Advice re Horsfield tortoise

[Emma&Kimchi]

Dear Lin and Nina,

I hope you are doing well

I was hoping for some advice regarding my 4-5 year old Horsfield tortoise, Kimchi. I adopted him in November 2023 and since then, he has generally been in good health, aside from summer last year when he became progressively more lethargic, and stopped eating. I took him to a specialist reptile vet (recommended on your site) and he was found to have quite a high burden of pin worms. They treated him for that x 2 (a standard course) but he didnt get any better, and when they tested him again found the worms hadn't cleared at all. At that point they did some blood tests and a mycoplasma swab - bloods were all normal but he was found to be mycoplasma positive. Luckily with another course of treatment for the worms they fully cleared and he was back to his old self and eating well, etc. They advised me that he likely has had Mycoplasma since a hatchling and that this probably wasn't a 'flare' as such - as he got totally better with the second course of deworming treatment, but explained that it was something that could flare up in the future - generally causing respiratory problems which need prolonged courses of antibiotics, and therefore should keep an eye out for any symptoms in the future and bring him back for early treatment if they do arise. They did say that he seems to be doing well despite having mycoplasma, however, and they wouldn't have picked it up had he not had the test because he initially wasn't clearing his worms. Apparently around 80% of Horsfield tortoises have mycoplasma.

From summer (after finishing his worming treatment) to December 2024 he has been completely fine, but since end of December/Jan time he has been sleeping a lot and not eating well. I havent hibernated him because the vet advised not to given he was poorly earlier in the year - and suggested we could do a shorter hibernation next year (shorter as he's at risk of a mycoplasma flare during hibernation). I took him back to the vet in January to check him over and they said he looked really healthy, with no worms or any symptoms/signs of concerns. They said that he wouldn't need to come back unless he developed respiratory symptoms (like a runny nose or breathing trouble, or his eyes were sticky) and that this was probably natural behaviour for the time of year. Since then he is eating a bit more - but not as much as usual and some days nothing at all, and doesn't actively wake up until I pick him and put him under the light. He will then tend to try and go back to sleep after not too long under his light/being awake. He is otherwise fine - no symptoms or signs of anything else amis, but hasn't been gaining weight given he isnt eating. I emailed the vet and asked if there was anything further I should do and they suggested I get reptoboost to put in the water when I soak him (which im doing every other day at the moment) but that he'd probably pick up as it started to get warmer.

Obviously it's the end of March now and I'm just worried he still seems so sleepy. Do you have any advice? Thank you very much in advance - and apologies for the long entry!

All the best
Emma

[Nina]

Hi Emma,

I think that given you are Kimchi's mother, I can safely wish you a Happy Mother's Day!

Gosh, he's had a rough old time of it, hasn't he. I'm glad that the worms and the mycoplasma have been cleared, but definitely keep an eye on things in case there is a flare up. It sounds like your vets are on top of things, and Reptoboost is a good idea, and certainly won't hurt, so I would definitely do that.

Aside from parasites, the main factor that we see in tortoises who are not eating is the temperature in their table. You want to aim for a temperature of around 30C directly under his heat source and measured at the height of his shell (not measured by a thermometer on a nearby wall), and a temperature of around 20C at the cooler end of his table. Forgive me if we went through this in previous correspondence. We've had weeks of very cold weather and now warmer weather, so lamps need to be raised and lowered (to decrease or increase temperature), depending on the temperature of the room he is in.

I remember that in January of last year he weighed about 195g. How much does he weigh now?

When we have some sunny spells -- like today -- I put mine out for a short time in the sunshine (it's measuring only 14C officially in Oxford just now, but those figures are always given for temps in the shade, and in the sunshine it will be much warmer. I just keep feeling their shells and when the shells start to feel a bit cool I bring them in for another warm-up and sometimes then out again for another short period. I just wonder if being outdoors in the sunshine might give him that little boost.

Please let us know how you get on.

Nina

[Emma&Kimchi]

Hi Nina,

Thanks so much for your prompt reply

I weighed Kimchi earlier today and he was 255g - so actually seems like pretty good growth over a 14 month period - although his weight has fluctuated a bit in that time. I also took him outside today as was lovely and sunny here too, and he seemed happy to be exploring.

Will keep an eye on his temperatures - hopefully he will perk up!

Emma x

[Nina]

I'm glad he liked the outdoors, and fingers crossed he will go from strength to strength. We're supposed to have some more sunny days, so if you can get him out some more, even for a short time until he starts to cool down, then I'm sure he'll appreciated it. Do let us know if he continues to improve (or if he doesn't).

