tortoise stopped eating

[nicole r]

he is acting the same as always and doing everything the same so he doesnt seem sick at all but he wont eat !! i took him outside and hes been walking around. he's eaten one very tiny bite of cucumber that i cut up for him and part of a tortoise pellet but thats basically it. i get worried about him quite easily so im just wondering. also the day before he did eat quite a bit of food, more than usual (that was my fault) so could that have anything to do with it? he did poop once so he couldve eaten something while i wasnt looking and it looked normal. other than that he hasnt eaten at all and hasnt pooped today either.

 

[nicole r]

update: he just pooped it seemed a teeny bit red but it basically looked the same as always. the red bits in it wasnt even noticable unless you looked closely. it looked a teeny bit watery too but he couldve just peed too.

 

[Rhiannon]

Hi! What kind of tort do you have? I'm no expert, but so far in my experience, there can be lots of reasons why a tort skips a meal, and many of them do not suggest a serious issue. The first thing I've found with my Hermann's is that she turns her nose up at her food when she's going through a period of getting used to something new (for example, when I first brought her home and recently when I built her a larger enclosure). Another reason could be that a tort has not gotten warm enough yet that day to metabolize food. I assume it's pretty warm where you live, but even so, you might want to encourage him to sit under his heat lamp for awhile.

Another thought is that some people don't feed their torts every day, maybe to allow for a rest in the digestive system. I've noticed that fasting mine for a day makes her poop like crazy!

These are just my observations; I'm sure one of the experts on here can help you more. Good luck!

 

[nicole r]

Hi! What kind of tort do you have? I'm no expert, but so far in my experience, there can be lots of reasons why a tort skips a meal, and many of them do not suggest a serious issue. The first thing I've found with my Hermann's is that she turns her nose up at her food when she's going through a period of getting used to something new (for example, when I first brought her home and recently when I built her a larger enclosure). Another reason could be that a tort has not gotten warm enough yet that day to metabolize food. I assume it's pretty warm where you live, but even so, you might want to encourage him to sit under his heat lamp for awhile.

Another thought is that some people don't feed their torts every day, maybe to allow for a rest in the digestive system. I've noticed that fasting mine for a day makes her poop like crazy!

These are just my observations; I'm sure one of the experts on here can help you more. Good luck!

hi ! its a russian tort and i just brought him home maybe 2 weeks ago. he's always been eating fine even before i got a chance to get him a heat lamp. right now he doesnt have one anymore as i have the wrong kind of bulb but ill be getting a new one today. i started to take him out a bit more often so he can warm up a bit and i brought him back in, he seemed to be eating something but then stopped. i dont know what it is but hopefully he'll eat again soon!! thank you for the information, im less worried about him now!! ill make sure to check up on him and ill get his new bulb asap!

 

[Rhiannon]

Have you learned anything about the right bulbs to get for tortoises yet? I don't want to write a whole long thing about it, if you know what you're doing, but it can get confusing to choose bulbs, so let me know if you'd like me to share what I've learned about it!

 

[nicole r]

Have you learned anything about the right bulbs to get for tortoises yet? I don't want to write a whole long thing about it, if you know what you're doing, but it can get confusing to choose bulbs, so let me know if you'd like me to share what I've learned about it!

i do mostly know!! i know not to get coil bulbs and ill get uvb for him (the worker at petsmart gave me a uva instead) thank you so much though!! if i have any questions ill be sure to ask!

 

[Lyn W]

Do you have any heat for him? I use a CHE at night on a thermostat to keep temps even. They do not give light as torts need complete darkness to sleep.
If he is outside in the sun to get real uv rays you may just need some sort of basking bulb to give heat and light indoors. If you haven't already looked check the care sheets to see what his temps should be

heat +humidity = healthy tort
cold + humidity = sick tort

 

[nicole r]

Do you have any heat for him? I use a CHE at night on a thermostat to keep temps even. They do not give light as torts need complete darkness to sleep.
If he is outside in the sun to get real uv rays you may just need some sort of basking bulb to give heat and light indoors. If you haven't already looked check the care sheets to see what his temps should be

heat +humidity = healthy tort
cold + humidity = sick tort

no heat right now sadly he'll be getting his new bulb tomorrow. i think the reason he's not eating is because it might be a bit cold for him in my house. i took him outside so he could walk around (its currently 100 F) and he started to eat somethings outside. although in the beginning when i first got him he had no heat lamp for 3 days and at the same temp he is now and he still ate then. thats just why i was worrier. he'll hopefully start eating when i get him his bulb

 

[dmmj]

Temps, temps temps temps temps, a cold tort won't eat..

 

[Tidgy's Dad]

Or it might be something to do with the temperature.
really hope he gets his appetite back soon.

