Does my tortoise look ok?

downunder

New Member
Joined
Feb 25, 2021
Messages
15
Location (City and/or State)
Morocco
My Greek tortoise has been a bit shy and less active lately. She stays in the same spot most of the day, she goes out in the sun a bit but then goes back to her usual spot.

She eats fruit or veggies if I give her some and grass. And until today her poos were normal (see the end of the video for a sample).

She weights over 2 kgs.

She has about 1000 square metres to roam around and the climate here has been hot this summer. I've tried to soak her but she hates it.

I separated her from two males when it turned out they were not getting along and she started to get chased by them 2 weeks ago. But she's been very quiet since.

I live in Morocco and I can't get reptile specialist care here.

I'm probably worrying for no reason. Does her poo today look ok? I don't see any obvious physical changes from a few months ago other than she seems to spend longer in her hiding spot. She laid eggs in spring but they haven't hatched and I don't know if they will. They're buried in a corner of the garden.


Any views welcome.
 

zovick

Well-Known Member
10 Year Member!
Joined
Nov 17, 2013
Messages
3,388
My Greek tortoise has been a bit shy and less active lately. She stays in the same spot most of the day, she goes out in the sun a bit but then goes back to her usual spot.

She eats fruit or veggies if I give her some and grass. And until today her poos were normal (see the end of the video for a sample).

She weights over 2 kgs.

She has about 1000 square metres to roam around and the climate here has been hot this summer. I've tried to soak her but she hates it.

I separated her from two males when it turned out they were not getting along and she started to get chased by them 2 weeks ago. But she's been very quiet since.

I live in Morocco and I can't get reptile specialist care here.

I'm probably worrying for no reason. Does her poo today look ok? I don't see any obvious physical changes from a few months ago other than she seems to spend longer in her hiding spot. She laid eggs in spring but they haven't hatched and I don't know if they will. They're buried in a corner of the garden.


Any views welcome.
The excrement which is shown at 40 seconds or so into the video appears to have a parasitic worm in it. The tortoise should probably be wormed with Panacur if you can get it.

The tortoise also appears a bit lethargic. Is that true? If so, it may be feeling a bit poorly due to worm infestation.
 

Sarah2020

Well-Known Member
Tortoise Club
Platinum Tortoise Club
Joined
Mar 16, 2020
Messages
1,604
Location (City and/or State)
London, UK
Hello shell looks nice and a nice looking tortoise. I agree worms could be an issue. Re soaking try a high sided bowl with shallow warm shallow water. They will try and escape but just leave them and monitor as you do not want her to flip over. It really is 100% brilliant for her and on a regular basis to hydrate and soak . Poo and wee will also be released so have another bowl ready to transfer over to mid soak. Try to get a vet check for worms.
 

downunder

New Member
Joined
Feb 25, 2021
Messages
15
Location (City and/or State)
Morocco
The excrement which is shown at 40 seconds or so into the video appears to have a parasitic worm in it. The tortoise should probably be wormed with Panacur if you can get it.

The tortoise also appears a bit lethargic. Is that true? If so, it may be feeling a bit poorly due to worm infestation.
Thank you for that. She's a bit lethargic yes.
I'll look for the Panacur. If I can't get it, can she recover without it just by itself with time?
 

downunder

New Member
Joined
Feb 25, 2021
Messages
15
Location (City and/or State)
Morocco
Hello shell looks nice and a nice looking tortoise. I agree worms could be an issue. Re soaking try a high sided bowl with shallow warm shallow water. They will try and escape but just leave them and monitor as you do not want her to flip over. It really is 100% brilliant for her and on a regular basis to hydrate and soak . Poo and wee will also be released so have another bowl ready to transfer over to mid soak. Try to get a vet check for worm
 

downunder

New Member
Joined
Feb 25, 2021
Messages
15
Location (City and/or State)
Morocco
I'll persevere with the soaking.
I feel that she freaks out when I put her in her bath. The bowl is high sided and as soon as I put her in she starts turning around trying to get out. And yes, she poos and pees. I thought she did that because she was scared.
 

zovick

Well-Known Member
10 Year Member!
Joined
Nov 17, 2013
Messages
3,388
Thank you for that. She's a bit lethargic yes.
I'll look for the Panacur. If I can't get it, can she recover without it just by itself with time?
It is not likely the tortoise will feel any better or become healthier if you do not worm it. The fact that there is at least one mature adult worm in the droppings means that there are more worms inside the tortoise causing it to feel poorly. If these get too far out of hand, the tortoise could get worse or even die from the infestation.

If you could take a stool sample to a vet to get it checked for parasites, that would be a very good thing to do. Then you can use the appropriate medication(s) for the parasite(s) which are found.
 

downunder

New Member
Joined
Feb 25, 2021
Messages
15
Location (City and/or State)
Morocco
It is not likely the tortoise will feel any better or become healthier if you do not worm it. The fact that there is at least one mature adult worm in the droppings means that there are more worms inside the tortoise causing it to feel poorly. If these get too far out of hand, the tortoise could get worse or even die from the infestation.

If you could take a stool sample to a vet to get it checked for parasites, that would be a very good thing to do. Then you can use the appropriate medication(s) for the parasite(s) which are found.
Ok, I'll try that, thanks.
 

downunder

New Member
Joined
Feb 25, 2021
Messages
15
Location (City and/or State)
Morocco
This is the tortoise having a bath just one minute into it. It seemed to get her out of her lethargy if only to run and get away from me and the bowl! She had a poo in the bowl that looks more normal but I get that worms could still be a problem. I'll call a vet and see what they can do.
 

New Posts

Top