# Help my baby tortoise is not eating



## Creggy

Help, my tortoise arrived on Tuesday, she is 7 months. She has not eaten, drunk or moved, is she going to die? I am scared


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## wellington

Hello and Welcome. Give her a warm water soak ASAP. In the mean time, we need all the info you can give about your enclosure, size, substrate, temps and what your using to get those temps. Humidity, diet, etc, etc.


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## Creggy

Hello, thank you for your quick reply. I will do this when I get home. How warm should it be? I bought a tortoise starter kit and will get all the info to you. What is substrate? I feel so irresponsible getting her now but we love her to bits and I want her to be well. Sorry for being pathetic!


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## Yvonne G

What kind of tortoise did you buy?

I don't think those "starter kits" are good. You need to purchase each item individually so you can be sure you're not buying supplies that you don't need or that aren't the right thing.

The most common cause for a tortoise to not eat is because they aren't warm enough. Tortoises can't digest their food if they're not warm enough. Baby tortoises' should be kept at around 80F to 85F degrees. 

Don't worry about your 'pathetic' status! We all were there at one time or another. You're here now, and are going to learn what your baby needs to be healthy and grow up to be a big beautiful tortoise.

Substrate is the 'dirt' on the bottom of the enclosure - the stuff he digs into to bury himself.


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## TammyJ

First thing is a long soak in shallow warm water, (barely warm, you do not want it too hot for him!) shallow meaning the level of the water should be just about where his top shell joins the bottom one. You can use a sterlite plastic container with a top that has a few holes punched in it. When you place him into the water, watch him to see if he moves his head up out of the water. If he does not pick up his head, make the water much less deep to just barely cover the bottom of the plastic box. Watch him for movement and any reaction to being put in the water. If he is moving at all, just let him stay there for half an hour, but if the water gets cold you have to change it to keep it warm so he does not get too cold and get sick. Do not leave him alone for any length of time in the water, but keep a close watch.
Please keep us informed.


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## Pearly

Hello and welcome from Texas. She is likely too cold. At 7 months I still consider them "babies" and all babies imo should be kept nice and warm at least 80F at substrate level. No nightime temp drops. They should also be fed couple times a day a good varied species appropriate diet and soaked daily.

I am probably one of very few keepers who do that (throwing munchies in bath water) and that's not the point of posting this picture. The point is to show you how warm the bath water is. I keep mine 95-103F which always after about 10-15 min raises my babies' temps at carapace to this

- perfect body temp to metabolize and digest food. They always eat hearty meal after their bath. Please tell us more about your tort, how you keep her, post pictures but make getting her temps up and ling warm bath asap your top priority


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## Creggy

Good morning all,

My baby has hemp as her bedding. I gave her a bath and she perked up and then ate some lettuce and then had a poo!

I see this as a good sign. I tried to install the heat lamp last night but my youngest daughter dropped it and it broke 

I think she is cold but she is sleeping a lot! Is this normal?

Am at work now, so no photos but will post some soon.

Thank you for your support and helping my oldest daughter and I with her little baby.

Caroline


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## TammyJ

Read some of the care sheets for this species. The most important things are the correct temperature, humidity level and diet. These things are critical to its survival.
Lettuce has just about ZERO nutritional value. BUT glad she did eat and poo!
Kale and Mustard Greens, Collard greens are good. The diet sheet has loads of variety you can offer, and some good wild stuff like cactus pads and clover, all very good for them.
If the tortoise is cold it will not eat or move around and will be unable to digest anything that it may nibble on anyway. Cold and dry are bad. Warm and humid are good.
What kind of tortoise do you have? This will help us to advise you on its care.


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## Creggy

TammyJ said:


> Read some of the care sheets for this species. The most important things are the correct temperature, humidity level and diet. These things are critical to its survival.
> Lettuce has just about ZERO nutritional value. BUT glad she did eat and poo!
> Kale and Mustard Greens, Collard greens are good. The diet sheet has loads of variety you can offer, and some good wild stuff like cactus pads and clover, all very good for them.
> If the tortoise is cold it will not eat or move around and will be unable to digest anything that it may nibble on anyway. Cold and dry are bad. Warm and humid are good.
> What kind of tortoise do you have? This will help us to advise you on its care.


