My male Hermann has become of age where he is now sexually mature. We thought he was a female until we got flashed with his private parts! Was quite the experience!
He started being aggressive but since I’ve taught him not to bite and now he’s being calmer and gentle when sniffing my hands or feet. He still likes to chase my feet however and boy can he move! My main concern is he’s stopped wanting to eat and my main question is, is this normal for males when sexually frustrated? I can only get him to eat a few pellets. He’s not really pooping either only teeny tiny bits. I’m concerned as this is my first time owning a tortoise, I’m mainly used to horses dogs and goats! Any advice would be welcomed, thank you!
My tort is sexually frustrated and not eating
Re: My tort is sexually frustrated and not eating
Hi JessyRose and thanks for contacting us.
Yes, it's quite a shock when you first see a male tortoise flash!
Regarding chasing feet -- for some reason this is something that most tortoises do (I'm not sure why), and they are definitely more attracted to feet if you are barefoot and even more if you have red nail varnish on your toenails.
Re not wanting to eat -- I'm not sure why, as I don't think that most males lose their appetite when they reach puberty. How long has he not had an appetite? Also, did he hibernate this year? Usually a loss of appetite is connected with environment, or sometimes with a hidden health problem. Can you describe what sort of set-up he lives in, and what the temperatures are? You want to measure the temperature directly under the heat/light lamp, and at the height of his shell (not measured by a thermometer fixed to a nearby wall), and also the temperature at the cooler end of his enclosure? It's been so cold lately (if you are living in the UK) that if you haven't adjusted his lamp by lowering it, to get the temperature higher, then he might just be a bit cold.
Can you possibly look into his mouth and check that it is healthy and pink? If you see pale yellow deposits in the mouth, it could indicate that he has stomatitis and he will definitely need to see a vet. It's important to see a reptile ('exotics') vet, and we have a list of them organised by county/area here https://www.thetortoisetable.org.uk/tor ... s-by-area/
Sometimes a loss of appetite can indicate a heavy worm load. If you do go to a vet, take a sample of poo with you (you can store it for a day or two in a sealed container in the fridge if necessary).
Sorry to ask so many questions, but loss of appetite can have many causes. If you could give us an idea of what his set-up is like, and what you usually feed him, that would be a great help. Do you give him anything other than pellets? There are lots of dandelions in bloom now, and most tortoises can't resist a lovely dandelion flower. Hopefully it will just need a little tweak to bring his appetite back, but some more info will help us to determine what the cause might be.
Nina
Yes, it's quite a shock when you first see a male tortoise flash!
Regarding chasing feet -- for some reason this is something that most tortoises do (I'm not sure why), and they are definitely more attracted to feet if you are barefoot and even more if you have red nail varnish on your toenails.
Re not wanting to eat -- I'm not sure why, as I don't think that most males lose their appetite when they reach puberty. How long has he not had an appetite? Also, did he hibernate this year? Usually a loss of appetite is connected with environment, or sometimes with a hidden health problem. Can you describe what sort of set-up he lives in, and what the temperatures are? You want to measure the temperature directly under the heat/light lamp, and at the height of his shell (not measured by a thermometer fixed to a nearby wall), and also the temperature at the cooler end of his enclosure? It's been so cold lately (if you are living in the UK) that if you haven't adjusted his lamp by lowering it, to get the temperature higher, then he might just be a bit cold.
Can you possibly look into his mouth and check that it is healthy and pink? If you see pale yellow deposits in the mouth, it could indicate that he has stomatitis and he will definitely need to see a vet. It's important to see a reptile ('exotics') vet, and we have a list of them organised by county/area here https://www.thetortoisetable.org.uk/tor ... s-by-area/
Sometimes a loss of appetite can indicate a heavy worm load. If you do go to a vet, take a sample of poo with you (you can store it for a day or two in a sealed container in the fridge if necessary).
