Diminished appetite...

[siwash]

Hi folks,

I mentioned urates recently in a thread but I forgot to alos mention that my little guys appetite seems to have diminished over the past few weeks.. it is a bit cooler in the house now... As well, I bought Mazuri in Nov and I wonder if this might have something to do with it...

any ideas? he seems ok otherwise.. just a bit less active..

 

[-EJ]

What kind of tortoises are we talking about?

Have you tried to force the Mazuri? In other words... withhold other foods in order to get the tortoise to eat it?

Temperature is usually the first thing to look at for inactivity of a tortoise.

Also... either post the link to the urate question or fill me in on the blanks.

Hi folks,

I mentioned urates recently in a thread but I forgot to alos mention that my little guys appetite seems to have diminished over the past few weeks.. it is a bit cooler in the house now... As well, I bought Mazuri in Nov and I wonder if this might have something to do with it...

any ideas? he seems ok otherwise.. just a bit less active..

 

[siwash]

What kind of tortoises are we talking about?

Have you tried to force the Mazuri? In other words... withhold other foods in order to get the tortoise to eat it?

Temperature is usually the first thing to look at for inactivity of a tortoise.

Also... either post the link to the urate question or fill me in on the blanks.

Hi folks,

I mentioned urates recently in a thread but I forgot to alos mention that my little guys appetite seems to have diminished over the past few weeks.. it is a bit cooler in the house now... As well, I bought Mazuri in Nov and I wonder if this might have something to do with it...

any ideas? he seems ok otherwise.. just a bit less active..

http://tortoiseforum.org/thread-10800.html

 

[-EJ]

What are the temperatures at which you keep the tortoise?

What are the foods you feed outside of the Mazuri?

Is the tortoise farmed, CH or wild caught?

What kind of tortoises are we talking about?

Have you tried to force the Mazuri? In other words... withhold other foods in order to get the tortoise to eat it?

Temperature is usually the first thing to look at for inactivity of a tortoise.

Also... either post the link to the urate question or fill me in on the blanks.

Hi folks,

I mentioned urates recently in a thread but I forgot to alos mention that my little guys appetite seems to have diminished over the past few weeks.. it is a bit cooler in the house now... As well, I bought Mazuri in Nov and I wonder if this might have something to do with it...

any ideas? he seems ok otherwise.. just a bit less active..

http://tortoiseforum.org/thread-10800.html

 

[dmmj]

LOL I think some people are gonna be suprised to see ed being helpful to someone, J/K ed.

 

[-EJ]

New adversary... cool.

I don't worry about the some... my books are selling well... and I still get called/emailed on a regular basis.

...hell... I have topics listed to my name...

The only reason I'm still on line is that there is more than the 50% that give me the feedback that I'm helpful. When it drops below that... I'll disappear... maybe not.

The social interaction is my main draw.

LOL I think some people are gonna be suprised to see ed being helpful to someone, J/K ed.

 

[siwash]

i feed him mixed greens at this time of year.. the stuff in the plastic container that contains various greens

He also get radicchio and a fair bit of escarole...

In the warm season try to mix in stuff from my garden.. weeds like dandelion, plantain, etc.. also, hibiscus flower/rose of shron

I think this is a temp problem... if it is, i need to boost the temps in there with another ligth source

how about an incandescent bulb? What size? where would u place it?

 

[egyptiandan]

How long are your lights on for? Do you have a MVB for the basking spot? How many lights are you using now?

Danny

 

[Madkins007]

You obviously have a lot of heating options, and they will depend a lot on your situation.

- Can you heat the entire room some? If the room is the same as the lowest temp you want in the habitat (the ambient temp), then all you need to do is to make a hot spot or two. Ceramic element or oil-filled radiator versions usually work nicely.

- Do you need more hot spots? The cheapest option I have seen for a large hot spot is a plain heat bulb from a hardware store. I got a 250w one from Home Depot for under $9. This is a biggish bulb and makes a nice warm, wide spot. If you need the heat at night as well, I'd go with ceramic emitters. If you have the $$ and don't have another source of UVB, I would do a Mercury Vapor Lamp.

- Would your habitat lend itself to warming the soil or under the tank? There are a lot of mats, cables, tapes, and pads designed for under the habitat or in the soil that work with thermostats to deliver a steady soil temp. I personally like this option since our substrates are so often clammy or cool if we have cooler rooms to work in. This simulates sun/summer-warmed soil better than shining lights on it does.

- 'Side heat' also helps in many cases- a heating mat or similar on a wall of the habitat can radiate heat into the habitat.

- Sometimes, the problem is just as much heat loss as it is lack of heat. Even something as simple as taping cardboard to the outside walls of a glass or plastic wall, or placing a tub or whatever on some insulation can help. By making a warmed box, we have effectively made a radiator that will try hard to warm the room around it. Insulating the walls and bottom will minimize that.

- Controlling air flow is another option. Covering the top to find the balance between fresh air and the right heat/humidity takes some fiddling, but you are going to loose a lot of your heat straight up.

- Humidity reminder. Warming the already rather dry air in most houses in the US in winter will make the air in the habitat REALLY dry, which will contribute to dehydration, urates, etc. so keep on eye on humidity in the habitat as well.

 

[Yvonne G]

Madkins: This was a very well-thought out and informative post. Thank you. Gives me a lot of tips for my own indoor habitats!

 

[siwash]

the ambient (21C or 70 F) is achieved w/o issue. I think I need a second heat bulb... mI suppose any incandescent light will suffice? I don't think it need to be much warmer.. It's 90+ under the lamp, but drops to 70+ in most of the rest of the enclosure...

The humidity is at 40% +/- fyi.

Thanks for the great tips...

 

[K9KidsLove]

Hi...Can you post a picture of your enclosure?
Patsy