily munching away!! I also weighed him - he actually weighs 1lb more than when he did when I put him out there - he's at 19 lbs now.
PHEW!!!! I'm so very glad that I didn't hurt him with my inept knowledge of him!!! I thought I was doing pretty good with him - but boy do I still have a lot to learn.
THANKS TO ALL who gave me advice - it was greatly received!

Hello, we all could not get onto the website and the forum, so -no problem.
Your update on Irwin sounds good. The next days you should watch him closely if he stays healty.
With the night heat he will feel much more comfortable in his barn.

 

[Big Charlie]

Irwin can't digest his food unless he can get heated up to around 80 degrees, which is why he wasn't eating. During the winter, Charlie will eat when it is cold because he can come back to his heated house and warm up enough to digest.

 

[TSchadel]

Regardless, eventually you'll need to change the CHE out for a radiant heat panel. The CHE concentrates the heat in too small an area so large tortoises get too hot in the center top while still being cold in their extremities. They can end up with burns. When he is small, it isn't a problem. If it is really cold, like you said it got down to 40, you'll need to cover the doorway to keep the heat inside.

You can buy a thermostat for the CHE that will keep it at the temperature you need. This is the one I have: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01486LZ50/?tag=exoticpetnetw-20
I have my thermostat set to 80 F. I picked this one because I can plug two heat devices into it. For Charlie, one radiant heat panel isn't enough. He also has a heater on the floor.

Hi Big Charlie's dad! How are you??? I should probably clarify - this is ONLY IRWIN'S SUMMER HOUSE. He lives indoors in the winter! I put him out too soon and already cleaned out his indoor habitat. I would never leave him out in 40 degree temps! We are currently at 68-72 degrees at night and 85-89 in the day (early in the summer here). At some point - I will have to make him a permanent outside enclosure because he will be too big for his indoor enclosure.... I'm sure I will be contacting you!