HELP PLZ !!!

[Liljae9263]

Franklin keeps scratching his back legs behind him and pulling dirt up to his bum. Hes walking around the tank doing that and breathing hard. It looks like he’s trying to make a pile at his butt or pull dirt to his butt. I thought he was just burrowing but he’s never done this b4. He always uses his front claws. I checked his tail/bum and saw nothing really wrong. His tail is plump but I didn’t think that unusual. This is the first I’ve ever seen him do this. Is he ok? I’m afraid he has worms again or is his bum just itchy ??? His shell was 95 F when I checked the ground temp. He shouldn’t be too hot. And the humidity was 80’s all day and I soaked him mon.

I tried to get pics of him scooping the dirt with his back feet and then a pic of the top of him and his bum just in case. He was walking p fast and freaked out when I held him. Plz help. Is my bb boy ok?

Edit: just remembered he did a BIG pee yesterday. Lots of white in his pee. I hope it’s not a stone or something !

 

[COmtnLady]

How often are you soaking him? It sounds like he's itchy, and soaking for at least 45 minutes to an hour might wash off whatever the problem is. You could use a soft brush his shell, and maybe a soft cloth on the more delicate parts, while he soaking. Soak at least 45-60 minutes (keeping it warm the entire time) everyday for a while, especially if it seems to alleviate the symptoms.

Can you see any irritated areas on his skin (be sure to check the delicate skin in where he would pull his legs into)?

Show us pictures of his plastron and legs, please.

Is he twitching his "tail" back and forth?

Has he been anywhere where he could have picked up stickers/seeds/mites/sand/other irritants? Has he been outside, or walking around not in his enclosure?

Are any of the plants in the enclosure Dieffenbachia?


.

 

[The_Four_Toed_Edward]

My tortoise did something similar when he was constipated. He twitched his tail back and forth and would kick with his back legs trying to hit his tail. When he finally pooped the behaviour stopped.

 

[MaNaAk]

He needs to be soaked for at least forty minutes for hydration.

 

[Liljae9263]

How often are you soaking him? It sounds like he's itchy, and soaking for at least 45 minutes to an hour might wash off whatever the problem is. You could use a soft brush his shell, and maybe a soft cloth on the more delicate parts, while he soaking. Soak at least 45-60 minutes (keeping it warm the entire time) everyday for a while, especially if it seems to alleviate the symptoms.

Can you see any irritated areas on his skin (be sure to check the delicate skin in where he would pull his legs into)?

Show us pictures of his plastron and legs, please.

Is he twitching his "tail" back and forth?

Has he been anywhere where he could have picked up stickers/seeds/mites/sand/other irritants? Has he been outside, or walking around not in his enclosure?

Are any of the plants in the enclosure Dieffenbachia?


.

Last night I gave him a tiny soak. His lights had already gone off and I don’t like soaking him after that so he can get some sleep but I was real worried about him. He sat still in it for a couple minutes and then started pacing and clawing at the sides. When he started splashing I took him out. But then he seemed to curl up in a corner and go to sleep when I put him back in his enclosure.

I normally soak him every other day for an hour. I just got new job and have had less time when I get home to do much of anything. Today I’ll try to find the time to soak him flr a full hour.

To answer any other questions: he didn’t seem like he was trying to go potty. I have seen him tap his tail and thump with his back legs when he needs to really potty, he did none of that last night. His tail stayed tucked and he just scooped dirt with his back legs. I’ll try to check his skin again tho but when I first looked nothing looked super irritated. Everything looked fine. I have no real plants so no irritants from them. And he doesn’t leave his enclosure except for when I place him in his tubs to soak. But he doesn’t roam my place or outside. He’s an inside tortoise thro ans thro

I’ll give updates later today

 

[COmtnLady]

In order for their food to move through their digestive system tortoises need to move. The muscles kind of massage the organs a bit. Letting him scrabble at the sides of the soak is a good thing and you should think of it as exercise, not something to rescue him from. Soak him every day for 45-60 minutes - or longer - until this odd situation gets figured out.

