Reptile & Amphibian Forums

He will not eat and all he wantes to do is sleep. He is very weak and now he is not wanting to drink water. He is getting really soft. He can barly open his eyes. What can I do to healp him?

TAKE HIM TO THE VET ASAP!!

np
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Adam
http://anraviary.cjb.net
0.0 African Sidenecked, 0.0 Northern Diamondback Terrapin, 0.1 Redfoot, 0.1 Sulcatta, 1.0 Western Hognose, 1.0 Crested Gecko, 0.1 Mali Uromastyx

could you tell me what you think might be wrong with him? We have only had him for about 3 weeks and whrn we first got him he was very active anf would eat all the time. Its like is just happen over night. We put cuttlebone on their food and he got like this but the female is doing great.

1) Does your tortoise have a source of UVB light? A UVB light would be either one of the mercury vapour flood lights(ActiveUV Heat or PowersunUV) or a fluorescent UVB bulb(Reptiglo 5 or 8, or Reptisun), the "full spectrum bulbs" sold at hardware stores don't count.

2) What are you feeding your tortoise? It should on a diet that includes some or all of these things,

Hay - Orchard grass, Timothy
Greens(with smaller amounts oxalic acid and/of good nutritional value) - Endive, Dandelion greens, Kale, Mustard greens, collards
- virtually all of the lettuces including iceberg, romaine, green and red leaf lettuces have very little nutritional value
- spinach has very high levels of oxalic acid which inhibits calcium absorption

Mazuri Tortoise Diet - a high fiber diet with a 2:1 calcium to phosphorous ratio(ideal for reptiles) that has feem specifically formulated for tortoises

Things to feed sparingly,

- any other vegetables
- fruit

Things to never feed

- dog food,cat food, monkey chow - too high in protein
- ZooMed, T-Rex, RepCal, etc Tortoise/Box Turtle diets

Are you soaking your for little while everyday? Proper hydration is very important in hatchling tortoises.

I would also like to say that cuttlebone is not a great source of calcium, as it is not easily absorbed. Calcium carbonate or Repcal calcium sprinkle on the food is a better idea. I usually leave a piece of calcium in their enclosure to chew on as well.

I would also like to stress that you should take you tortoise to a reptile vet. Part of the responsibility of ownership of any animal is care of its health and well being.
A tortoise's shell doesn't get soft overnight and won't harden overnight either.

All of the above is based on the assumption that your "baby spur thigh" is a Geochleone sulcata hatchling. Though most of it holds true for other tortoises as well.

Since keeping these tortoises isn't an exact science, I'm sure there will be some disagreement on various points above, but again, most of it hold true. If i have forgotten anything important I'm sure someone will fill it in,

Hope this helps
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Adam
http://anraviary.cjb.net
0.0 African Sidenecked, 0.0 Northern Diamondback Terrapin, 0.1 Redfoot, 0.1 Sulcatta, 1.0 Western Hognose, 1.0 Crested Gecko, 0.1 Mali Uromastyx

We have the UVB lighting and a heat lamp. We are feeding them Mustard and clooard greens. With a little Cucmber here lately. We put tyhem in the water but they just get right back out. Hope that helps!

also, I soak my tortoises in a container that they can't "just crawl out of." ie: tall deli cup, etc
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Adam
http://anraviary.cjb.net
0.0 African Sidenecked, 0.0 Northern Diamondback Terrapin, 0.1 Redfoot, 0.1 Sulcatta, 1.0 Western Hognose, 1.0 Crested Gecko, 0.1 Mali Uromastyx