Baby tort wont eat

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cuppidsarrows

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so I have two baby torts (hatched August 2009) one is about 2 inches and the other is maybe half that size. The little guy in recent days has refused to eat anything and in addition rarely wakes up on his own I usually have to wake him up by putting him under the uv bulb but even then he has issues waking up. Im getting really worried because I haven't changed there diet at all. They are eating spring mix with dandelion greens and on occasion dandelion flowers. I also put calcium powder on there food about 3 times a week. I have not noticed any fighting or bullying from the bigger tort but Im not sure what is going on with him, i think Im doing everything right. Has any one else experienced this? Could it have to due with the time of year (because of hibernation and all) should I maybe give them there own cages for a while till the little guy bulks up?
 

kimber_lee_314

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Can you tell us what kind of tort and what your set up is like? (Temps, humidity ...etc)
 

cuppidsarrows

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I have a desert tort, The area hottest area is 100 and the surrounding ares are in the 80's to high 70's and not sure about the humidity but I usually spray down their cage two times a day sometimes three
 

kimber_lee_314

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Is he hydrated well enough? Are you leaving the light on 12-14 hours a day?
 
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Maggie Cummings

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I would start soaking them again on a regular schedule. I would put them in for a soak first thing when the light goes on in the morning. Then take them out of the water after about 10 minutes and put them in front of their food. That way they are warm and awake so they should eat. Take the one who's not eating and put him close in front of your face and look for a snot bubble and listen to the sound of his breathing. Hold him still by your ear and close in to your face. You can catch a resp infection that way. I mean discover not catch...ha ha ...Desert tort babies are very fragile and I personally would never have an inexperienced keeper have any, for exactly just this reason. They stop eating for no apparent reason and it is very hard to get them on the right track again.
So take both of my suggestions and please keep us posted. You might want to take the one who's not eating to the Vet if you have a good reptile Vet. If he has a resp infection you'll want to get him on antibiotics right away, that's why I am suggesting a Vet now...
 

cuppidsarrows

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I will definitely try your suggestions, I have a total of 4 so not too inexperienced and he is the only one who is having issues so Im ready to try anything really.
 

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How cold does it get during the 12 hours with the light off? It won't hurt any thing to warm up your temps a little, while also following Maggies' advice. When I have a problem, I also like to keep them warm at night too. Around 80ish. Also, even though it might add a little stress you could move him to his own enclosure to see if he is a bit stressed by the other one. Or you could remove the other one from his enclosure and put it in the new enclosure.
 
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Maggie Cummings

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cuppidsarrows said:
I will definitely try your suggestions, I have a total of 4 so not too inexperienced and he is the only one who is having issues so Im ready to try anything really.

OK...4...that means he's being bullied, I'd bet the farm on it. Now I am suggesting you separate him from the rest and set him up in a little "hospital" tank for a while. Even if you don't see him being bullied there's mental bullying that happens. Don't worry about having or not having a UVB bulb. Just use a regular incandescent bulb, add a black light bulb so he stays warm at night and you'll want him to be a little warmer then normal during the day. So you'll have the 2 lights on and then do what I suggested before about the soaking/feeding/listening. He either has a respiratory infection or he's being bullied.
I used to head start desert tort babies so every year I'd have a new clutch of babies and I'd keep them until they were around a year old. I am good at it, I wish I had kept track of the number of them, well over a hundred I imagine...anyhow, you have my suggestions now I hope you are able to do them and please keep me posted...

Roachman26 said:
How cold does it get during the 12 hours with the light off? It won't hurt any thing to warm up your temps a little, while also following Maggies' advice. When I have a problem, I also like to keep them warm at night too. Around 80ish. Also, even though it might add a little stress you could move him to his own enclosure to see if he is a bit stressed by the other one. Or you could remove the other one from his enclosure and put it in the new enclosure.

