HELP , sick yearling Spur thighs?.

[pagan queen]

You don't say if they have been wormed. Having worms can cause them to be lethargic in the way yo describe. Also the bathing is needed, warm water in a sink or container, not too deep and just warm, not hot, test like you would for a baby. This may help them with pooing and drinking and they may also eat more after a bath.

[Catwoman63]

I would say bathing every other week is not enough, they are probably dehydrated, I bath my smaller torts every other day for at least 20 minutes, if I leave it a longer between days the littlest one will have gritty urates, so hydration is very important, I also spray their food twice a day with cold water x

[JerryMaffz]

I would agree that dehydration is probably the most likely problem here. Daily baths will hopefully show an improvement..I purchased my tortoise from the same breeder as you and would say that parasites etc. would be unlikely from this source.

[emma_mcraf]

I also feel dehydration seems likely. I bath my younger torts every day and the older ones every other day. It's just part of my routine and while they're in the bath, I get on with making the bed, washing the breakfast dishes, etc.
For your peace of mind, you could send a sample to wormcount to check for worms. http://wormcount.com/exotic-animals/

Please let us know how you get on.

[Jilly]

Well today I took everyone's advice regarding baths. I woke them & warmed them up under their heat lamp & blocked off their sleep area so they couldn't retreat. Once up to 30deg I took the enclosure outside (ditched the heatlamp) & left them to bask. Offered them food but not interested, they were still very inactive. After a couple of hours I gave them a 20 min warm bath, they became really mobile during the bath (mainly trying to find a way to climb out) and I actually saw one drink. I floated a little pansy petals & cress in the water but not interested in food. Afterwards I let them dry off on warm towels & bask again under the lamp indoors. I HAND fed them some mallow, cress & baby dandelions -to my surprise they actually ate a tiny bit and seemed almost back to normal. They both did a poo, but then quickly decided to burrow/return to the sleeping area. I intend to keep doing this daily for the next few days but is this progress??

Also Could someone clarify about temperatures- I understand that 32deg is optimum temp for basking + a cooler area for their indoor enclosure. However if they are outside in this lovely British summer weather it is far from that & if cloudy & breezy can feel really cold.....so I can't understand this contradiction as everyone is telling me they should be outside but they should also be 32degrees!!!

Regarding worming how regularly should this be done and does this have to be issued by a vet?
Jilly

[Jilly]

Forgot to say I'm located in Cookham, Berkshire, anyone else in this neck of the woods? Would really love to meet up with a competent tortoise keeper to see how it's done!

[sandy]

Originally Posted by Jilly

Forgot to say I'm located in Cookham, Berkshire, anyone else in this neck of the woods? Would really love to meet up with a competent tortoise keeper to see how it's done!

My iberas (one of the subspecies of spur thighs) are outside 24/7 and are doing great. I live in Kent so not so far away.
Your tortoises need to make the choice of being out or not, rather than you. Humans all feel differently about temps. Just as torts do.
My adults will come out when its dull and over cast and around 12c and still warm.
If they are not happy they will just hide away, which they do when they are either too hot or too cold. This time of the year if they got 32c all the time, they would hide away as it would be far too hot. The ambient temps do have a bit affect on how they act, just like bright light does.

[Pussygalore]

torts get their heat from the sun, it may feel a bit chilly to us but as long as there's some sun they will soon feel warm therefore the outside temps don't need to be anywhere as warm as inside. Inside your tort will sit under the heat lamp much the same as using the sun its not the air temp that will warm them. I always bathed any of my torts that were inside daily and when you get the water temp right they will relax and enjoy it, to hot and they'll want to get out, to cold and the same and top it up with warm when it cools down ie one cup out one cup in. Torts outside don't need bathing as they'll get some moisture from the air but inside our houses the air is very dry hence the need for bathing, having said that my adults used to sit in their water bowls outside if it was really hot and if we had the hose on outside used to enjoy a sprinkle on a hot day, I believe they can often be found in groups sitting in water in the wild when its really hot, they need to cool themselves by either digging down or water if its there, they have to regulate their body temp by 'outside' means ie the sun or shade.

[CherryBrandy]

If you look under events Jilly you have a Berkshire Tortoise club ! you could message for info as looks like April was latest event, CB

[Mjhami]

Originally Posted by Jilly

Forgot to say I'm located in Cookham, Berkshire, anyone else in this neck of the woods? Would really love to meet up with a competent tortoise keeper to see how it's done!

I'm in Reading been keeping tortoises since 1996 pm if you want to come and see where mine live.

Mark