Can anyone tell me what might be going with my baby tortoise. His activity has decreased dramatically and he only stays in one corner of the tank. He has all the appropriate housing conditions and diet. Thanks a lot 
Burmese star baby
- Thread starter Kdw75du
- Start date
What exactly is the appropriate housing and diet conditions? If you got your info from another source then this forum, it's likely wrong info. Also if you are housing two different species together, that's another bad info you got!
We need exact temps, basking, over all, night. Exact bulbs and heat sources. Exact humidity, diet, etc.
We need exact temps, basking, over all, night. Exact bulbs and heat sources. Exact humidity, diet, etc.
Megatron's Mom
Well-Known Member
I hope the experienced members can help you.
I can't tell from the picture but are those back legs swollen and is that a tapeworm going from foot to foot?
I would soak for at least 30 mins, it can help that swelling and get some needed hydration.
I can't tell from the picture but are those back legs swollen and is that a tapeworm going from foot to foot?
I would soak for at least 30 mins, it can help that swelling and get some needed hydration.
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What is that brown thing between his leg and tail? Is that a piece of substrate? Is it loose or stuck in him? Or is it poop? When sending a picture showing a problem, why didn't you remove that from him? I'm just wondering if there was a reason for leaving it?
And his legs look swollen to me too. Have you checked all around him under his carapace to look for anything stuck under there? You'd be surprised how much stuff can accumulate between their skin and shell.
And his legs look swollen to me too. Have you checked all around him under his carapace to look for anything stuck under there? You'd be surprised how much stuff can accumulate between their skin and shell.
What are the four temperatures? Warm side, cool side, basking area, and over night low?
What sort of heating and lighting are you using?
Closed chamber or open top?
There is another tortoise in the picture. What species is that? How many tortoises are in this enclosure?
Hi and welcome. All the questions that folks here are asking you are not to put you off and are not meant to annoy you, even though they may seem irrelevant. The questions are all specifically geared towards arriving at a meaningful and correct conclusion and recommendation for your tortoise's benefit. Please try to answer them as best you can, thanks.
The enclosure is sprayed down twice maybe three times a day. It is by itself in separate enclosure only time he was with other species was when the guy shipped him along with 6 cherry heads. He lives next to the others but in separate enclosure. There is a heating pad under enclosure and a lamp above the enclosure. The lamp was bought off Amazon and has no writing on the bulb. The temp is between 80-85. He eats a romaine lettuce occasionally Squash mixed in along with baby mazuri. The substrate is coconut husk and peat moss. Sorry about not removing it from the picture. The only abnormality is the swelling seen in the picture. All the other tortoises are doing great that were shipped together. Thanks alot
First his diet needs to be greatly improved. Need to add a much bigger and better variety.
Also heat pads are not to be used for babies/young ones.
Tom can help you further.
Also heat pads are not to be used for babies/young ones.
Tom can help you further.
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It looks as though this tortoise is suffering from kidney failure, judging by the swollen tissue protruding from its rear leg sockets.
Is it still eating? And do you soak it daily for 20-30 minutes in lukewarm water?
Welcome to the best resource you will find to help you take good care of your tortoise. You will probably find that everything you thought you were doing right (based on pet store or the breeders care information) is wrong. I hope you don’t feel reprimanded or criticized. The experienced members here are just trying to help educate those of us who love our tortoises but don’t have experience. Hang in here and you will get the information you need to help your tortoises have their best lives.
There shouln't be any moss in the substrate, as it can be swallowed, but doesn't get digested -which can cause impaction, with serious consequences. Please take the moss away from your other tortoises too.
Angie
Do you have any source of uva and uvb? Also I would suggest switching from an open to closed enclosure unless you live in an area that the humidity stays between 80-85%. Lastly, if possible I would take it to an exotic vet to see if they can address exactly what's going on. Not trying to preach but just went through this myself (not the swelling but having to change enclosure/diet) as I got bad advice from the seller.
Thanks for all the advice I really appreciate it. I have an appointment with a reptile vet near me Tuesday. To answer some of the questions I have a dual uva/uvb light above the enclosure. He has not eaten in last two days and is very sedentary. The breeder also told me I can feed him parsley and cilantro so it is given very limited cause I never heard of that before. Any more advice would be greatly appreciated. O and yes he soaks for roughly 15-20 mins day.
Yes, cilantro, and parsley. Also endive, arugula, water cress, ridicchio, escarole, dandelion, cactus pads, to name a few. If you can get natural weeds and flowers that would be best.
Check here for safe items
Check here for safe items
The Tortoise Table - Home
The Tortoise Table plant database and resource site for Tortoise owners
www.thetortoisetable.org.uk
Thank u for advice
Are all of the tortoises from the same breeder? Are you sure they are actually breeding the tortoises rather than buying and reselling animals from other people?
Make sure you keep that tortoise completely isolated. I would only handle it with gloves. Don't let anything it has come in contact with near the other tortoises, especially the food and water bowls.
Make sure you keep that tortoise completely isolated. I would only handle it with gloves. Don't let anything it has come in contact with near the other tortoises, especially the food and water bowls.
I'm seeing a few problems. I'll list them so that you can see what the potential problem might be and fix it. This is not to criticize or insult you, but to help you and your tortoise.
1. Spraying two or three times a day tells me that you have the wrong type of enclosure and it is too dry, and likely too cool due to all the evaporative cooling that is taking place. You need a closed chamber. Closed chambers hold in the heat and humidity and do not need to be sprayed.
2. Heating pads should not be used with tortoises. Its not safe. Ambient heat should be controlled by a thermostat and come from a CHE or a RHP.
3. You need to know what your bulb is. It needs to be a plain incandescent flood bulb. Anything other than that is the wrong bull and can cause all sorts of problems.
4. Where is the temperature 80-85? The whole enclosure needs to be no lower than 80 at night. During the day, ambient should rise into the low 90s all over and there should be a basking area near 100 degrees directly under the bulb.
5. Romain is not a good tortoise food unless you are adding some amendments to it to make it more suitable.
6. Coco coir is okay, but peat moss is not. The long fibered moss will be eaten and can cause impaction. The dirt like peat moss ca burn their plastron. Best to use fine grade orchid bark. Orchid bark will work best for your cherry heads too, and help prevent the shell rot that is so common to them.
7. Be careful taking advice from the vet. Most of them know very little about tortoise care and learn their info from the same wrong sources as everyone else. Misdiagnosis and mistreatment is common, sadly.
8. You need to know what type of bulb you are using.
The info you need is in this thread. It is for people new to this site, not necessarily new to tortoises. If you review this info, and the star tortoise care sheet near the bottom, along with the heating/lighting breakdown, I think you will find the cause of your problem and be able to correct it.
Info For New People. Please Read This First.
Hello and welcome to tortoiseforum.org! We are all glad you are here! There is no other forum like this anywhere. We have tens of thousands of members from all over the world ranging from kids with their first tortoise to people who have been breeding and keeping high end tortoises since the...
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