My Leopard Tortoise refused to eat

[Windcar]

My 1 year old leopard tortoise has refused to eat for approximately one week. Previously she has shown this disinterest of diet for about a month until I found a huge drop of her weight. I`ve checked the common ailments list and symptoms but find nothing corresponding to my tortoise, so I assume she may accidentally drank dirty water from the base which I kept in pen for bath (weird enough, my star tortoise has shown nothing unusual and grown in a quite healthy condition).

I`ve tried lukewarm soak and varied diet to attract her attention. For the first week it made sense, however this week she stopped eating again.

There`s no white feces nor runny nose, her eyes are dry as usual which is a common phenomena for baby tortoise I presume. Furthermore, she has no external cut nor soft shell, she just refuse to eat, thus produce little fece.

Please please help, is there some other ailment makes her lethargic and weak? I`ve tried fruit residue (made from slow juicer), cactus (she showed great interests but still didn`t eat), mixed Zoomed food with Mazuri. Those things I tried for her now does`t work anymore.

 

[johnsonnboswell]

How are you keeping her?

 

[Windcar]

in a wood case like this:

The temperature is around 28 to 31 C, that`s about 82.4 F to 87 F, I use coconut soil for base. The star tortoise is very healthy so I guess there`s no infective ailment in Leopard Tortoise.

 

[lismar79]

Have your temps changed at all?

 

[Windcar]

No, I keep it from 82 F to 87 F. The heater is always on to make sure temps won`t fluctuate.

 

[lismar79]

If your basking area is not already 90-95 I would up it just to see if it helps. As long as the tort can escape the higher temps, there is no harm in trying. This happened to me and the xray showed that my sulcata was full of poo. Lots of warm soaks in big tubs where he could walk arround & keeping him a little warmer helped puxh it along. I also offered a lot of aloe, cuc, cactus to push things along once he did start to nibble.

 

[Camryn]

What foods do you offer her and how do you offer them?

 

[Windcar]

I`ve tried fruit residue (made from slow juicer), cactus (she showed great interests but still didn`t eat), mixed Zoomed food with Mazuri. Those things I tried for her now does`t work anymore.

 

[lismar79]

If they are kept together this could deff be bullying. You would not even see it happening. Torts are solitary creatures and when kept in pairs one will almost always waste away. She is basically trying to be invisable because she is in the dominate ones space. Try seperating them for a time and see if she eats.

 

[Camryn]

Try offering her a variety of foods.
Cabbage, Carrots, Carrot Tops, Red Leaf Lettuce, Romaine, Mustard Greens, Alfalfa Hay, Parsley. My sulcata loves the purple from romaine lettuce
Even try juicing her regular food with a cucumber. Good luck.

 

[Windcar]

The basking area is 90-93F, but its not working,and I think the reason my tor not pooing is her not having any food in resent days.

 

[lismar79]

I responded to your other post as well. If you are keeping your leo with your star then I would seperate asap. See if she eats once she gets use to a new space where she is the only tort. She may feel safer.

 

[tortdad]

I responded to your other post as well. If you are keeping your leo with your star then I would seperate asap. See if she eats once she gets use to a new space where she is the only tort. She may feel safer.

This ^

Your tort could be getting bullied

 

[Windcar]

Thanks, usually I place the star in the outside balcony for sun bath, and keep the ill Leo in the case for her to rest. These two sleep together at nights. The leo is weak and indeed shows more chary reactions. She only wakes up when I put her in warm water, but falls to sleep right after getting out .

I once thought of force feeding but was afraid of the risk.

 

[Windcar]

This ^

Your tort could be getting bullied

You sure? The Star is now ignoring the Leo, she can play alone without even notice the Leo.

 

[tortdad]

You sure? The Star is now ignoring the Leo, she can play alone without even notice the Leo.

Your tort seems very stressed. Different species should always be separated, even at night. Try offering baby food to eat. You can even add some to the soak water for them to adsorb vitamins. You can also add some Pedialyte to the soak water to help with dehydration. It sounds like like you're offering all the right foods so it's either being bullied or is very sick. Bullied torts can die from the stress, they just give up.

Soak, separate, and warm your enclosure up a few more degrees while it's healing. I would also be calling a exotic vet for an appointment.

 

[tortdad]

You sure? The Star is now ignoring the Leo, she can play alone without even notice the Leo.

What you think is the star ignoring the Leo could be the Star marching around and proving to be the dominate one. Torts are solitary animals and don't need buddies. Some species (like Redfoot) do well in pairs or small groups but for the most part they do best as singles.

 

[Yellow Turtle01]

You sure? The Star is now ignoring the Leo, she can play alone without even notice the Leo.

Yes. Torts do NOT play nice, and if you house two together, one (the smaller, weaker one) will end on the very bottom of your Star's social scale. They get stressed, ill, and can get bullied.

 

[Yvonne G]

Leopard tortoises are browsers, that is, they eat plants. You're not offering the tortoise any of the kinds of food it would normally eat. Set the tortoises up separately, each in his own habitat, and offer dark, leafy greens, grasses, weeds and plants.

 

[Windcar]

Thanks, I would separate them from now, see if there`s any improvements.