not eating as much, losing a bit of weight

[marcy4hope]

i've noticed over the past week that louis is not eating nearly as much as he was. thus, he's lost a bit of weight (3 -4 grams over the past week). he also spends a LOT of time in his hide. but, i also work 9-10 hours per day and so don't see his daily activity. i just know in the mornings, he acts different than he used to. when i'd get up at 5 a.m., he'd be up waiting for breakfast. now he's in his hide.

i always put fresh food out for him at 5 a.m. and again at 5 p.m. he doesn't eat anything anymore at the 5 p.m. feeding. even if i get him outside in the sun for awhile after 5 p.m., he still won't eat when he comes inside. he just goes straight into that hide. he also doesn't eat as much of his morning feeding as he used to.

when he is out running around, he acts fine. the temps are fine in his enclosure. 100+ under the lamp and down to around 75 in the coolest corner. humidity is good. so, not sure what the deal is.

oh - i feed spring mix and rotate adding calcium/d3 (2-3 times a week), mazuri (2 times a week) and occasionally zoo med. he mainly eats the spring mix, and doesn't eat much of the mazuri or zoo med cause i see a lot of it left in the bowl when he's done.

 

[JoesMum]

Tortoises do go through phases and sometimes slow down for no apparent reason.

3-4g isn't much weight loss and could be accounted for by a particularly large wee or poo!

How big/old is Louis ?

 

[nicoleandrocky]

Does he get to go outside? Also do you only feed spring mix? (greens wise)

 

[marcy4hope]

thanks for the notes. yes, spring mix (green wise) is all i'm feeding right now. i live in podunkville, so when i go to the store i feel very fortunate to even find spring mix. if i go to a much bigger town, i can find different greens, but i work 6 days a week (temporarily i hope), so don't get to a real town very often. lol

as far as going outside, i take him out (if the sun's out) after i get home from work. so, usually for an hour at a time after 5 p.m. my husband built a "play pen" for him outside, but i still have to stay right there with him and keep an eye on him. he certainly loves being outside. but, he has not discovered that he can eat the grass or dandilions out there yet. i've tried to get him to figure it out, but he's just too small. he's just 3 inches long, weighed 93 grams last week, but 89 this week, and is almost 8 months old we think.

 

[JoesMum]

Can you buy some pelleted food like Mazuri on the internet to supplement?

Also, take a close look at the weeds around your house and as you travel home for work.

 

[Tom]

At 8 months old he should be closer to 400-500 grams, so I do think something is off. Your temps sound okay, but a bit cool on the cool side for my taste for a baby. What is the night temp, and which side is the humid hide on? How often do you soak? After 5pm there is not as much UV left due to the angle of the sun, but several times a week should still be getting him enough... What sort of bulb are you using indoors? Do you know how he was housed before you got him? How big is his indoor enclosure?

I hope we can figure out what is going on.

 

[marcy4hope]

i have a uvb bulb over him that's on everyday. i did notice that he's started to get some slight pyramiding on/around one scute. the 8 months is a guess. i was told he was 5 months old when i bought him the first of january. i doubt he's really that old. but, i do know my husband first saw him in the pet store around thanksgiving - so i know he has to be at least around 5 months old at the minimum. i do feed mazuri to supplement. i soak him every few days, but have gone back to doing that more often. i had been soaking him everyday, but when i set up a humidifier for the enclosure, i backed off to every few days. but, i've started doing it more. also, as the weather warmed up here, the enclosure got very warm and the humidity wouldn't stay under 100%, so i backed off of the humidifier for awhile. i'm wondering if that was one of the problems, not sure, but i've started using it again, just figuring out the right balance. sort of a guessing game in much of this.

---

oh - tom you asked how he was housed before i got him. he was on sand, no light even on in his enclosure. i was told he didn't need a uvb light, just sand. he was fed red leaf lettuce and there was no water in his cage. i was told he'd get water from the lettuce. so, yeah. he was off to a not so good start. the store got him from a breeder, but don't know how the breeder had him housed first.
this pictures is the day i brought him home in january.

this picture was taken a couple weeks ago.

 

[Tom]

I'm going to guess that he suffered some dehydration before you got him. I would keep doing what you are doing, but do go back to daily soaks for the next several months. Does he have a humid hide box to sleep in? That might help. What did he weigh when you first got him? What type of UV bulb are you using?

 

[ascott]

I absolutely love that second pic....tort spread eagle against the tree...the old COPS theme song played in my head....poor little one, busted...what cha gonna do....

 

[marcy4hope]

ha! well, i think i discovered one problem. tom - you're right. i turned the humidifier back on last night, even though i thought it would get things a bit warmer than i wanted, and this morning he came back to life. he was up at his usual 5 a.m. and came running out to the feed bowl as soon as i put it in.

don't know what his deal is with bark. we had to remove his log hide, cause he climbed it and ended up on his back. if he goes outside, he goes straight to the trees and ends up on his back every time. have to really watch him.

 

[wellington]

Hopefully things will get going again in the right direction. I would try to feed a better mix of greens. Order some prickly pear cactus online if nothing else. If your yard is pesticide free, pull him some weeds and grass to mix things up. You can also order seeds to plant in his home. I grow mine right in the coco coir substrate. Got my seeds from carolina pet supply. You should be able to order almost anything over the Internet. Good luck, hope he keeps improving

 

[dmmj]

Maybe he does not like trees?
anyways it is good to hear he is doing better.