Even though it is nice that you didn't want to disturb his sleep, sometimes schedules need to be adjusted. You can't do much to alter your new work hours, but he still needs soaked and four hours of UVB and a good diet. Until you can get into a rhythm with the new job, its better to wake him up than to short him on care.

Let's ask some of the more experienced members if they have encountered this, and if it is a concern, what to do about it.
@Yvonne @Tom @ZEROPILOT

 

[MaNaAk]

Last night I gave him a tiny soak. His lights had already gone off and I don’t like soaking him after that so he can get some sleep but I was real worried about him. He sat still in it for a couple minutes and then started pacing and clawing at the sides. When he started splashing I took him out. But then he seemed to curl up in a corner and go to sleep when I put him back in his enclosure.

I normally soak him every other day for an hour. I just got new job and have had less time when I get home to do much of anything. Today I’ll try to find the time to soak him flr a full hour.

To answer any other questions: he didn’t seem like he was trying to go potty. I have seen him tap his tail and thump with his back legs when he needs to really potty, he did none of that last night. His tail stayed tucked and he just scooped dirt with his back legs. I’ll try to check his skin again tho but when I first looked nothing looked super irritated. Everything looked fine. I have no real plants so no irritants from them. And he doesn’t leave his enclosure except for when I place him in his tubs to soak. But he doesn’t roam my place or outside. He’s an inside tortoise thro ans thro

I’ll give updates later today

Don't worry about moving in the soaking tub as Jacky does this and she's 90. Could I ask what your feeding him?

Natrah

 

[Liljae9263]

Don't worry about moving in the soaking tub as Jacky does this and she's 90. Could I ask what your feeding him?

Natr

mainly he gets endive, raddichio, and lettuce. I like to add cilantro, bokchoy, dandelion leaves, etc to spice it up for him. He also gets minerall and pellets once week of his vitamins.

 

[Liljae9263]

In order for their food to move through their digestive system tortoises need to move. The muscles kind of massage the organs a bit. Letting him scrabble at the sides of the soak is a good thing and you should think of it as exercise, not something to rescue him from. Soak him every day for 45-60 minutes - or longer - until this odd situation gets figured out.

Even though it is nice that you didn't want to disturb his sleep, sometimes schedules need to be adjusted. You can't do much to alter your new work hours, but he still needs soaked and four hours of UVB and a good diet. Until you can get into a rhythm with the new job, its better to wake him up than to short him on care.

Let's ask some of the more experienced members if they have encountered this, and if it is a concern, what to do about it.
@Yvonne @Tom @ZEROPILOT

I normally do let him scrabble. Ik it’s good for him. But being that it was so late for both him and me I took him out then when he got really frantic. Today I will let him soak for an hour no matter if he scrabbles.

He does get uvb from 11-3. He walks his enclosure every day for at least a couple hours.

I already bumped his time back an hour so I would have more time to soak him when I got home. Still working out the kinks.

 

[MaNaAk]

mainly he gets endive, raddichio, and lettuce. I like to add cilantro, bokchoy, dandelion leaves, etc to spice it up for him. He also gets minerall and pellets once week of his vitamins.

Aha I may have found the issue! I would stop the pellets as they could contain protein and maybe causing digestive issues. Jacky and Daisy (1942 - 2022) have been in the family for 76 years and I feed Jacky Greens, dandelions, Kale, Romaine lettuce plus D3 every other day.

MaNaAk

 

[The_Four_Toed_Edward]

The right kind of pellets contain very little protein and should be fine.

