Desert tortoise weight loss

Question
I own a registered male California desert tortoise approximately 25 years old.  He came out of hibernation in April and appeared to be fine with a healthy appetite.  He ate really well in April, May, and part of June then slowly starting eating less and less.  His weight decreased from 10.5# to 9#.  He lives in an outside portion of our yard approximately 25 feet by 25 feet with with a plastic igloo for a house and water which is in a large dish at ground level that he can walk into.  The water is changed daily.  He is offered a large variety of food daily to chose from: Kale, spinach, cantaloupe, red kale, broccoli, dandelion greens, shredded carrots, strawberries, cantaloupe, cherry tomatoes, red grapes, bananas, hibiscus flowers, dandelion flowers, and rose petals.  He now only eats about 10 or 12 bites then goes back to his house to sleep.  If I bring him back in front of his food to eat he may only eat a few bites them walk away.  The weather here has been excellent for him ranging from 70 to 85 degrees during his eating time.  There are no discharges from his nose and his eyes look normal. When I take him our to walk all over our yard he walks all over and appears normal.  Any help that you can suggest.  Thank you.

Answer
Hi Jim,

I would take him to a vet who is experienced with desert tortoises.  He should have a fecal exam and possibly an x-ray to check for bladder stones to start with, and then go from there.  What do his urates look like?  I would also avoid hibernating him next year unless this issue is resolved.  A tortoise that's not in peak shape shouldn't go into hibernation because there's too much risk that he just won't come back up due to depletion of body reserves.  A 10%+ weight loss is significant and he'll need time to recover once you figure out what the problem is.  Until you can get him to the vet, give him additional soaks (2-3 times a week) to make sure he stays hydrated.

I would also work on improving his overall diet.  Desert tortoises are strict herbivores that feed on weeds, cactus, and other desert plants in the wild and really shouldn't be eating vegetables or fruit other than cactus fruit seasonally.  Excess sugar upsets the intestinal flora and can lead to parasite issues, and vegetables just don't have the nutritional balance they need.  So I would cut out anything like broccoli, carrots, strawberries, cantaloupe, tomatoes, grapes, bananas, etc.  Instead, focus on broad-leafed weeds and greens:  turnip, mustard, collards, kale, prickly pear cactus, dandelion, chicory, sow thistle, mallow, clover, hawkbit, vetch, chickweed, etc., along with hibiscus flowers, rose petals, nasturtium, violas, grape and mulberry leaves.  If you can obtain weed seeds, it's fairly easy to maintain a grazing area for him once it's seeded by watering thoroughly once a week or so (you didn't say where you live, but I'm assuming in a dry summer area such as S. CA).  The weeds will seed themselves as long as they're watered.

Good luck with your tortoise.  If it's just parasites, treatment is fairly simply and he should be getting better quite soon, but he does need the vet visit to make sure what the problem is and to rule out anything more serious.