When you have a hatchling this young from a species that is this seriously fragile when one stops eating I don't want him to cool off at all. I want her to keep a black light bulb on him all night. I want him to be kept warmer then normal all day long as well. I want him to be set up alone in a 'hospital' setting. I think he is being bullied.

I see our posts are 3 minutes apart...you could type faster than I because Bob didn't bite off the pad of your index finger like he did mine. It's hard to type and hard to use my mouse. I have a big open wound on my finger that I think got infected from cleaning out a filter from a water turtles tank. I prolly got salmonella poisoning and I am gonna lose my hand or croak!
 

Sudhira

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Maggie, are you serious? I know someone who got a MRSA infection that very same way.

(methicillin resistant staph aureus ) Keep close watch !
 
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Maggie Cummings

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Sudhira said:
Maggie, are you serious? I know someone who got a MRSA infection that very same way.

(methicillin resistant staph aureus ) Keep close watch !

He bit it off yesterday and today it is hot and painful and definitely infected. I keep my hands clean but last night I did clean the filter from my water turtles tank, and I thought about salmonella while I was cleaning the filter...I probably shouldn't have done it. Yep, I'll watch it, get redder and I'll watch it get redder...:rolleyes:
 

Tom

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Ahhhh. A life lived with animals. I've had a few weird maladies and bites myself.
 

cuppidsarrows

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Thanks everyone for all the help! this morning while feeding them I noticed a good deal of bullying so I am off to buy another cage for the little guy.
 

Stephanie Logan

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Okay, this is an official hijacking of the thread here...Maggie, I am assuming you've already applied hydrogen peroxide and/or neosporin (I know you keep some of that around for your pets).

Does this wound need stitches? How long has it been "getting redder"? Is it hot to the touch? Swollen?

I made the mistake once of letting a cat bite on Anthony's shin sit for a few days, and when I saw how ugly and infected it was, took him into urgent care, where they had to run an IV of antibiotics, while injecting local anasthesia, then cutting the wound open and flushing it out with a syringe...and they told me if I had waited much longer Anthony would have had to be hospitalized...

Get ye to the physician post haste, woman!
 
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Maggie Cummings

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Stephanie Logan said:
Okay, this is an official hijacking of the thread here...Maggie, I am assuming you've already applied hydrogen peroxide and/or neosporin (I know you keep some of that around for your pets).

Does this wound need stitches? How long has it been "getting redder"? Is it hot to the touch? Swollen?

I made the mistake once of letting a cat bite on Anthony's shin sit for a few days, and when I saw how ugly and infected it was, took him into urgent care, where they had to run an IV of antibiotics, while injecting local anasthesia, then cutting the wound open and flushing it out with a syringe...and they told me if I had waited much longer Anthony would have had to be hospitalized...

Get ye to the physician post haste, woman!

Sorry Steph...I am not one to run to a Doctor for every wound or wheeze. It hurts but I have had worse...

In rereading my advice post I kept using the words "I want, I want" I am sorry for the way that reads. I am just making suggestions, but they are about a species I know a lot about and I raised so many babies I recognize certain symptoms and I know just how hard they are to bring back from the brink, so I really was just trying to make the OP to be sure they understood how serious this condition is...So please forgive me for not being more polite...:)...I didn't mean to sound the way it does. And I hope you will continue to ask questions and keep us posted on the guy who's not eating...
 

cuppidsarrows

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Ok we put the little guy in the new cage and he already seems to be a bit more active. I noticed that he ate a bit and was walking around looking at his new home. Before all he would do is stay in the cave and now he as at least out and active.

How long will he be ok with no UV bulb? If after about a week or so (as to not stress him out because of the new environment) take him outside for the sun every day for 15 or 20 minutes?
 

kimber_lee_314

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I don't use UV on a lot of my torts in the winter. My vet says a minimum of 30 minutes a week is okay. Being in So cal, I can usually get that in, but I keep UV bulbs ready just in case we have a long period of rainy/cold weather.
 
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