dry tortoise shell?

[Yingg]

hi, there are small black flies all over my tortoise enclosure suddenly. i am worried that the enclosure is too moist or there are some pieces of food i forgot to pick up and then the flies came over.

however, the surface of the substrate is VERY dry, only the bottom is moist (she likes to dig) and any food i forget to pick up becomes dry and crispy. i don't know how the small flies could have possibly come in.

i took out my tortoise and poured boiling water over the areas with the most flies on the soil. some flew away, but most got boiled. i put the substrate out to dry. what should i do?

 

[Yingg]

healthy urates, no poop

 

[Yingg]

i think she poops very infrequently. plus, she is not eating much. her last weight was ~600g i think.

 

[Alex and the Redfoot]

hi, there are small black flies all over my tortoise enclosure suddenly. i am worried that the enclosure is too moist or there are some pieces of food i forgot to pick up and then the flies came over.

however, the surface of the substrate is VERY dry, only the bottom is moist (she likes to dig) and any food i forget to pick up becomes dry and crispy. i don't know how the small flies could have possibly come in.

i took out my tortoise and poured boiling water over the areas with the most flies on the soil. some flew away, but most got boiled. i put the substrate out to dry. what should i do?

You can mix top and bottom substrate layers to make it evenly damp. And get some sticky tape traps for fungus gnats.

 

[Yingg]

You can mix top and bottom substrate layers to make it evenly damp. And get some sticky tape traps for fungus gnats.

thanks!

 

[Yingg]

diarrhea, healthy urates, one long poo.

 

[Yingg]

no poop/urates today

 

[Yingg]

no poop, healthy urates

 

[Yingg]

forgot to soak today. look at her picky eating. these are some seedlings from testudo seed mix (i think that's what it's called?) and she completely ignored them.

also, her beak is getting long again. time to trim.

i wonder if there is anyone here in CA who knows how to trim it? I'd rather not have to pay 100 USD+ for a vet... i will post pictures of her beak tmr. it's 4 am here.

i wonder if anyone still views this thread it's basically my tortoise diary now

 

[The_Four_Toed_Edward]

forgot to soak today. look at her picky eating. these are some seedlings from testudo seed mix (i think that's what it's called?) and she completely ignored them.

also, her beak is getting long again. time to trim.

i wonder if there is anyone here in CA who knows how to trim it? I'd rather not have to pay 100 USD+ for a vet... i will post pictures of her beak tmr. it's 4 am here.

i wonder if anyone still views this thread it's basically my tortoise diary now

Maybe make a separate thread to ask where to get a beak trim? I have heard some reptile rescues do them.

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

forgot to soak today. look at her picky eating. these are some seedlings from testudo seed mix (i think that's what it's called?) and she completely ignored them.

also, her beak is getting long again. time to trim.

i wonder if there is anyone here in CA who knows how to trim it? I'd rather not have to pay 100 USD+ for a vet... i will post pictures of her beak tmr. it's 4 am here.

i wonder if anyone still views this thread it's basically my tortoise diary now

lol bless her, not to worry, keep trying her with them and hopefully she’ll take to them

It might be worth making separate threads whenever a question pops up for you

 

[zovick]

forgot to soak today. look at her picky eating. these are some seedlings from testudo seed mix (i think that's what it's called?) and she completely ignored them.

also, her beak is getting long again. time to trim.

i wonder if there is anyone here in CA who knows how to trim it? I'd rather not have to pay 100 USD+ for a vet... i will post pictures of her beak tmr. it's 4 am here.

i wonder if anyone still views this thread it's basically my tortoise diary now

I am reading your posts.

 

[Alex and the Redfoot]

forgot to soak today. look at her picky eating. these are some seedlings from testudo seed mix (i think that's what it's called?) and she completely ignored them.

also, her beak is getting long again. time to trim.

i wonder if there is anyone here in CA who knows how to trim it? I'd rather not have to pay 100 USD+ for a vet... i will post pictures of her beak tmr. it's 4 am here.

i wonder if anyone still views this thread it's basically my tortoise diary now

Try to fine cut seedlings and mix with her familiar foods (romaine lettuce?).

 

[Yingg]

I am reading your posts.

haha that's great! i wouldn't mind if no one was reading them, i just really appreciate if anyone does though, thank you (to everyone here!)

 

[Yingg]

Try to fine cut seedlings and mix with her familiar foods (romaine lettuce?).

yes i've been doing this! i'll probably have to cut it finer though. that way she can't pick it out...

 

[Yingg]

healthy poops! healthy urate!! she ate all her food!!! yay!!!!

 

[Yingg]

healthy poop, no urate! she's been eating a lot

my plastic tub broke. i'm using a makeshift one. it says "PP" with a 5. i looked it up and it's food safe, even if the container was originally meant for shoe storage.

 

[Yingg]

healthy urate, healthy poo

 

[Yingg]

i noticed that recently, these hairs/coconut husk fibers always come out when she soaks. i thinks she poops them out. is it concerning?

 

[Yingg]

my hair is relatively short. it is maybe only 6-8 inches at its longest. i don't spend that much time near her enclosure. i am worried about impaction from eating the hairs... how can i make sure she isn't impacted?

for the past 2 weeks her weight has stayed at 575-580g.