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## Creggy

Thank you Tammy. How do I make it humid? I have just ordered another lamp that my youngest broke, it should be here tomorrow.

I will indeed look for some other foodstuffs for her. I feel totally irresponsible for getting her and getting it so wrong!


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## TammyJ

Creggy said:


> Thank you Tammy. How do I make it humid? I have just ordered another lamp that my youngest broke, it should be here tomorrow.
> 
> I will indeed look for some other foodstuffs for her. I feel totally irresponsible for getting her and getting it so wrong!


You make it more humid by keeping dry air out and have her enclosure kind of like an enclosed plant house. We need to see some pics of your tortoise and the enclosure she is kept in. We also need to know what kind of tortoise you have! Some tortoises need a lot more humidity than others. This is key to our helping you. I am not the expert here at all, I have just learned from what others have taught me.


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## SnapperAndShelldon

There is no definite that your turtle will die, and I say the chances are high that your turtle likely won't. Make sure your tortoise has been soaked in water, because it may be easier for your turtle to drink rather than just a water bowl. Try feeding your turtle a variety of things, like different kinds of leafy greens, fruit on a rare basis, and other kinds of food. You can look online for things to feed your tortoise.


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## Dpringle393

I just purchased a leopard tortoise hatchling a week ago and she still has not taken a bite of any food... I keep the Baskin area at 85+ and the rest of the terrarium at 80...I did have the substrate dry and just watered and mixed to bring up the humidity, will this work?


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## Tortisedonk7

Hello and welcome. Are you the same person that made this thread 3 years ago?
seems like and old thread.
Anyway.


Dpringle393 said:


> I just purchased a leopard tortoise hatchling a week ago and she still has not taken a bite of any food... I keep the Baskin area at 85+ and the rest of the terrarium at 80...I did have the substrate dry and just watered and mixed to bring up the humidity, will this work?


Soak the baby every day in warm water. 
there is also something called ‘baby food soak’ search on the forum for that. People say it stimulates the eating behavior. 
Yes mix warm water into the substrate so it is damp. Then pack it down well. You also need closed chamber environment to keep the heat and humidity in. 
I think the basking temp needs to be hotter for this species. 
Use the search function here to find care sheet for sulcata and leopard tortoise.


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## Dpringle393

Tortisedonk7 said:


> Hello and welcome. Are you the same person that made this thread 3 years ago?
> seems like and old thread.
> Anyway.
> 
> Soak the baby every day in warm water.
> there is also something called ‘baby food soak’ search on the forum for that. People say it stimulates the eating behavior.
> Yes mix warm water into the substrate so it is damp. Then pack it down well. You also need closed chamber environment to keep the heat and humidity in.
> I think the basking temp needs to be hotter for this species.
> Use the search function here to find care sheet for sulcata and leopard tortoise.


I have done everything mentioned above and bought a new infared bulb to increase heat, still not eating. Will take to vet in the morning


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## Tortisedonk7

Please be patient, It could take a week or more for tortoise to adjust to the new conditions. Also you need to separate these two right away. 
Also please read the thread about ‘how to care for sulcata and leopard tortoise’ this will help you get everything just right for them. 
And post more pictures/details about the enclosure. Type of lights, heat source, four temps, ext.


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## Tortisedonk7

Care sheet





The Best Way To Raise A Sulcata, Leopard, Or Star Tortoise


I chose the title of this care sheet very carefully. Are there other ways to raise babies? Yes. Yes there are, but those ways are not as good. What follows is the BEST way, according to 30 years of research and experimentation with hundreds of babies of many species. Babies hatch during the...




www.tortoiseforum.org


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## KarenSoCal

Yeah, don't take it to the vet yet. Most vets don't know much about torts, and they are likely to do more harm than good.
Like Tortisedonk7 said, torts really hate any kind of change. She was taken away from her siblings and put in a strange new place. She isn't feeling safe yet, and she's not sure you won't eat her. She'll eat when she feels safe.

If what I'm seeing is true, I see a sully hatchling together with a leopard hatchling. Tortoises do not do well in pairs. Then, different species should never be put together. Did you get the sully from the same place at the same time? If not, if one of them has any illness, now the other one has it too! Please separate them ASAP.

To help either of them to feel more secure, a couple plants in the enclosure would be great. Pothos and spider plants work well because they have good space under them to hide.


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