Tortoise not himself since dog died

lin3ie · 05-06-2018, 05:30 PM

Ok bear with me, but is it possible my tort could be pining for the dog??

We’ve had him (horsfield) coming up 14years, since he was around 6-12months old.

We already had the dog, she was 18months old.

They lived in harmony in our kitchen from day 1, vivarium on the floor beside the dogs bed, sliding door left open and both had free roam of the kitchen.

Tortoise has always been a lively one, charging around, sharpening his beak on the hard plastic of the dogs bed, chasing husband out of the kitchen and sitting on my feet for treats and his shell rubbed! But neither the dog nor the tortoise ever bothered each other.

We had to have our beloved dog PTS a couple of months ago and the tortoise has completely changed🙁

He is quiet and subdued, no more charging around although he does come out and sit between my feet as soon as I come home (you would honestly think he just wanted to be near me as opposed to wants treats/fussed over).

He’s weeing and pooping fine so we thought maybe he’s just chilled because he no longer needs to prove he’s alpha dog so to speak. But he is barely eating, over the time the quantity has gradually gone down to the point where the last week/10 days he has barely eaten anything.

I went out at 8am today and put fresh food out for him, got home about an hour ago and he hasn’t touched it 🙁

Is it possible he is pining and if so what do I do??? Or is it more likely he’s sick or could it be the heat/muggy weather we’re having in the UK?

05-06-2018, 05:30 PM	#1
lin3ie Junior Member Egg Join Date: Apr 2012 Posts: 11	Tortoise not himself since dog died Ok bear with me, but is it possible my tort could be pining for the dog?? We’ve had him (horsfield) coming up 14years, since he was around 6-12months old. We already had the dog, she was 18months old. They lived in harmony in our kitchen from day 1, vivarium on the floor beside the dogs bed, sliding door left open and both had free roam of the kitchen. Tortoise has always been a lively one, charging around, sharpening his beak on the hard plastic of the dogs bed, chasing husband out of the kitchen and sitting on my feet for treats and his shell rubbed! But neither the dog nor the tortoise ever bothered each other. We had to have our beloved dog PTS a couple of months ago and the tortoise has completely changed🙁 He is quiet and subdued, no more charging around although he does come out and sit between my feet as soon as I come home (you would honestly think he just wanted to be near me as opposed to wants treats/fussed over). He’s weeing and pooping fine so we thought maybe he’s just chilled because he no longer needs to prove he’s alpha dog so to speak. But he is barely eating, over the time the quantity has gradually gone down to the point where the last week/10 days he has barely eaten anything. I went out at 8am today and put fresh food out for him, got home about an hour ago and he hasn’t touched it 🙁 Is it possible he is pining and if so what do I do??? Or is it more likely he’s sick or could it be the heat/muggy weather we’re having in the UK?

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