Sorry to ask so many questions, but loss of appetite can have many causes. If you could give us an idea of what his set-up is like, and what you usually feed him, that would be a great help. Do you give him anything other than pellets? There are lots of dandelions in bloom now, and most tortoises can't resist a lovely dandelion flower. Hopefully it will just need a little tweak to bring his appetite back, but some more info will help us to determine what the cause might be.
Nina
Re: My tort is sexually frustrated and not eating
Thank you so much for your reply and helpful information.
So I would say he’s had low appetite for a couple of weeks. He is normally fed things like kale, dandelion, plantain, lambs lettuce, mallow anything I can forage basically, plus some pellets here and there. I was concerned when he refused dandelion and the flower! Normally his fave!
I haven’t been able to open his mouth but when he’s yawned it all looks pink and healthy.
His set up is a table but he likes to be active so I have a lamp outside in my conservatory for him so he can let off steam but not get cold. The temp under lamp measured from the top of his shell as you mentioned is 27 degrees Celsius and the coolest spot is 16.
He does need another beak trim so I’m wondering if that’s effecting his eating although when he has eaten a few pellets he opens his mouth pretty darn wide! Lol
I think I will make a vet appointment to be safe as he’s very precious to us, the Whitchurch one on the list I think will be better than my local vet. My local vet did do a beak trim but I was unsure just how much reptile knowledge he had.
Looking forward to hearing from you with what you think and any suggestions I’d be super grateful
Thank you,
Jessy
So I would say he’s had low appetite for a couple of weeks. He is normally fed things like kale, dandelion, plantain, lambs lettuce, mallow anything I can forage basically, plus some pellets here and there. I was concerned when he refused dandelion and the flower! Normally his fave!
I haven’t been able to open his mouth but when he’s yawned it all looks pink and healthy.
His set up is a table but he likes to be active so I have a lamp outside in my conservatory for him so he can let off steam but not get cold. The temp under lamp measured from the top of his shell as you mentioned is 27 degrees Celsius and the coolest spot is 16.
He does need another beak trim so I’m wondering if that’s effecting his eating although when he has eaten a few pellets he opens his mouth pretty darn wide! Lol
I think I will make a vet appointment to be safe as he’s very precious to us, the Whitchurch one on the list I think will be better than my local vet. My local vet did do a beak trim but I was unsure just how much reptile knowledge he had.
Looking forward to hearing from you with what you think and any suggestions I’d be super grateful
Thank you,
Jessy
Re: My tort is sexually frustrated and not eating
It sounds like your husbandry is spot on, Jessy, so it must be something else (and if his mouth looks pink when he yawns then that is good too).
Have you tried hand feeding him something that he likes? We normally don't advise hand feeding because tortoises love to be hand fed, and if you do it too often then they don't want to eat by themselves, but there are times when it's really handy. It's possible that it is his beak, but I would have thought that he would still try to eat and if the beak was getting in the way then he would be frustrated -- but would still try.
The Whitchurch vet should be fine. I just now phoned them to check, and they do still have an exotics vet (sometimes vets move on and we aren't notified so it's always best to check), so I think that because your tortoise hasn't wanted to eat for a couple of weeks it's a good idea to take him there. If possible, do take relatively fresh sample of poo with you so that the vet can check for parasites.
Good luck and let us know how you get on, and fingers crossed that all goes well and he's back to normal soon!
Nina
Have you tried hand feeding him something that he likes? We normally don't advise hand feeding because tortoises love to be hand fed, and if you do it too often then they don't want to eat by themselves, but there are times when it's really handy. It's possible that it is his beak, but I would have thought that he would still try to eat and if the beak was getting in the way then he would be frustrated -- but would still try.
The Whitchurch vet should be fine. I just now phoned them to check, and they do still have an exotics vet (sometimes vets move on and we aren't notified so it's always best to check), so I think that because your tortoise hasn't wanted to eat for a couple of weeks it's a good idea to take him there. If possible, do take relatively fresh sample of poo with you so that the vet can check for parasites.
Good luck and let us know how you get on, and fingers crossed that all goes well and he's back to normal soon!
Nina
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