baby leopard sick

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love my reptiles

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Hi my names ruddy im from miami, fl. im new to this. im really worried i have a baby leopard tortoise about 5 months old he's really sick i think his shell is kinda soft he docent really open his eyes and he sleeps a lot i need help can some one tell me what should i do? please i really love him and the last thing i want is from him or her to pass thank you
 

Fernando

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He needs to go to the Vet. Is he out in the sun? Calcium? What's the diet looks like? Enclosure? Soaks?
 

dmarcus

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+1 with Fernando. Your tortoise needs a vet, but we need to know what conditions he is being kept in and his diet so that we can possibley help you in the mean time.
 

SulcataSquirt

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love my reptiles said:
Hi my names ruddy im from miami, fl. im new to this. im really worried i have a baby leopard tortoise about 5 months old he's really sick i think his shell is kinda soft he docent really open his eyes and he sleeps a lot i need help can some one tell me what should i do? please i really love him and the last thing i want is from him or her to pass thank you

Hi, sorry to hear about your leopard. lets go over how your keeping your baby. What type of lights do you have on him? what size cage? what type of substrate? whats the basking temp? what is the cool side temp? what about nighttime temp? whats the humidity in the cage? have you been giving a calcium supplement? what are you feeding him? id suggest you need to get to a exotic vet asap. in the mean time get some baby food either carrots, squash, sweet potato any of those will work then take a bowl a little bigger than your tortoise and put the baby food in their and mix in warm water about an inch deep total and soak your tortoise in their for atleast 30 mins. you will want to put him under his basking lamp when doing this to keep him warm. have you seen any bubbles from the nose or mouth?
 

Tom

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Hi Ruddy. Is he still able to move around on his own? If so, I'd get him outdoors in a safe enclosure as much as possible. Just make sure he has lots of shade available.

Are you using one of those coil type florescent UV bulbs indoors? Turn it off right away if yes. We've seen lots of cases of those damaging tortoise eyes here on the forum.

We need a lot more info to help you, but I agree with everyone else that you probably need a good reptile vet at this point.
 

Yvonne G

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Hi Love My Reptiles:

Before I commit your name to memory, I just want to be sure you haven't made a typo. Is your name "Ruddy" or is it "Rudy?"

Welcome to the tortoise Forum!!

Soft shell is from lack of calcium/UVB/vitamin D.

Babies can and do come back from this with aggressive treatment. But it would be good for you to start with a reputable tortoise vet so you have support right there where you are, and not from us folks so far away from you.
 

love my reptiles

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HI omg thank you so much for everyones information. and yes sorry my name is rudy. um well i have him in a 20 long, with hay. also he only likes greens wont eat anything else. i have a repticon uvb light bulb and a purple heat lamp. one side is 90 and the other about 75. im taking him to a vet on friday its the earliest i can take him or her. im worried though because i've read that the vets like giving them vitamin shots and i read from another person that it made there tortoise worse. yvonne im going to do that you said with the baby food and water meanwhile is there anything else like a vitamin i can soak him in with water that you know of? once again i want to thank everyone trying to help me god bless all of you.
 

wrmitchell22

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We would all love to help you, we just need a little more info, welcome to TFO

wrmitchell22 said:
We would all love to help you, we just need a little more info, welcome to TFO

Ok, think I typed that 1st one at the same time as you were answering, lol!


Does he ever get natural sunlight or calcium supplements? Have you been soaking him on a regular basis?
I would try to get him natural sunlight and a good warm soak then feed him some mazuri if you have it.
 

dmmj

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Don't let them convince you to get a vitamin shot, they are about worthless with tortoises. He will need liquid calcium most likely. Hope he gets better.
 

love my reptiles

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i haven't seen him make any bubbles out of his nose. and he moves around but barely. i will start taking him out to the sun . and yes i soak him everyday he loves drinking water. and yes i have the mazuri pellets but he doesn't like them. i also have a sulcata tort about a year old he loves the mazuri and he's gotten so big and healthy on it. i wish my lepi would eat it but he doesn't. is it true i can give him bird vitamin in his water while he soaks in it?? and the liquid calcium how do i give it to him? thankyou all for the help.
 

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coreyc

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Hello welcome to the forum :) sorry to hear about your leo:( you said you also have a sully do you have it in a separate enclosure?
 

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hi sorry its a repiti glo 10.0 uvb exoterra. i use to have them in the same tank but my sulcata got pretty big so had to put him in a separate enclosure. i just got home from work and im doing what sulcatasquirt told me to do which is get baby food i got squash and mix it with his water and let him soak in it. i just put him in. i already made an app. to see the vet on friday. but i want to keep doing things that would make him comfy. thanks my friends for all the help
 

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i want to thank everyone who helped me today. i got some baby food squash mixed it with water and he's being drinking it. since then he started walking around like if he was looking for food so i put in some romaine and carrot tiny bits and he's eating them. im still going to take him on friday. i will keep soaking him with baby food and water and hopes he gets better. thanks goodnight
 

Tom

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Rudy, is your uv bulb a long tube type or the coil type? The coil types can damage their eyes. If his eyes are damaged it could very well cause some lethargy and loss of appetite. Also, if you are using the colored bulb during the day, it MIGHT be upsetting his day night cycles and or appetite.
 

Laura

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if he eats... get a spring mix salad.. its better for him.. the sulcata too.
Hay is not a good subtrate. they can get traction to walk well and it molds when it gets wet.
Bird vitamins can be put in the water, so can liquid calcium, or use a syringe and feed it to him.
Sunshine is very important as well..
 

love my reptiles

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hi my uvb bulb is the coiled one. im going to but him the long tube one now that you tell me. todays he's acting pretty good he's moving around he ate a little.


ok perfect thank you. i bought the bird vitamin and put it in his water he's been drinking it. i've been looking for the liquid calcium but i cant find it. do you know if its made for animals or a specific name i can look for? also how often do i give him the cal. and vit for?? thank you for the help laura.
 

Neal

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How often are you feeding him? Now that he is eating, if I were you, I would use calcium supplement (without D3) at least once a day along with a little bit of mazuri to see if he'll eat that too. Keep that up for....ever :p

Getting out in the sunlight as much as possible will go a long way to make sure he continues to improve and maintains his health.
 

SulcataSquirt

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Hi please turn off the coil light bulb asap. Coil bulbs can cause severe eye problems and blindness. Do a quick google search! You need a mercury vapor bulb!
 

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hi my friends um well i've been soaking him in water mix with squash and he like to drink it. i wish he would eat the mazuri but for some reason he pays no attention to it. im leaving now to go buy a light fixture and a bulb of the long type of uvb. i stopped force feeding him yesterday. and when he's popped the last time its no longer little white goo it now looks like poop little black and a lot more than he use to poop. thank you

btw can some one tell me what would be a good substrate? i have mine in timothy hay.
 
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