Hi my 12 year old hermans seems unwell - has been sleeping on and off for about 6 weeks and is not interested in food at all. He also has a brown line in his mouth which I have no idea what it is... have tried picking at it but wont come off... any ideas. Worried to hiberate it in case unwell. any replies grateful

It sounds as though he may be winding down for hibernation, but if you have not been monitoring the wind down with gradually reduced heat, keeping hydration levels up etc etc then it cannot be taken that the wind down is succesful. Have you been bathing hi? What temps are you using at either end of his habitat? 6 weeks is a long time for him not to have been eating and if he is ill, it could well take a lot longer for him to get better. If you are not familiaar with a tortoises mouth then it's not a good idea to pick at it, this could be completely normal - is it a healthy pink colour?

If you still think he is unwell, then get him to a recommended reptile vet ASAP for a full blood count to see what might begoing on. If you can put pics on here, that will help too.

Sue

www.tortsmad.com