W Shaw
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Nov 1, 2015
- Messages
- 452
After less than a month with my first tortoise, I'm still not always sure what's normal behavioral variation and what might be a concern. My little rescued Russian was very quiet and lethargic when I got him, but with proper diet, UVB and temps he's been much more active and, because he was nearly starved to death when I got him, he's been a total chow hound. The last couple of days, he's been less active and hasn't eaten much.We're still figuring out his lights. His basking spot has been stable at around 90 for the last couple of weeks, but the weather's been getting colder. so 2 days ago that spot dropped to about 82. I went out and got a heftier bulb (He had a 100W but it was obviously insufficient). This is brought his basking spot back to about 92. He's not entirely opposed to eating -- he'll happily take his favorites, hand fed, but ignores the healthier mix --wanders over and looks it over, then walks away and goes back to basking. Yesterday he was basking all day, but because I'm working on getting him up to a normal weight, I picked him up and set him down at his dish, which I'd filled with only his 2 favorite things. He seemed to say, "Oh yeah! Eating! I forgot about that!" and polished off a fair amount. This morning, I offered him breakfast in bed (hand feeding in his nest). He took a few bits, then came out of his nest and over to his dish area. Again though -- ate some of his favorite stuff, ignored the rest and went back to basking.
He has been getting "overfed" by normal standards, because of having been so underweight when I got him, so it's possible he's just not that hungry, but it's a change from his normal pattern.
He urinated yesterday, but didn't defecate, which didn't surprise me since he didn't eat much. I want to soak him tonight, but not sure whether to do so. He gets very stressed by it, and I don't want to stress him if there's a chance of some kind of illness.
Could someone with more experience tell me whether this is cause for concern, and whether I should go ahead with soaking him tonight? The behavioral change appeared immediately after his last soak, so I didn't worry at first. He always "sulks" for a long time after soaking, presumably because he finds it so stressful.
He has been getting "overfed" by normal standards, because of having been so underweight when I got him, so it's possible he's just not that hungry, but it's a change from his normal pattern.
He urinated yesterday, but didn't defecate, which didn't surprise me since he didn't eat much. I want to soak him tonight, but not sure whether to do so. He gets very stressed by it, and I don't want to stress him if there's a chance of some kind of illness.
Could someone with more experience tell me whether this is cause for concern, and whether I should go ahead with soaking him tonight? The behavioral change appeared immediately after his last soak, so I didn't worry at first. He always "sulks" for a long time after soaking, presumably because he finds it so stressful.
I haven't figured out how other people seem to be able to set up something and just leave it alone and have it maintain a stable temp gradient, but maybe they're using enclosed tanks rather than enclosures open to the ambient room temps.
