Chapstickglue
New Member
Thanks in advance for replies!
- Leopard tortoise
- ~8 months old
- Male
- Arrived by overnight shipping 1/17/2019
- Arrived with bubble nose
- Currently losing weight
His House:
- Large wood tortoise table from ReptiMed
- UVB light / Ceramic Heater / Blue Heat Bulb / Heat Mat used for heat and light.
- Heat spots vary, 110 degrees, 80 degrees. It's hard to keep a warm environment with an open tortoise table in a drafty home during winter, so he has three hot / warmer spots.
- 2 dark hiding spots
- 1 swimming pool (he has daily soaks before breakfast)
- Paper towel substrate
- No added humidity (60%)
- Cuttle bone available, though he ignores it
*Organic* Diet:
- Dandelion greens with soaked / mashed Mazuri tortoise chow is his staple 5 days a week, with alternating...
- Green kale
- Butter lettuce
- Spinach
- Parsley
- Zucchini
- Broccoli
- Brussels sprouts
- Cactus pads
- Calcium sprinkle once a week
He arrived with a bubble nose and I decided to keep him on paper towel, without added humidity, and increased heat until his bubbles went away. This seems to be resolved now and I am thinking to switch his substrate to cypress mulch with a humidifier next week. I will be aiming toward 75-80% humidity.
He spends most of his time sleeping in a hide spot. He is eating, pooping daily, drinking water (daily soaks), walking around fine, his eyes are clear, his shell is hard, he seems strong. His personality is a little shy, so I try to handle him for a few minutes every other day to help him adjust.
We weigh him weekly:
1/19/19 - 62.68g
1/26/19 - 62.89g
2/2/19 - 62.12g
A loss of 0.77g at this size is very concerning to me. What am I doing wrong?
Thoughts I've had:
- Place him on top of his food more often?
- Feed him fresh food twice a day, not just once?
- Feed more tortoise chow?
- Move the food away from the UVB bulb?
- Add more calcium?
- Soak him twice a day, not once?
- Take out the blue light?
- Add humidity?
- Take him to a vet?
Thank you again for your help!!
-M
- Leopard tortoise
- ~8 months old
- Male
- Arrived by overnight shipping 1/17/2019
- Arrived with bubble nose
- Currently losing weight
His House:
- Large wood tortoise table from ReptiMed
- UVB light / Ceramic Heater / Blue Heat Bulb / Heat Mat used for heat and light.
- Heat spots vary, 110 degrees, 80 degrees. It's hard to keep a warm environment with an open tortoise table in a drafty home during winter, so he has three hot / warmer spots.
- 2 dark hiding spots
- 1 swimming pool (he has daily soaks before breakfast)
- Paper towel substrate
- No added humidity (60%)
- Cuttle bone available, though he ignores it
*Organic* Diet:
- Dandelion greens with soaked / mashed Mazuri tortoise chow is his staple 5 days a week, with alternating...
- Green kale
- Butter lettuce
- Spinach
- Parsley
- Zucchini
- Broccoli
- Brussels sprouts
- Cactus pads
- Calcium sprinkle once a week
He arrived with a bubble nose and I decided to keep him on paper towel, without added humidity, and increased heat until his bubbles went away. This seems to be resolved now and I am thinking to switch his substrate to cypress mulch with a humidifier next week. I will be aiming toward 75-80% humidity.
He spends most of his time sleeping in a hide spot. He is eating, pooping daily, drinking water (daily soaks), walking around fine, his eyes are clear, his shell is hard, he seems strong. His personality is a little shy, so I try to handle him for a few minutes every other day to help him adjust.
We weigh him weekly:
1/19/19 - 62.68g
1/26/19 - 62.89g
2/2/19 - 62.12g
A loss of 0.77g at this size is very concerning to me. What am I doing wrong?
Thoughts I've had:
- Place him on top of his food more often?
- Feed him fresh food twice a day, not just once?
- Feed more tortoise chow?
- Move the food away from the UVB bulb?
- Add more calcium?
- Soak him twice a day, not once?
- Take out the blue light?
- Add humidity?
- Take him to a vet?
Thank you again for your help!!
-M