 

[zovick]

Franklin keeps scratching his back legs behind him and pulling dirt up to his bum. Hes walking around the tank doing that and breathing hard. It looks like he’s trying to make a pile at his butt or pull dirt to his butt. I thought he was just burrowing but he’s never done this b4. He always uses his front claws. I checked his tail/bum and saw nothing really wrong. His tail is plump but I didn’t think that unusual. This is the first I’ve ever seen him do this. Is he ok? I’m afraid he has worms again or is his bum just itchy ??? His shell was 95 F when I checked the ground temp. He shouldn’t be too hot. And the humidity was 80’s all day and I soaked him mon.

I tried to get pics of him scooping the dirt with his back feet and then a pic of the top of him and his bum just in case. He was walking p fast and freaked out when I held him. Plz help. Is my bb boy ok?

Edit: just remembered he did a BIG pee yesterday. Lots of white in his pee. I hope it’s not a stone or something !
View attachment 399439View attachment 399442View attachment 399441View attachment 399440

The pictures posted almost look like a female tortoise digging a nest. How certain are you that your tortoise is a male?

 

[MaNaAk]

The pictures posted almost look like a female tortoise digging a nest. How certain are you that your tortoise is a male?

Good point

 

[JoJosMom]

The pictures posted almost look like a female tortoise digging a nest. How certain are you that your tortoise is a male?

was just reading through this and thought the exact same thing. Seems to be exhibiting the behavior of trying to lay eggs.

 

[Liljae9263]

The pictures posted almost look like a female tortoise digging a nest. How certain are you that your tortoise is a male?

When I first shared on here people said he was a male. Also males curl their tail to the side right ? I’ve never been able to figure out how the shell is supposed to look. I also was p sure I saw his little wee wee when he was younger and had worms as he would strain to go potty and his wee wee would appear. The vet calls him a boy as well. Ig he is around 2 years old. If he were female would that be old enough for nest/egg laying tendencies?

 

[Liljae9263]

Here’s my update:
When I checked him this morn he was splayed out sleeping cozy like he normally does. When I got home he was just about the same, using a pillow as rock. (Pic attached tho I did wake him) I put him in the soak and checked his enclosure to see if there was any changes. I did find a BIG poopy in there that I thought was recent. I don’t remember seeing it yesterday tho I didnt examine his enclosure v closely yesterday as I was wiped from my job. He pooped immediately when in the soak and I’ll preference by saying for the past couple of months he hasn’t gone potty in the soak, only in the enclosure so I was surprised to see it and took it as a good sign! He soaked for at least 45 min prob 50. And he did scrabble so he got his exercise in! Now he’s back in his enclosure walking around.

Oh and I did check his skin on his legs and tail and saw nothing wrong. It all looks healthy and like a wrinkly little old man hehe.

I will keep an eye on him to see if he keeps doing this but I think now maybe he was constipated and that movement was to soothe himself ?? Not sure.

 

[MaNaAk]

Here’s my update:
When I checked him this morn he was splayed out sleeping cozy like he normally does. When I got home he was just about the same, using a pillow as rock. (Pic attached tho I did wake him) I put him in the soak and checked his enclosure to see if there was any changes. I did find a BIG poopy in there that I thought was recent. I don’t remember seeing it yesterday tho I didnt examine his enclosure v closely yesterday as I was wiped from my job. He pooped immediately when in the soak and I’ll preference by saying for the past couple of months he hasn’t gone potty in the soak, only in the enclosure so I was surprised to see it and took it as a good sign! He soaked for at least 45 min prob 50. And he did scrabble so he got his exercise in! Now he’s back in his enclosure walking around.

Oh and I did check his skin on his legs and tail and saw nothing wrong. It all looks healthy and like a wrinkly little old man hehe.

I will keep an eye on him to see if he keeps doing this but I think now maybe he was constipated and that movement was to soothe himself ?? Not sure.

View attachment 399453

He's beautiful!

 

[MaNaAk]

He's beautiful!

He could be a she like Jacky when Mum and Nana thought she was male.

Natrah

 

[TammyJ]

Can you please post pictures of the plastron and tail?

 

[MaNaAk]

I'm sure this is a female as you can hardly see the tail!