Help - Concerned New Owner
 

Hi there,

I picked up my 9 month old Horsefield Tortoise on Friday 7th Sept and I have a few concerns over his behaviour. His length of shell is about 2 inches and when I got him home he was only 36g – he has now gone down to 35g. I have been soaking him everyday in warm water for 20 minutes to aid any dehydration anxieties and I offer him a variety of foods (weeds, flowers, watercress, carrot tops, kale, etc.) dusted with Nutrobal everyday and a cuttlefish bone for calcium. The problem is that he just doesn’t want to eat anything and doesn’t seem active. His basking temperature is 33 degrees but he spends the majority of his time sleeping. I’m just posting here to ask for advice and whether I just need to give him time to settle in. He has excreted a few times but his lack of appetite and weight is worrying me.

Thanks for taking the time to read this,
Ellie

Hi Ellie, they can take weeks to settle in. Quite often they are not actually sleeping, they are just sitting doing nothing. You seem to be doing everything right, 5 days is nothing at all

Welcome Ellie. As Alan says, they can take a while to settle as torts do not like change. The baths, the basking temperature and cuttlefish all sound good, but little hatchlings do spend a lot of time sleeping and burying down.
The Tortoise Table is really helpful for safe food ideas https://www.thetortoisetable.org.uk
I tend to use nutrobal at the weekends only and sprinkle limestone flour during the week.

I’m sure you have a temperature gradient so he has a cooler area, hides and so on as it sounds as if you’ve done some research.

If he’s excreting, he’s eating a little so try not to worry and I’m sure the little one will soon settle in.

Please let us know how you get on and remember, no question is a silly question. Ask away if you’re not sure about anything.
Plus we love names and photos. :-)