 

[JoesMum]

You have only had him a fortnight and that's a very short time for him to get used to new surroundings. Some can take months to get used to things.

While your tort isn't eating properly, it is vital that he is properly hydrated. You must soak him daily for a good 20 minutes in luke warm water. Doing it first thing in the morning before tort has warmed up properly works best for me.

Feed directly after the soak and then walk away. Don't watch him all the time - it's intimidating. Hopefully then he will feel braver and able to eat.

Check those four important temperatures: warm side, cool side, directly under the basking lamp and overnight minimum. Please post them so we can advise; incorrect temperatures are the biggest cause of problems.

Finally, I suggest posting a picture of your enclosure. A picture paints a thousand words and we might might spot something else that will help

 

[nicole r]

You have only had him a fortnight and that's a very short time for him to get used to new surroundings. Some can take months to get used to things.

While your tort isn't eating properly, it is vital that he is properly hydrated. You must soak him daily for a good 20 minutes in luke warm water. Doing it first thing in the morning before tort has warmed up properly works best for me.

Feed directly after the soak and then walk away. Don't watch him all the time - it's intimidating. Hopefully then he will feel braver and able to eat.

Check those four important temperatures: warm side, cool side, directly under the basking lamp and overnight minimum. Please post them so we can advise; incorrect temperatures are the biggest cause of problems.

Finally, I suggest posting a picture of your enclosure. A picture paints a thousand words and we might might spot something else that will help

i had been soaking my tortoise very often so he stays well hydrated ! and as i said i currently do not have a heat bulb (i have to get a new one as the one i have is incorrect) so basically hes been staying at around 80 degrees. but ive been taking him outside often to get him warmed up and i took him out yesterday (it was 100 degrees) and he began to eat! so i know that that was the problem. although i know my enclosure has a few things wrong with it such as his water bowl, its one of those huge ones from petsmart so its basically impossible for him to get in. another thing is that his enclosure is very small. we are thinking about building him an enclosure outside but as for now he has a 20 gallon long tank. and yes i AM planning on getting him a bigger enclosure. maybe 40-50 gallons? i do take him outside often so hes not stuck in there (all he does in there is sleep.) ill definitely post i photo after i fix everything up though! ill be getting the new bulb today for my tort so hopefully he'll begin eating again!

 

[nicole r]

Or it might be something to do with the temperature.
really hope he gets his appetite back soon.

yeah i started thinking that right after i posted this. at least he's getting a new heat bulb today so if the temperature is the problem i'll know!

 

[JoesMum]

Glad to hear you are getting the basking lamp sorted. As for a bigger enclosure, Russians are very active and nothing is too big for them. So make it as big as you have room for. If you have an outdoor enclosure do take a lot of care yo make sure it is as escaoe proof as possible. Russians are outstanding climbers and escape-artists!

 

[WillTort2]

One thing to keep in mind, if your heat lamp burns out for short term use you can use a 60 or 75 watt standard flood bulb.(not the newer energy efficient compact fluorescents.). I keep a 6 pack of these bulbs around for emergency use if the mercury bulbs go bad. That will provide enough heat for your tort to keep eating and stay warm.

 

[nicole r]

Glad to hear you are getting the basking lamp sorted. As for a bigger enclosure, Russians are very active and nothing is too big for them. So make it as big as you have room for. If you have an outdoor enclosure do take a lot of care yo make sure it is as escaoe proof as possible. Russians are outstanding climbers and escape-artists!

my only problem with making an outdoor enclosure is that i just remembered 2 of our neighbors have cats and they go outside all the time! they go over to others backyards so im a bit scared to make an outdoor enclosure for him, maybe i can just stick to taking him outside and just watching him?

 

[nicole r]

One thing to keep in mind, if your heat lamp burns out for short term use you can use a 60 or 75 watt standard flood bulb.(not the newer energy efficient compact fluorescents.). I keep a 6 pack of these bulbs around for emergency use if the mercury bulbs go bad. That will provide enough heat for your tort to keep eating and stay warm.

oh ill try that next time! i had no idea normal bulbs would work i didnt think theyd provide enough heat! thank you!

 

[JoesMum]

It's the wattage that provides the heat, so any high wattage reflector will do for basking but obviously won't provide the UVB. Great for a short term fix for indoor torts when the MVB fails while you order another.

 

[nicole r]

It's the wattage that provides the heat, so any high wattage reflector will do for basking but obviously won't provide the UVB. Great for a short term fix for indoor torts when the MVB fails while you order another.

yeah i know! thank you!

 

[nicole r]

great news!! i got his new bulb today and after i put it up right after 5 minutes he began eating on his own!! he currently loves his new bulb and hes not hiding from it!! he loves sitting under it!!