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tiny-tort

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So as you know i just got my new little tort on Saturday .. I haven't seen him eat (I am at work all day bt the food just seems to be shrivled up when I get home) .. or drink. I've soaked him a few times and he moves around a little, usually from one hide sport to the next .. but he never seems to be up and awake at any given time. His eyes are clear, his temps are good .. when I put him in shallow water he sometimes open his mouth (but does not drink) .. think I need to get him looked at. Ive been trying ot look on here for suggestions about inactive or sleeping torts so any suggestions or links would be GREATLY appreciated!!!
 

tiny-tort

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I have a vet appointment this afternoon. Hope I'm just over reacting, omg I'd be sooo upset if something happened to him, I've only had him for 4 days.
 

GBtortoises

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What you're describing sounds like perfectly normal activity for a tortoise, especially a baby tortoise, that has just been placed into a new environment with completely new surroundings. Baby tortoises have a very strong instinct to survive. This is done by hiding until they are comfortable enough to come out and start cautiously exploring their new surroundings. This may not happen until the next day, in a few days or even in a week or two. Each tortoise is different. In my opinion the best thing to do is to have an enclosure set up correctly, place fresh food and water in it, put the tortoise in it and then leave it alone. Observation should be from a distance until your tortoise starts coming out on it's own. Even then it may scramble for cover when it sees movement around it. This is very natural. The worse thing to do at this time is to grab it to keep it from hiding or to pull it out of it's secure hiding area. Keep replacing the food and water with fresh each day. Spray the enclosure and if possible, the tortoise daily at least in order to ensure that it has some humidity to help keep it hydrated. Make sure that temperatures are within normal activity range during the daytime and the tortoise will begin it's own routine eventually. Unless you see an obvious health problem (runny nose, etc...). I would leave it alone and let it acclimate to it's new surroundings. Being handled too much, especially while trying to acclimate to all new surroundings can be very stressful and prolong the acclimation process.
 

dmarcus

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GBtortoises said:
What you're describing sounds like perfectly normal activity for a tortoise, especially a baby tortoise, that has just been placed into a new environment with completely new surroundings. Baby tortoises have a very strong instinct to survive. This is done by hiding until they are comfortable enough to come out and start cautiously exploring their new surroundings. This may not happen until the next day, in a few days or even in a week or two. Each tortoise is different. In my opinion the best thing to do is to have an enclosure set up correctly, place fresh food and water in it, put the tortoise in it and then leave it alone. Observation should be from a distance until your tortoise starts coming out on it's own. Even then it may scramble for cover when it sees movement around it. This is very natural. The worse thing to do at this time is to grab it to keep it from hiding or to pull it out of it's secure hiding area. Keep replacing the food and water with fresh each day. Spray the enclosure and if possible, the tortoise daily at least in order to ensure that it has some humidity to help keep it hydrated. Make sure that temperatures are within normal activity range during the daytime and the tortoise will begin it's own routine eventually. Unless you see an obvious health problem (runny nose, etc...). I would leave it alone and let it acclimate to it's new surroundings. Being handled too much, especially while trying to acclimate to all new surroundings can be very stressful and prolong the acclimation process.

I am in agreement 100%...
 

Laura

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yep, we are big scary monsters to little animals who have not learned any better.
Let him get comfortable, dont handle him, dont pester, watch from a far and be sure he feels secure enough to come out..
 

tiny-tort

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Omg he/she is eating like a pig now and I feel foolish lol I keep iguanas, chameleons, breed several different geckos morphs and dragons and all of that but am a complete newbie when it comes to torts. I've also read how easily they dehyrdate so after 4 days with no food or water, always having its eyes closed and never moving scared the crap out of me!!!!!! When I gave him a soak he opened and closed his mouth a bit which I've read they should also never do and could be a sign of a respiratory illness .. he was scaring me to death! LOL

This is a picture that makes me V E R Y happy/relieved!!!!!!!!!!!
 

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