please could you help!

I have a two and a half yr old herman tortoise called yoda which has been going off his food for the last week or so. Ive only seen him picking at his dandelion leaves so I tried him with a few leaves of little gems which hes also only picked over.

I bath him daily and have also been adding reptoboost to the water which he seems to enjoy but he still hasnt started eatting properly. When he urinates while having a bath there is no milky substance its always clear. Ive been told to hibinate him this yr for four weeks only but im now worried that hes not going to be healthy enough and im also not sure when to start his hibination.

His eyes and mouth are all clear and he seems really active and happy in himself although he has started to sleep alot more.

Please could you tell me if im doing anything wrong and how to get him eatting again.

Hi,

This sounds like completely normal behaviour. Tortoises do generally start to slow down now in preparation for hibernation but if you are thinking to hibernating it in   may still be abit early to start the wind down process, therefore you need to make sure Yoda is kept indoors in a warm set up to encourage eating. What type of lighting/uvb are you using?

Ali

Hi Ali

Yoda lives in a tortoise table in my living room, he has a basking light and a uvb tube on 12 hrs a day. Do you think i should bath him more than once a day to encourage him to eat or could you think of anything i could try?

I also havent seen him poo for at least a week is this normal?

Thanks

Hi, have you checked the temperature under the basking lamp is high enough ie around 35C and the temp in the outer area is around 20C, this should warm him up enough to encourage eating.  It sounds as though you are bathing him enough, make sure you keep a dish of water in the table for him to drink.

Regards Vivienne

Hi,

He will poo less as his intake of food is less. This is completely normal. I really wouldnt worry :-)

Ali

hello

yoda's basking area is only reaching 31C is this enough? although the outer area is 20C.

He has stopped eating dandelion leaves and clover now and im having trouble encouraging him to eat little gems, this will be his second day without eating. Im still bathing him daily but he does seem completely fine in himself.

I have tried him with a strawberry, carrot, cucumber, cherry tomatos but no joy. He did poo the other day even though it was small.

Could you also tell me when I should start getting him ready for his first hibination.

Many thanks for all your help I'm really greatful to you all.

Hi,

The right time to start wind down depends on the method of hibernation you are going to use, if you are considering the fridge method then you can start wind down when you think he is ready, if you are using a box and hibernating in an outbuilding then it isnt cold enough yet so you need to keep him going for a bit longer. It is completely normal for them to be eating less with the winter months on their way. The temps you have seem ok but you might want to up the basking area a little bit. All mine have decided to stop eating but i put them under the light and they reluctantly eat. This is always a worrying time and you need to check they are a good weight for hibernation. How much does Yoda weigh?

Ali

Yoda is around 4oz but my scales are not very good so im going to to have to purchase some digital ones. Sorry to sound so simple but when you measure how long they are do you measure the length of shell with a tape measure or do you use string and place it across the arch of the shell and then measure.If its the string method hes 11cm long from back of head to tail.

Could you also tell me when I should start the process of hibination as ive only been told to hibinate him for four weeks and to use the box method.

Many thanks

We have excellent instructions (with pics) on the website, its on the left menu under tortoise here is the link to help http://www.tortoise-protection-group.org.uk/site/files/Weighing%20&%20measuring.pdf

You can start hibernation when you want, some start end of Oct and others wait til end of Dec so that when they wake up in early spring the weeds will be growing again.  For help see our hibernation sheets, again on the left menu under The Tortoise, then down the drop down list it says hibernation.

We will all be here to help when you need it!

Vivienne

Hello

Im just up dating you on yoda. Ive weighed him tonight and he's 129 grams and just a touch under three and a half inches long, could you tell me if this is a good weight for him?

He has now started eating alot more in the past four days which i'm really pleased about altough it is only around 2-3 little jems leaves a day. He's still not interested in anything else but Iwill keep trying. I'm still bathing him daily in repto boost and I have noticed some small amounts of white in his urine but its only every few days.

If I can keep him eating would I be able to start the hibernation process the end of this month or should I wait a little longer to try and get his weight up?

Many thanks for all your help and advice

Hello

Sorry to be a pain but is yoda's weight ok for his size and will he be ok to start his hibernation at the end of this month as he's only eating little jems.

Thank you

Hello

Im just up dating you on yoda. Ive weighed him tonight and he's 129 grams and just a touch under three and a half inches long, could you tell me if this is a good weight for him?

He has now started eating alot more in the past four days which i'm really pleased about altough it is only around 2-3 little jems leaves a day. He's still not interested in anything else but Iwill keep trying. I'm still bathing him daily in repto boost and I have noticed some small amounts of white in his urine but its only every few days.

If I can keep him eating would I be able to start the hibernation process the end of this month or should I wait a little longer to try and get his weight up?

Many thanks for all your help and advice

Hi Pauline,

Here are details on how to check your tortoise's weight using the Jackson Ratio:-

http://www.britishcheloniagroup.org.uk/caresheets/jackson.htm

Weight divided by (lengthxlengthxlength) where the length is in cm and the weight in grams

3.5 inches = 8.9cm

129/ (8.9x8.9x8.9)

129/704.96 = 0.182

This is a little light, but if your tortoise is less than 3.5 inches, has been eating steadily this year and hasn't had any health problems he should be perfectly OK.

May I ask why you haven't considered fridge hibernation?

If you are to use the box method you need to monitor the temps inside the box in the room you are placing your tortoise.

HTH
Darren