Kisobel
New Member
Hello there,
I'm new to this forum and actually got told to avoid it from the pet shop however im in need and I'm here to ask for some advice and just overall knowledge / advice on my Hermann tortoise.
I bought them (I refer to them as a he for easiness) from a PetShop about a month and a bit ago, originally when I got him everything he done I presumed was normal tortoise behavior, he weighed 50 grams too and is about 10 months old to 1 year old the guy wasn't specific but the tortoise is rather small.
From me being obsessed over him, watching him for hours on days I cannot exactly remember but he seemed to explore his enclosure when I first put him in it, I presume so he got used to a new environment. Everything in his vivarium is optimal, I went to a reptile specialist vets and they verified.
After first getting him I picked up that he occasionally had a few bubbles come from his nose and it seems like he sneezes of sorts. He is always rubbing his right eye and he eventually stopped opening that eye for a bit. He was originally on a greens based diet, but it lacked variety so I found out that was incorrect. When I first picked up on symptoms I felt like something was wrong so I watched him over the days and he became less and less active. I live in england so there is a chance the cold weather doesn't help but the viv temp should fix that tho. After a few days of originally picking up on his symptoms he became very ill to the point he didn't move from under his log, refused food etc. I took him to a non specialist vets first and he got an injection originally and that seemed to somewhat help, he was also and still is on a "complete diet pellet" food where you add water to it and its very good for the tortoise I have been told + ace high vitamin powder + calcium powder.
He somewhat recovered but didn't open his right eye still so after a week I took him to the experts on it.
He was on a 2 week antibiotic plan, give 0.5 of antibiotics to him every 2 days, along side with eye drops. He is at the point where he is off the plan, I was supposed to go to the vets for a checkup 3 days ago but cannot for another 4 days.
The problem is or not problem, is that he seems to just go under his log and nap / sleep there all day. He seems to eat one day but the next day he either eats very very little or not at all. When I am not in the house he may go for the occasional wonder but I'm not too sure as I am not always there, but when people see him he is always asleep. So recently I've been waking him up and then letting him out on my floor, when he is out he is quite fast and can walk for about 30 mins constantly but he always seems to try and burrow into the side of things. His eyes are both open what's positive and he has a nice walk around what then means he has a poo but occasionally a wee. The only problem lies is that he always seems to be napping. On the 25th when I get paid I think im going to clean out his entire vivarium, new stuff just to hope the freshness will be better for him.
He has a morning routine where,
7am - 9am I will wake up and wake him up, pick him up and put him in the bath to soak up.
Usually he drinks the water there but mostly just sits there or tries to get out after 5 mins. I have only seen him poop twice in the bath.
After this I put him back in the viv under the basking spot to warm up and dry off and then I prepare the pellets food. After 5 mins or so if he hasn't already wondered over to the food, ill place him nexto it showing that there is food there and he will eat some. Its a bowl of sorts but its not on a flat surface so it seems he kinda struggles to eat a bit so I tried to add more substrate around the bowl so he is more up so he doesn't struggle as much. He will eat, tend to crawl into the bowl, eat what he can see from the point he is and then walk away leaving most of the food but then he seems just uninterested in the food.
After this for the rest of the day he seems to just nap or hide under his log, he will move a little bit but its usually just different positions under his log till he hides in the corner then I know he is a sleep.
Later in the day though I try wake him up and let him out to wonder around the floor with supervision.
I have been giving it a thought and he may need to hibernate but honestly I have no idea how to do this or how to do it safe or when they do this etc etc. Additionally worried that because of me taking him out and bathing him, trying to make him alright has actually made it worse.
Me explaining all of this is, does this sound normal or not? I seriously do not know what my tortoise should be doing day to day. I got told to avoid tortoise forums as people rip into you for any single thing you may slightly be doing wrong but its my first time, I love the little guy and just want to know if he seems alright.
Here is all info if anyone is curious,
-
1. Food He is on - Komodo Complete Holistic Tortoise Diet, Dandelion (https://amzn.eu/d/fsUlvRH)
-
2. Vivarium Temperatures - Hot side I try get 30-32 degrees, Cool side is about 22 - 25 degrees. This is controlled with my heat lamp / bulb being connected to a temperature sensor to auto adjust (come on / come off / dim to get to correct temp). In the very corners it sometimes reads about 29-30 and he seems to prefer sleeping at these temperatures
-
3. Baskin Spot Temperatures - This is quite higher I do not have an exact reading but due to my room being cold and to make the hot side hot, it reads to about 50 degrees or so, yes I make sure the ground isn't too hot and seems just warm and nice and he seems happy when under it.
