I was visiting my fathers house for about 3 days, and asked my mother to care for my tortoise, and she knows how. well I came home today, and went in to check on him and also to get some food for my dove, and he was in his water dish with his legs and neck hanging out of it and the paper in his enclosure was soaking wet. So I picked him up and noticed he was entirely limp, eyes closed. After i few mniutes i concluded he was dead.. so i sat him down on the floor and a back leg moved, then his head came up and he opened his mouth really wide, walked about a foot, then went limp and lifeless again... so i put him in his enclosure, with fresh dry paper and put the heat lamp over him and turned it on, it was off before becasue its been about 100 degrees here.. came back in a few minutes to look at him and his head was up again. and now after typing this hes limp and dead again... i would take him to a vet or call someone but my mothers not home. should i call a vet and try to help him or is it too late and is he just dying? I dont understand why this happend he was been very energetic, eating, and i would let him go outside in the sun and hes been so happy.. yet now hes dying. perchaps it was because his cage got too moist while i wasnt here and my mother just didnt notice. If hes just dying i can accept that, i just wanted to help him survive. thanks everyone.
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serious problem with a baby leopard tortoise. please read.
Replies (2)
np
How is your little tortoise doing?
The above advice is the best one, one can give.
Only a vet can find out what is wrong with your little one. I was wondering, if he could have had trouble exiting his water dish and maybe half drowned in it. Maybe he had an accident trying to get out of the dish and got inverted. If the water level is higher than a few millimeters there is great danger, that an inverted tortoise (hatchling) will drown. The way you found him, hanging over the edge of the water dish, is suspicious. He wouldn't have stayed there like that, if he had been able to get out completely.
How high is your water dish and how high was the water level? Does your mother remember? For a hatchling the water level should be maybe 5 mm or less.
Hope that things are improving and your little one will make it!
Gaby
