hi there again.....apologies for bothering you all again. Mr Brown has seemed quiet for the last two days, has eaten but not very much and has been sleeping for hours on end, i gave him a a bath tonight and he seemed to brighten up a little, then he seemed to be straining and has passed a white stone about the size of a small peanut, its solid, not like the uretes(sorry about the spelling) that comes when he has a wee....he seems ok now, is walking ok and is eating a little, is this a sign that he is not well, should i take him to the vet

urgent replies would be appreciated.

Thanks

a worried mum  

Hello

I think alot of people are finding that their torts are slowing down, and not eating much at the moment.  We had another bad summer, and the temps have dropped and the days are getting shorter, all of which are queues for hibernation.  Saying that, it is a little early for the tortoises, so if you can keep him going and eating a while longer using a heat lamp :)

OK, the stone he passed is a sign that he is a bit dehydrated, but the good news is that the stone is out.  To be on the safe side, I would bathe him twice daily for the next week or so to get him really well hydrated again - sorry, can you just remind me, how old is he, what species, and is he indoors or out at the moment?

Arlene

Hi Debi, DON'T panic! This is one of the reasons why you must get his diet correct. BEFORE you had him perhaps he had been dyhydrated and his diet may not have been as good as what he is getting now and this is the result. You are very lucky he has managed to pass it without medical intervene. Just keep up with this bathes and cut out the things like kale ect

Can you ever see yourself with FOUR tortoises .

Your doing a good job with Mr Brown and did well to notice he was quieter than usual. Do you weigh him each week as this is another good indicator that all is well.

TC

Elaine

thanks to all of you for your advice, i will make sure he has more baths and will keep to a better diet, i have read more info on the subjects / health screens and think i know what the problem might be, i got a new heat light on Fridayof last week and i have got one that is 100w, i shall get a smaller one tomorrow.

Hibernation-my night mare, will he stop eating and slow down naturally, he is two in november, weighs 4.5oz (127.5gms) and is 8cm in length.

Please advise any way you can.

Thanks

I think you should monitor the situation with the urates for the time being, a tortoise needs to be really well hydrated going into hibernation.  This little one needs to be passing creamy urates for a while to make sure there are no more hard/gritty urates in there.

As advised, give him a warm bath, twice a day for about 20 minutes (extra baths won't hurt if you are around) and try and keep an eye out for any straining that may indicate another hard lump. 

Giving them food still dripping in water helps too......and opuntia cactus is very hydrating and juicy too.

Don't hesitate to post if your at all worried

Jo

Hi there,

i have just been home to check on my little fella and he was still under his bedding, i have reduced the heat lamp now to a 60w one, i got him up and gave a bath, is this ok to do or should i have just waited for him to come out on his own...

He did a wee while in the bath, but there was no sign of any white urates, it was just clear, he was eating a little bit oc cucumber before i left, but he is definatley not himself, i cant feel any lumps on his legs and his eyes look clear, any other things i should be looking out for, or anything else i should be doing to make sure he's ok.

Sorry to be a pain

and thanks for all the help so quickly last night, it was a releif, but to be honest i still didn't sleep till about 4.30 this morning as i was so worried, tortoises !!! who'd have thought it !!   

Hi Debi,

Good news that he is still weeing and it's clear, keep up the warm baths for a while yet though.

It is a worry when they don't seem themselves, but could this also be down to the change in the lighting? Sorry if I've missed why you've changed your light, but I'm wondering if he isn't getting warm enough which would result in him not being very active.  Were you worried he was too hot?  What was the temperature under the previous basking light?

Don't worry, you aren't a pain at all, we've ALL been there

Jo