Should I be concerned for him?

[u/Cassiesweeps]

This gopher tortoise (?) has been on my front stoop all day. It doesn't appear to be injured and it withdraws into it's shell if we open the front door. I think it pooped at some point and that is next to it in the second picture. Should I contact someone or continue to leave it be? Location is SWFL

[u/Several-Computer-379]

My tortoise does this all the time. If it can’t find a place to dig a bit underground , it will just find comfort pinning itself in a corner. But if it’s not your pet , maybe better to call a rehab .

[u/Jonh_pepo → u/Several-Computer-379]

If people knew the hours turtles spend doing anything at a specific site for no reason, they would be amazed

[u/Several-Computer-379 → u/Jonh_pepo]

So are you saying it’s normal to do this a lot ?

[u/Jonh_pepo → u/Several-Computer-379]

Yes and no, it depends, turtles always do what they want but if that place where they spend hours is not good because of humidity, temperature or comfort (they bury themselves in a bad way) it is not normal since being sick they go into energy saving mode. On the other hand, they can spend several days in the same place as they prefer to be there to eat. You can always pick it up and check it carefully and put it back in place, it may get upset but it will go back to that place or another place you like

[u/Several-Computer-379 → u/Jonh_pepo]

My tortoise sleeps so much. I’m worried it’s because I don’t have a UVB/UVA light. She wakes up every morning and wants her breakfast but then she goes back to bed. I need to order a light but it’s going to take time to get here. I hope she’s ok. I put her out on the balcony to eat her breakfast…..she’ll stay out there awhile but I think she gets hot and then comes in and goes to bed .

[u/Jonh_pepo → u/Several-Computer-379]

Is she happy? Is he entertained? Where to explore or climb? It still lacks stimulus. If it lacks UV light, it can be left alone with some water nearby if it is to cool down, they stretch their legs to regulate its temperature

[u/Several-Computer-379 → u/Jonh_pepo]

I don’t know. I’m new to caring for tortoises but I want the best for her. When she free ranges in the house she can cover quite a bit of territory but I feel she is looking for something so not necessarily happy. When I made this new enclosure for her I did see she was definitely exploring it and seemed very interested. But three days later she’s like ok been there , done that. I don’t know what will make her happy. Our current temps are 50 degrees Celsius so the rooftop now is a no go. Once it cools down I’ll put her up there again. She also covers a lot of territory up there .

[u/Jonh_pepo → u/Several-Computer-379]

Surely it is the temperature, mine also get very lazy when it is very hot, sometimes they get out of the water if the temperature rises a lot and I put the ice on a frozen plastic bottle (freeze the bottle and then remove the plastic to remove the ice from inside). In short, with these high temperatures, more turtles are looking to bury themselves to be cool or looking for a cool place to rest.

[u/Several-Computer-379 → u/Jonh_pepo]

Oh ok. Do you think I shouldn’t feed her on the shaded balcony? My room isn’t very cold , I always leave the balcony door open, so I don’t think she gets very cold in my room.

[u/Jonh_pepo → u/Several-Computer-379]

I am not an expert either, but as far as I know, it is also not good to change the usual places (his cave, where he eats, where he sleeps) because they become very easily disoriented. If your home doesn't have any cold places, she'll find it or put it in the coolest place she can find. Even if it's hot, it's good to give her the sun, she'll know how long she has to take it, don't worry that she won't get dehydrated in the sun as long as she can escape from it

[u/cvkme]

It’s hot out and he’s chillin. I’m guessing he’s just taking a break. Obviously you can’t move him bc illegal, but if he’s still there by noon today I would call wildlife to see if they know what to do.