Cheers,
Nina

[NolanWest]

You’re doing an amazing job, Kimchi’s lucky to have you!

[johnnysmith]

Hi, can I ask what kind of heating lamp you use for Kimchi? I think the temperature of the cage is very important, especially when the weather changes erratically like the past few weeks. Hope your baby eats again soon!

[oliviawilde168]

Poor Kimchi! It sounds like you've been through quite a bit with him since you adopted him. It's definitely worrying when they're not themselves, especially after all that trouble with the worms and finding out about the Mycoplasma.

[Emma&Kimchi]

Thanks everyone for the messages!

Kimchi brightened up right after I wrote the original message here - I think he was just waiting for spring! He is so active and eating like mad now, so think it was just his natural rhythm kicking in. I will look to hibernate him this year as he clearly wants to! Although I was told by the vet to do an abbreviated hibernation because of the mycoplasma - she suggested 4 weeks wind down and 4 weeks of hibernation.

Thanks for the support at always,
Emma

[Emma&Kimchi]

Hi Johnny, I’ve got a combi heat and UV bulb on an height adjustable stand.

johnnysmith wrote:
> Hi, can I ask what kind of heating lamp you use for Kimchi? I think the
> temperature of the cage is very important, especially when the weather
> changes erratically like the past few weeks. Hope your baby eats again
> soon!

[Godfery]

If he starts showing anything like wheezing, mucus, or swollen eyes, then yeah, definitely back to the vet. But if not, I’d just keep doing what you’re doing and maybe slowly extend his time under the lamp each day to nudge his rhythm back.

[superboy520]

Emma&Kimchi wrote:
> Dear Lin and Nina,
>
> I hope you are doing well
>
> I was hoping for some advice regarding my 4-5 year old Horsfield tortoise,
> Kimchi. I adopted him in November 2023 and since then, he has generally
> been in good health, aside from summer last year when he became
> progressively more lethargic, and stopped eating. I took him to a
> specialist reptile vet (recommended on your site) and he was found to have
> quite a high burden of pin worms. They treated him for that x 2 (a standard
> course) but he didnt get any better, and when they tested him again found
> the worms hadn't cleared at all. At that point they did some blood tests
> and a mycoplasma swab - bloods were all normal but he was found to be
> mycoplasma positive. Luckily with another course of treatment for the worms
> they fully cleared and he was back to his old self and eating well, etc.
> They advised me that he likely has had Mycoplasma since a hatchling and
> that this probably wasn't a 'flare' as such - as he got totally better with
> the second course of deworming treatment, but explained that it was
> something that could flare up in the future - generally causing respiratory
> problems which need prolonged courses of antibiotics, and therefore should
> keep an eye out for any symptoms in the future and bring him back for early
> treatment if they do arise in https://speedstarsgame.org/. They did say that he seems to be doing well
> despite having mycoplasma, however, and they wouldn't have picked it up had
> he not had the test because he initially wasn't clearing his worms.
> Apparently around 80% of Horsfield tortoises have mycoplasma.
>
> From summer (after finishing his worming treatment) to December 2024 he has
> been completely fine, but since end of December/Jan time he has been
> sleeping a lot and not eating well. I havent hibernated him because the vet
> advised not to given he was poorly earlier in the year - and suggested we
> could do a shorter hibernation next year (shorter as he's at risk of a
> mycoplasma flare during hibernation). I took him back to the vet in January
> to check him over and they said he looked really healthy, with no worms or
> any symptoms/signs of concerns. They said that he wouldn't need to come
> back unless he developed respiratory symptoms (like a runny nose or
> breathing trouble, or his eyes were sticky) and that this was probably
> natural behaviour for the time of year. Since then he is eating a bit more
> - but not as much as usual and some days nothing at all, and doesn't
> actively wake up until I pick him and put him under the light. He will then
> tend to try and go back to sleep after not too long under his light/being
> awake. He is otherwise fine - no symptoms or signs of anything else amis,
> but hasn't been gaining weight given he isnt eating. I emailed the vet and
> asked if there was anything further I should do and they suggested I get
> reptoboost to put in the water when I soak him (which im doing every other
> day at the moment) but that he'd probably pick up as it started to get
> warmer.
>
> Obviously it's the end of March now and I'm just worried he still seems so
> sleepy. Do you have any advice? Thank you very much in advance - and
> apologies for the long entry!
>
> All the best
> Emma

Poor Kimchi! It sounds like you've been through quite a bit with him since you adopted him. It's definitely worrying when they're not themselves, especially after all that trouble with the worms and finding out about the Mycoplasma.