Help! Lethargic Hermans won't eat.

Tortoisegirltexas

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Apr 29, 2017
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17
A few days ago we moved our Hermans to the front of the house. He ate like a pig the first day but now he's lethargic and slow. I had him in the back yard but ants and aphids took over. He refuses to eat anything now and will just wants to hide. When we offer him food, he just stares and walks away. He rubs his eye occasionally. He doesn't sneeze or cough that I have heard. No discharge from his nose. When I set him outside this morning he just stayed where I put him in the sun and stuck him head and an lay it on the ground. I couldn't tell if he was soaking up the sun or just not feeling well. My gut says something is wrong with him.

We don't know much of his history or how old he is. We adopted him in May from someone who was keeping him in a glass aquarium and feeding him only iceberg lettuce and meal worms. It took about a week for him to start eating for us.

We were keeping him in an 8x4 outdoor enclosure filled with garden soil during the day and moving him into the house at night. The night box has Zoo Med Eco Earth substrate. The house thermostat is set at 70 but that room may get colder. We cover it will a towel to keep out drafts. We usually bring him in at dusk or later and bring him out in the morning. We feed him a mix of Grassland Tortoise pellets, kale, romaine, echinacea leaves, zinnia leaves, dandelion greens, Squash leaves when we have them. He always has water that we change daily. We feed him on a flat rock.

The pen in the back kept getting infested with ants and I found one biting him so we moved him to the front of the house onto the native clay soil. There is grass (wild, not lawn) and live oak leaf litter in this enclosure. We have let him run around there before and he never tried to eat any of the oak leaves. We put some spider plants in pots inside with him and I cut a hole in a plastic bin and filled it with cedar shavings for him to hide in. There isn't nearly as much hiding space in this one for him, but I am going to change that today. The last time the outside of the house was treated for bugs would have been 2-3 years ago.

We are in Georgetown, TX. Day time temps have been in the high 90's to 100. The enclosure gets morning sun and a little afternoon sun but then is shaded by the house.

Can anyone offer advice? Or see anything wrong with what we are doing?

As far as I know, there are no vets experienced with tortoises in our area. I kinda have the impression that its better to not take them to the vet if they don't have lots of experience.

Any help is greatly appreciated. We love this little guy, a lot.
 

daniellenc

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Oak is toxic.....I would remove that immediately and start soaking 30 minutes a day to hydrate him. I would also add a sprinkler system on a timer in his enclosure in case he is just overheated, or reduce outdoor time to when temps are 90 and below.
 

Tortoisegirltexas

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Apr 29, 2017
Messages
17
Thank you. I already started removing the oak and will figure out a way to make sure his enclosure is not getting above 90. If he did eat some oak and it made him not feel well, when could we expect him to feel better? Do I need to try and find a vet? I could drive to one if needed.
 

TammyJ

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Jamaica
A few days ago we moved our Hermans to the front of the house. He ate like a pig the first day but now he's lethargic and slow. I had him in the back yard but ants and aphids took over. He refuses to eat anything now and will just wants to hide. When we offer him food, he just stares and walks away. He rubs his eye occasionally. He doesn't sneeze or cough that I have heard. No discharge from his nose. When I set him outside this morning he just stayed where I put him in the sun and stuck him head and an lay it on the ground. I couldn't tell if he was soaking up the sun or just not feeling well. My gut says something is wrong with him.

We don't know much of his history or how old he is. We adopted him in May from someone who was keeping him in a glass aquarium and feeding him only iceberg lettuce and meal worms. It took about a week for him to start eating for us.

We were keeping him in an 8x4 outdoor enclosure filled with garden soil during the day and moving him into the house at night. The night box has Zoo Med Eco Earth substrate. The house thermostat is set at 70 but that room may get colder. We cover it will a towel to keep out drafts. We usually bring him in at dusk or later and bring him out in the morning. We feed him a mix of Grassland Tortoise pellets, kale, romaine, echinacea leaves, zinnia leaves, dandelion greens, Squash leaves when we have them. He always has water that we change daily. We feed him on a flat rock.

The pen in the back kept getting infested with ants and I found one biting him so we moved him to the front of the house onto the native clay soil. There is grass (wild, not lawn) and live oak leaf litter in this enclosure. We have let him run around there before and he never tried to eat any of the oak leaves. We put some spider plants in pots inside with him and I cut a hole in a plastic bin and filled it with cedar shavings for him to hide in. There isn't nearly as much hiding space in this one for him, but I am going to change that today. The last time the outside of the house was treated for bugs would have been 2-3 years ago.

We are in Georgetown, TX. Day time temps have been in the high 90's to 100. The enclosure gets morning sun and a little afternoon sun but then is shaded by the house.

Can anyone offer advice? Or see anything wrong with what we are doing?

As far as I know, there are no vets experienced with tortoises in our area. I kinda have the impression that its better to not take them to the vet if they don't have lots of experience.

Any help is greatly appreciated. We love this little guy, a lot.
Get the cedar shavings out right now! Cedar is toxic to reptiles. Best not to use any kind of wood shavings but especially cedar! Give him a good long warm water soak and watch him closely, see if he improves.
 

Tortoisegirltexas

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Joined
Apr 29, 2017
Messages
17
I took my guy to the vet yesterday. He thought he was dehydrated and that caused him to be constipated. He took x rays to rule out a lung infection and it showed that he was very gassy and had lots of "stuff" sitting in him. There was a round area that he said looked like gas, but could possibly be an egg. He said to soak him twice a day until he passes something. This is what he passed today. Any ideas what it is?
 

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Tortoisegirltexas

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Joined
Apr 29, 2017
Messages
17
Oak is toxic.....I would remove that immediately and start soaking 30 minutes a day to hydrate him. I would also add a sprinkler system on a timer in his enclosure in case he is just overheated, or reduce outdoor time to when temps are 90 and below.

Can I ask you some questions about temps? I live in central Texas and it is HOT here. I don't think there is anyway to get Hermes' outdoor enclosure below 95 in the middle of the day, even with shade cloths and lots of plants. He just buries himself him the dirt. If I bring him inside during the day what temps should I have? I am confused because I keep seeing that Hermann's do well at 85 but everyone is saying they need to have an area that is 95 when they are inside.

Also, since he was dehydrated, how long will it take him to recover? He's still not eating but he is moving around a little more and is really irritated when I soak him now. He has been taking long drinks of water while soaking in the morning, but still won't eat.

Any help is appreciated. Thanks.
 

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