Advice please!

One tortoise awake on Sunday morning. Bought into the house and under heat lamp, bath every day but can't seem to get him interested in any food! Drinks a bit when having a bath but nothing passed throught him yet. Over 48 hours now!

Any ideas or is this normal? Should I be worrying too much?

Grateful for any advice

Hi
Don't worry, the fact fact that he is drinking is good. It takes 3-4 days sometimes before mine pass urates and 2-3 weeks before pooing.
I usually give two baths a day when for 3 days after coming out of hibernation, so you could try doing that. Try to temp him with some cucumber, this normally works, you just need to get the enthusiasm for eating back, what are you feeding him on?
Jane

Thanks Jane.

Urates passed yesterday and did eat a little last night. Under the heat lamp at the moment. Cucumber, peppers, broccoli and tomatoes so hopefully should start to tempt him a bit more. He just seems a little slow this year to get going but then the weather has been quite strange. Hopefully, it will warm up soon to get him out in the garden for at least part of the day!!

Karen

i am new to this site and i am glad i just seen this post. i have four tortoise. they have been passed down to me. when my nan passed away last christmas. i have had them for just under a year. i have two awake and are both ok. they have been awake for about 2 weeks. eating well and both going to the loo. i have checked the other two and they are begininning to stur. when should they wake up. what is considered normal. thanks sam.

Hi Kazza
So glad to hear you are both on your way.
I would stop the broccoli as it contains oxulates which inhibit the intake of calcium, have a look at this site it will give you all the information you need to get a good diet going
http://www.thetortoisetable.org.uk/site/tortoise_home_1.asp
Hopefully soon the weeds will appear in abundance. I am managing to get dandies and plantain at the moment with an odd occasional dandy head, which I get most excited about!!
Anyway keep posting,
Jane

Hi Sam and welcome
Always nice getting new people on the site to post to.
So you have had a crash course in tortoise keeping, or did your nan pass down any advice?
If he has started to stir then I would take him out now, how are you keeping them at the moment?
Jane

hi jane and thank you for your welcome.

my nan had them in carboard boxes in a outhouse attached to the house for the winter. then in the summer she moved then into the garage in the garden. over the summer i had them in the conservaterey but moved them into the attic over winter.

i have been keeping an eye on the temperture and it has been not too bad. they did not go to bed untill the end of october.

 I was passed on some information and paper work with them. but not a lot. my nan loved them but did not always understand or do thing properley. i know she oiled the shells and did not give then water to drink and feed them on iceburge lettic. i know this is wrong and now i do not oil the shells. they all have water but i just cant get them off the lettic. i know they do like rocket lettic. it may sound funny but last year i feel they missed my nan. the vets hear are very good and i took them to the coming out party and the hibernation party. the vet is very happy with them and said they are all about 68 years old.

wow, 68 years old, do you have any photos you can post, I would love to see them.

Viv

Hi Sam
I do believe that it is quite possible that they missed you nan, she would have had a routine with them, I know my Molly gets quite upset if I do her routine a different way,and they are intelligent wise old creatures.
Personally I would feed weeds but put some a small piece piece of lettuce at the top just to entice them, but yes you are right it is not good for them as they do not contain any nutritional value at all. A smudging of cucumber over the food can raise a bit of interest. I am guessing they ate weeds when they were out in the garden, so they are probably alien to them, if al those little tricks don't work, then I would sit it out with them until they eat the good stuff, they will give in, just a bit stubborn at first.
It would be great if you could post a photo like Viv said, David one of the other members was interested in tortoises from that era so he will probably pleased to se your post.
Jane

Sorry I was meant to put not alien to the weeds not they are alien!! really must wait until I wake up to reply
Jane

Hi there. Welcome to the group.

Jane is right, I am very interested in long-term pets...and yours certainly qualify. Your nan, like many other keepers, gave them a less than ideal diet. To have lived so long though, something must have been right. Did they forage around her garden, getting access to flowers or weeds? I find it hard to believe that she only gave lettuce as a staple food.

Anyway, you are lucky to have them, and wise to have accessed (and used), this site. It would be really good to see some photos, so we can be sure of species and sex. If you can, take pics of tail area and head as well as just "shell shots".

I am having a tortoise day today, having taken mine out of their soil boxes and given them a good soak.. That is the easy bit. Now comes the rehydrating and feeding bit. I hope that happens in next 2-3 days.

Keep us posted, and ask if unsure about anything...no matter if it seems really trivial to you. We were all new keepers once, so must remember how it was when we first acquired torts!

Regards, David nr York.

thank you. all of you for your replies and warm welcome. i will take some pictures and photos and put them on here for you all. i would love to hear what you think of them. i love all of them. they are so funny to watch. one of them could do with a mate. expecially this time of the year. give him a few weeks to wake up and he will be off. my poor fred he dont get no rest. we have to turn three pens into four. lol

Hi I'm new to this site.my horsefield tortoise is around 7 years old.his name is Bob.he was kept in a hibernation tank in a back cupboard where the temperature was suitable for him to hibernate and he's gone from last week in November until last week (20th Feb).he is eating very well and drinking but he is yet to go to the toilet.he has a warm bath every other day at the moment (which usually sends him) but even that's not working.this is the first time I've hibernated him so not really sure what's normal.any advice?

We accidentally disturbed our tortoise, who was hibernating in a folded tarpaulin. Without knowing it, I put the tarpaulin in the car, drove 10 miles. When I unfolded the tarpaulin the tortoise fell onto the road. Although he was asleep, by the time we got home, he was awake. It being 15th January, he should be asleep. In the meantime I put him in a box of shredded paper in the garage. I checked on him the next day, only to discover that he had not retracted his head and legs into his shell. Although it is dark and cold, he is conscious.