ChumboWumbo
New Member
Hi everyone! Wanted to give some info on my Baby leopard tortoise who I'm having some problems with and see if anyone can help.
To start I'm going to post all enclosure specs -
Cage - 4'x2x15" boa master PVC enclosure
Lighting - 50 watt halogen on right side
UVB - Arcadia 12% desert UVB 4' long spanning entire cage
Substrate - Forest floor and Eco earth mix
Temps -
Basking - 100 degrees F
Warm side - 90ish degrees throughout the day
Cool side - 80 degrees F
In middle of enclosure there is a RHP on a reptistat set to 80F (suggestion from vet trip 2 weeks ago)
Humidity - 66%-72% throughout the day
Water - Large terra-cotta plate enough for him to submerge his body in
Food - Collard greens, mustard greens, boy choy, dandelion greens and cactus pad sprinkled daily with calcium with D3
Soaks - Daily in 90 degree water
Now to start with our problem.
We got him in February from a reptile rescue who just had gotten a clutch of eggs in from someone near them. He was doing perfect until about 2 and half weeks ago. All of sudden - literally seemed like overnight - he became very lethargic. He usually wanders around his cage pushing things over, climbing up and over his hides etc. A FEROCIOUS eater, he would devour food all day everyday and then once he was done he'd go take a nice poop in his water dish multiple times a day it seemed. Now i never see him eat, i have not seen a bowl movement in his dish in 2 weeks now. He is always laying around with his eyes closed and when he gets up he doesn't seem to open his eyes. He will open his eyes after soaks and walk around a bit and may possibly take a few small bites of food but other than that he has become the complete opposite of himself seemingly overnight.
The vet had suggested keeping the temp up constantly hence why i purchased a RHP and keep it at 82 even at night. When we went 2 weeks ago to the vet she had noted the bottom of his shell being soft ( I never had thought this so I figured that was odd). She had recommend to use critical care herbivore (he wouldn't touch the stuff either) and to see within the week how he is and said we may doing injectable antibiotics for him.
Today ONCE AGAIN SEEMINGLY OVERNIGHT his top shell has become soft and so are his sides. We just went outside today for our soak to get some sunlight as its getting warmer where I am. He opened his eyes and walked around his soaking dish (long plastic tub) then just sat in the corner and seemed to sleep. I am beyond worried about him. He is the smallest little dude ever, since having him since February he is only 24.3 grams and still not even the size of my palm. Im not sure what could be wrong or if I'm doing anything wrong. This is my first tortoise and I've wanted one since I was 12 years old and I made myself wait until I was 23 to get one making sure I read as much as possible and had plenty of funds to care for him. Im not sure if injectable antibiotics are the way to go since he's so small or if he needs a calcium injection or what. Ive tried syringe feeding the critical care to no avail and don't want to push it incase of aspiration. Im at a complete loss and really don't want to lose this little guy. Any help or ideas or insight is greatly appreciated.
To start I'm going to post all enclosure specs -
Cage - 4'x2x15" boa master PVC enclosure
Lighting - 50 watt halogen on right side
UVB - Arcadia 12% desert UVB 4' long spanning entire cage
Substrate - Forest floor and Eco earth mix
Temps -
Basking - 100 degrees F
Warm side - 90ish degrees throughout the day
Cool side - 80 degrees F
In middle of enclosure there is a RHP on a reptistat set to 80F (suggestion from vet trip 2 weeks ago)
Humidity - 66%-72% throughout the day
Water - Large terra-cotta plate enough for him to submerge his body in
Food - Collard greens, mustard greens, boy choy, dandelion greens and cactus pad sprinkled daily with calcium with D3
Soaks - Daily in 90 degree water
Now to start with our problem.
We got him in February from a reptile rescue who just had gotten a clutch of eggs in from someone near them. He was doing perfect until about 2 and half weeks ago. All of sudden - literally seemed like overnight - he became very lethargic. He usually wanders around his cage pushing things over, climbing up and over his hides etc. A FEROCIOUS eater, he would devour food all day everyday and then once he was done he'd go take a nice poop in his water dish multiple times a day it seemed. Now i never see him eat, i have not seen a bowl movement in his dish in 2 weeks now. He is always laying around with his eyes closed and when he gets up he doesn't seem to open his eyes. He will open his eyes after soaks and walk around a bit and may possibly take a few small bites of food but other than that he has become the complete opposite of himself seemingly overnight.
The vet had suggested keeping the temp up constantly hence why i purchased a RHP and keep it at 82 even at night. When we went 2 weeks ago to the vet she had noted the bottom of his shell being soft ( I never had thought this so I figured that was odd). She had recommend to use critical care herbivore (he wouldn't touch the stuff either) and to see within the week how he is and said we may doing injectable antibiotics for him.
Today ONCE AGAIN SEEMINGLY OVERNIGHT his top shell has become soft and so are his sides. We just went outside today for our soak to get some sunlight as its getting warmer where I am. He opened his eyes and walked around his soaking dish (long plastic tub) then just sat in the corner and seemed to sleep. I am beyond worried about him. He is the smallest little dude ever, since having him since February he is only 24.3 grams and still not even the size of my palm. Im not sure what could be wrong or if I'm doing anything wrong. This is my first tortoise and I've wanted one since I was 12 years old and I made myself wait until I was 23 to get one making sure I read as much as possible and had plenty of funds to care for him. Im not sure if injectable antibiotics are the way to go since he's so small or if he needs a calcium injection or what. Ive tried syringe feeding the critical care to no avail and don't want to push it incase of aspiration. Im at a complete loss and really don't want to lose this little guy. Any help or ideas or insight is greatly appreciated.