1.5 yr old Leopard not growing

[Joshua R Dimpfl]

I received a hatchling around Feb. of 2014. We've done everything correct (I've raised sulcatas and redfoots) as we did to our other tortoises but we just can't figure out why our leopard isn't growing. We weigh her everyday and it isnt going above 32g... she is literally the size she was when we got her. She has a great appetite, she is never lethargic, just... small. Is there something we can do to increase her size?

This is her from March 2014, she hasn't changed much at all...

 

[JoesMum]

Have you had a fecal check done for worms?

 

[Joshua R Dimpfl]

I have yet to have a fecal done on her.

 

[hhilgen2]

I'll be very interested in this discussion! My leopard hatchling has only gained a gram in a month despite a voracious appetite and a negative fecal check.

 

[Joshua R Dimpfl]

I just don't understand... She eats like a fiend and we give her a mixture of food everyday. She gets Mazuri, clover, dandelions, plantain, mixed greens, etc. She also tends to have a bad habit of wanting to eat out of my wife's hands more than anything, we are trying to break said habit...

 

[hhilgen2]

That is EXACTLY what mine eats, too. Hopefully someone can point us in the right direction.

 

[Joshua R Dimpfl]

We got Tusk up to 35g at one point, but then the next day she was back to 32g. She just doesn't grow...and being 1.5 years at that!

 

[Levi the Leopard]

Where did your leopard come from? Well, you don't to name the source but do you KNOW how they started it?
Was it soaked regularly?
What substrate did they house it on?

Every "hatchling failure syndrome" leopard baby that passed away in my care was in the 30 gram range. Even though some were close to a year old. Early chronic dehydration really is a killer

The 1 out of 10 that survived took about a year and half to finally start gaining weight. It was slow at first then around 2 years old he finally hit 100 grams or so. He's thriving now but still small for his age. The dry start in life really stunted him.

 

[wellington]

I would have them checked for parasites. If they are clean, then it may be what Heather meantioned, bad dry start. If they have parasites, then you found your answer.

 

[Yvonne G]

There are several things necessary for good growth and a healthy tortoise - real sun (UVB), the correct temperature (85-100F), exercise, calcium, a humid environment and a varied diet.

I've heard a lot of folks say how much more active their baby became when they added a good UVB light to the enclosure.

 

[Joshua R Dimpfl]

There are several things necessary for good growth and a healthy tortoise - real sun (UVB), the correct temperature (85-100F), exercise, calcium, a humid environment and a varied diet.

I've heard a lot of folks say how much more active their baby became when they added a good UVB light to the enclosure.

We set up a completely new enclosure, humidity is ranging between 70%-80%, temps are around 90-95 degrees. She has always had a UVB bulb on her and she gets regular sun... about 4-5 hours a week of unfiltered sunlight. She gets plenty of exercise, I put calcium either in her food or sometimes, mix it in her water. She also gets a very varied diet...

 

[keepergale]

Night time temps above 80 degrees everywhere in its cage?

 

[Joshua R Dimpfl]

Night time temps above 80 degrees everywhere in its cage?

Night time temps aren't 80+

 

[keepergale]

Tortoises being ectothermic animals
need an outside heat source. During the night if it's not warm enough its metabolism will slow. Growth, digestion etc. A "warmer" baby will outgrow cool one.
Since you are keeping your tortoise with relatively high humidity you are greatly increasing your tortoises risk of a respiratory problems. High humidity is good but it goes hand in hand with higher temps.

 

[keepergale]

I didn't like my last post.
The high humidity for your tortoise is good. You just need to keep it warm all the time. The night time heater of choice is a ceramic heat emitter.
A good heat source without any unwanted night time lighting.

 

[Greg T]

It sounds like you are doing things the right way. Foods are great, outdoor sunlight is good, humidity is fine. I have seen some go through growth spurts like people do, so possibly this is just a slow growth stage. My male stayed small and then almost doubled in size in one year once he reached 5 years old. As long as they are active and eating well, you just need to keep doing what you are doing.

 

[diamondbp]

Are you supplementing her? Calcium?

How frequent is your soaking?

 

[Neal]

Not to inundate you here with a bunch of questions, but how are you measuring heat and humidity? is the 90 - 95 degrees the hottest in any area of your enclosure?

How often are you feeding her?

 

[Joshua R Dimpfl]

Heya guys, sorry it took me a bit to respond. Anywhom, where to start...

As far as night time temps go, I read some places that between 70-80F at night was okay? Correct me if this is wrong. I tend to have her lights on a timer, so they have a 12/12 cycle...

She does get calcium. She has access to not only a cuttle bone, but also calcium rich foods, calcium dusted food and sometimes even calcium in her water. She soaks around once or twice a day.

As far as measuring heat and humidity, I just picked up a digital thermometer and hygrometer from work this afternoon and installed it just now. I will update as far as what the levels are in a bit. Before I was using those old analog thermometer/hygrometers... 95-98F was the hottest spot.

Tusk gets fed about twice a day. Once in the morning before I go to work and once in the evening when my wife comes home...

 

[Joshua R Dimpfl]

Looks like its reading 99.5F with 87% humidity at the moment.