Newbie in need of advice re 10yr old tort's health please

[Zhilla]

Newbie in need of advice please

Hi all,

We inherited my stepdaughters tortoise (Henry) a few days ago, and having read up since he arrived I'm a bit concerned. I believe my stepdaughters mum has been following care advice she received for the pet shop she bought him at for the 10 years they have had him - I'm attempting to attach a photo of his current living conditions, and a couple of close ups of Henry him(or her)self.

He's been living in a vivarium, which to my eyes is a pretty small and boring place to spend a few days let alone years - plus I now understand its not really a suitable environment for a tortoise anyway, so we are planning to build a tortoise table about 40" x 24" - would that be an ok size? If not can we add a 2nd storey with a ramp?

Henry's shell seems quite bumpy and tall to me, and it is flared at the bottom. Is he pyramiding? If so, is there anything I can do to reverse the effects?

Henry also seems very inactive, although he has started scrabbling at the corner of his 'cage' since he had a bath today. I'm also concerned he doesn't seem to be able to lift his weight with his back legs - but I'm finding it difficult to tell as he doesn't move much!

We're planning on gradually changing his diet from mainly shop bought salad and veg to mainly weeds, and when his tortoise table is built we're planning on including a couple of rocks, a log, a house to hide in and some vegetation when we work out what's best to plant - and a couple of inches of substrate once we work out what we should best use!

Any advice would be much appreciated, especially on his current state of health and how we can make him happier and healthier!

Many thanks,
Z

View attachment 38176

 

[Zhilla]

Hi all,

 

[Zhilla]

Attempt to add pics coming up ...

 

[Zhilla]

 

[Yvonne G]

Welcome to the Forum!!

I'm so glad that this tortoise now has someone who is interested in giving it a better life.

Actually he doesn't look too bad, shell-wise, however, you are correct in assuming his current living conditions are pretty boring. Tortoises like to hide when they are sleeping. Its a safety issue. So it would be nice to include some sort of hiding place for him. Can you take him outside for a bit when the sun shines? I know its not the right time of year, but putting him down on the grass, or in the dirt, might give you a better idea if he can use his legs or not.

We have a pretty good care sheet here on the forum for Hermann's tortoises:

http://www.tortoiseforum.org/thread-63799.html

 

[ascott]

Welcome and he is lovely. I would begin to work on getting his beak trimmed down....

 

[Zhilla]

Thanks Emysemys & Ascott

Quick update - Henry went to the vets yesterday (vet was brilliant - gave us loads of time, answered dozens of questions and put up with my 2 yr old hugging his legs).

Henry has had his beak trimmed and is the proud new owner of a zoo-med power sun mercury vapour lamp and ceramic reflector! He's also now on 2 baths per day, one with repto boost added.

He's quite out of condition, his shell is quite deformed (especially the plastron) and he's dehydrated, and the vet wants to see him again if he hasn't picked up significantly within a couple of days. But he's already looking perkier and is eating pretty well.

Thanks, Z