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I have a leopard tortoise hatchling about 3 months old with a soft shell. I have 5 others w/out a soft shell. I've been giving them RepCal vitamins and calcium with lots of artificial UV and natural sunlight at least 2 times per week. They're eating grass 2 times per week and are fed a mix of greens (mustard and kale) and Mazuri daily.

How can I fix this problem and heal my hatchling? Any advice?
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What is "lots of atificial UV"?

For my torts I use ZooMed 10. & 5.0 self ballasted MegaRay lamps on end EVERY day 10 hrs a day.
If you kept your torts outside you wouldn't have to do this at all.

I have never had much luck getting a tort eat MUCH mustard or kale, mine only nobble at best. Much better - endive, chicory, raddicio, dandelion greens, plantain (the weed) greens, various grasses, orchard grass hay, opuntia leaf, mulberry leaf, hibiscus leaf & flowers, cuttlebone for calcium. Best to use as many edible wild plants as possible in my opinion.

I use Mazuri tort food in moderation, more as a treat than a regular food.

I use MinerAll calcium supplement but ReoCal is probably OK. I also use plain ground calcium carbonate.

If your hatchling carapace doesn't harden up fairly quickly after giving better food & more UVB you may need a vet to intervene. It may be a case of life or death.

Good luck. Let us know how he does.

That should read ZoMed 10.0 & 5.0 lamps self ballasted MegaRay lamps.

Also since your tort is soft, it would probably be good to add some calcium with every feeding.

At that age it is not unusual for the shells to be soft but what you need to do is focus on the heat and hydration.

Try and mix up the greens more. In the produce section of the gorcery many companys sell a packaged Spring Mix... try that.

Make sure the temperatures are at least 75 to 100 ... een for the hatchlings. That is a range meaning you should have a cool end and a hot end.

>>I have a leopard tortoise hatchling about 3 months old with a soft shell. I have 5 others w/out a soft shell. I've been giving them RepCal vitamins and calcium with lots of artificial UV and natural sunlight at least 2 times per week. They're eating grass 2 times per week and are fed a mix of greens (mustard and kale) and Mazuri daily.
>>
>>How can I fix this problem and heal my hatchling? Any advice?
>>
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Ed @ Tortoise Keepers
Trying to keep the fun in Chelonian care

Ed,- I have seen on various occasions that you recommended spring mix, which, no doubt, is a nice way to offer variety, and sometimes even can be bought pre-washed or from organic growers.
I have tried a few times to get an actual analysis of the salad, though without success. Part of the problem is, that the actual components and ratio of the so-called spring mix can vary a lot. They often contain frisee, oak-leaf, nicoise, romain and young arugola, which, except for the last one do not have a good calciumhophorus ratio (couldn't find analysis on oak-leaf though). And often these mixes contain a fair bit of spinach too, which is a definite no-no.
Do you have any source that gives a rough analysis of the 'average' spring mix in terms of calcium, phosphorus and maybe even oxalic acid? Would be really interested, as it definitely is a convenient food item.

Thanks, Gaby

The spring mix I see around here usually has little to no spinach it usually has raccicio. I am sure it varies from chain to chain, state to state & season to season.

That's why I suggest it because the mix will vary from package to package. This will give the greatest variety. Spinach as a staple is a no-no but as part of a mix I only see it as adding variety. I've seen some spring mixes contain dandelion greens also.

The spring mix is convenient but should not be the only food fed. I suggest it to add more variety.

Once again, trying to find an analysis of all the stuff you feed your animal is kind of pointless because the composition is going to vary by season, area it is grown, watering...

That's why I push the idea to give as much variety as possible including what some people say you should never feed your animal.

>>Ed,- I have seen on various occasions that you recommended spring mix, which, no doubt, is a nice way to offer variety, and sometimes even can be bought pre-washed or from organic growers.
>>I have tried a few times to get an actual analysis of the salad, though without success. Part of the problem is, that the actual components and ratio of the so-called spring mix can vary a lot. They often contain frisee, oak-leaf, nicoise, romain and young arugola, which, except for the last one do not have a good calciumhophorus ratio (couldn't find analysis on oak-leaf though). And often these mixes contain a fair bit of spinach too, which is a definite no-no.
>>Do you have any source that gives a rough analysis of the 'average' spring mix in terms of calcium, phosphorus and maybe even oxalic acid? Would be really interested, as it definitely is a convenient food item.
>>
>>Thanks, Gaby
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Ed @ Tortoise Keepers
Trying to keep the fun in Chelonian care

Thanks Ed, I agree,- it does help to increase variety. I feed it when I don't have enough time to clean up the regular greens that I usually feed, like chiccory, escarole, endive, dandelion and the like. That's why I call it 'Mc Donalds' for my tortoises: no work for me and my girl / guys love it (as it is less bitter than the healthier choices).

Gaby