-
Below I will provide photos.
I'm new to this forum and actually got told to avoid it from the pet shop however im in need and I'm here to ask for some advice and just overall knowledge / advice on my Hermann tortoise.
I bought them (I refer to them as a he for easiness) from a PetShop about a month and a bit ago, originally when I got him everything he done I presumed was normal tortoise behavior, he weighed 50 grams too and is about 10 months old to 1 year old the guy wasn't specific but the tortoise is rather small.
From me being obsessed over him, watching him for hours on days I cannot exactly remember but he seemed to explore his enclosure when I first put him in it, I presume so he got used to a new environment. Everything in his vivarium is optimal, I went to a reptile specialist vets and they verified.
After first getting him I picked up that he occasionally had a few bubbles come from his nose and it seems like he sneezes of sorts. He is always rubbing his right eye and he eventually stopped opening that eye for a bit. He was originally on a greens based diet, but it lacked variety so I found out that was incorrect. When I first picked up on symptoms I felt like something was wrong so I watched him over the days and he became less and less active. I live in england so there is a chance the cold weather doesn't help but the viv temp should fix that tho. After a few days of originally picking up on his symptoms he became very ill to the point he didn't move from under his log, refused food etc. I took him to a non specialist vets first and he got an injection originally and that seemed to somewhat help, he was also and still is on a "complete diet pellet" food where you add water to it and its very good for the tortoise I have been told + ace high vitamin powder + calcium powder.
He somewhat recovered but didn't open his right eye still so after a week I took him to the experts on it.
He was on a 2 week antibiotic plan, give 0.5 of antibiotics to him every 2 days, along side with eye drops. He is at the point where he is off the plan, I was supposed to go to the vets for a checkup 3 days ago but cannot for another 4 days.
The problem is or not problem, is that he seems to just go under his log and nap / sleep there all day. He seems to eat one day but the next day he either eats very very little or not at all. When I am not in the house he may go for the occasional wonder but I'm not too sure as I am not always there, but when people see him he is always asleep. So recently I've been waking him up and then letting him out on my floor, when he is out he is quite fast and can walk for about 30 mins constantly but he always seems to try and burrow into the side of things. His eyes are both open what's positive and he has a nice walk around what then means he has a poo but occasionally a wee. The only problem lies is that he always seems to be napping. On the 25th when I get paid I think im going to clean out his entire vivarium, new stuff just to hope the freshness will be better for him.
He has a morning routine where,
7am - 9am I will wake up and wake him up, pick him up and put him in the bath to soak up.
Usually he drinks the water there but mostly just sits there or tries to get out after 5 mins. I have only seen him poop twice in the bath.
After this I put him back in the viv under the basking spot to warm up and dry off and then I prepare the pellets food. After 5 mins or so if he hasn't already wondered over to the food, ill place him nexto it showing that there is food there and he will eat some. Its a bowl of sorts but its not on a flat surface so it seems he kinda struggles to eat a bit so I tried to add more substrate around the bowl so he is more up so he doesn't struggle as much. He will eat, tend to crawl into the bowl, eat what he can see from the point he is and then walk away leaving most of the food but then he seems just uninterested in the food.
After this for the rest of the day he seems to just nap or hide under his log, he will move a little bit but its usually just different positions under his log till he hides in the corner then I know he is a sleep.
Later in the day though I try wake him up and let him out to wonder around the floor with supervision.
I have been giving it a thought and he may need to hibernate but honestly I have no idea how to do this or how to do it safe or when they do this etc etc. Additionally worried that because of me taking him out and bathing him, trying to make him alright has actually made it worse.
Me explaining all of this is, does this sound normal or not? I seriously do not know what my tortoise should be doing day to day. I got told to avoid tortoise forums as people rip into you for any single thing you may slightly be doing wrong but its my first time, I love the little guy and just want to know if he seems alright.
Here is all info if anyone is curious,
-
1. Food He is on - Komodo Complete Holistic Tortoise Diet, Dandelion (https://amzn.eu/d/fsUlvRH)
-
2. Vivarium Temperatures - Hot side I try get 30-32 degrees, Cool side is about 22 - 25 degrees. This is controlled with my heat lamp / bulb being connected to a temperature sensor to auto adjust (come on / come off / dim to get to correct temp). In the very corners it sometimes reads about 29-30 and he seems to prefer sleeping at these temperatures
-
3. Baskin Spot Temperatures - This is quite higher I do not have an exact reading but due to my room being cold and to make the hot side hot, it reads to about 50 degrees or so, yes I make sure the ground isn't too hot and seems just warm and nice and he seems happy when under it.
-
Below I will provide photos.