Getting worried with new hatchling...food/shell

[scubatyler]

I had a leopard hatchling that had very similar symptoms to yours. I had to feed it baby food with a feeding needle for a few weeks before it started eating. if finally started to eat a little but was still losing weight so I went back to the vet and he gave me Batryl (antibiotic) that I placed on the ball of the feeding needle before feeding. my tortoise never started to gain weight and I had to give it the antibiotic and feed it with the feeding needle when it would stop eating. I was able to keep it alive for just over a year before he died. I suspect that my tortoise had "failure to thrive" disease which may be a result of organ damage due to dehydration. This took place before I purchased the tortoise at a reptile expo. This December I got a new leopard tortoise hatchling and it is eating great and has went from weighing 40 grams upon arrival to 120 grams. My previous leopard tortoise's weight fluctuated between 24 and 36 grams and its shell never hardened. This goes to show you that providing excellent care and doing everything possible won't always he enough to save a sick leopard tortoise hatchling that cannot fight infection and be strong enough to grow. I wish the best of luck to you. Keep doing what you are doing and make sure all parts of the enclosure are at least 82 degrees with a basking spot around 100. Just don't think you are at fault if it ends up not making it in the end.

 

[Tom]

What type of UV bulb are you using? Is it one of those coil types? That could be the source of your problem. Do you know how the baby was housed before you got him? What substrate was he on?

A brand new hatchling will do fine if given the right conditions, so the age of your tortoise should not matter.

What are your four temps? Cool side, warm side, basking and night?

 

[AndreaT]

Thanks everyone for your advice.

Tom, I have a Reptisun 10.0... the long UVB bulb, not a coil. I know the nastiness of coils because I have a bearded dragon and I had a painted turtle and have always used the long bulbs. I have the Powersun 100w MVB on it's way in the mail. The seller said he was housed on plantation soil (from one of those bricks). As for temps, cool side is in the 70s, warm is in the 90s. Night time is around 70 (I do have a ceramic heater but it's been REALLY warm here so I haven't used it at night). Basking is in low to mid 90s.

I have been bathing him in a babyfood/water mix twice a day. Then warm baths afterwards to get the babyfood off him.

I took him outside about an hour two days ago. Yesterday it stormed so we didn't go outside. Today we went out about 30 minutes. Tomorrow it's supposed to be nice and sunny so outside we will go. He LOVED being outside. Very active and walked a lot. It was so nice to see him like that.

As for food, not sure if he is eating the greens I put in his tank, but I will take the advice from above and add some other foods to it.

Lisa... the soft feels more like a plastic top where it all kinda gives, not butter in a ziploc.

 

[scubatyler]

you really need to get the night time temperature into the 80's. There should be no place in the habitat that is below 80 degrees when you are trying to get a sick hatching to recover. Be sure to keep the humidity up as well. It its weight staying the same or is it getting lighter? if its weight starts to drop and it is not eating you will need to learn how to force feed.

 

[AndreaT]

I'll keep the ceramic heat lamp on at night.

Very good news today though... we were outside over an hour in the warm sunshine and he was eating! Chomping on dandelion weeds and grass I was jumping up and down in excitement! So that is a VERY good sign.

 

[dmmj]

Eating is always a good sign.

 

[Neal]

That's good that you were able to see him eating. Getting tortoises outside always seems to perk them up a bit.

I think your temperatures are fine for a tortoise that eats well and is active as long as your humidity is moderate (say 50% or below). Either way, I would recommend bumping the temperatures up to around 80 on the low side until the tortoise is more established. Warmer temperatures will stimulate their appetite. The temps on your high end are OK, but try bumping the basking spot to around 100 degrees for a few days and see if you notice any improvement.

 

[AndreaT]

Just wanted to update everyone... he passed away today. I feel horrible, but he never ate anything since I got him. He never did better despite everything I did for him. Very sad, but in this case, I think it was the best thing. I don't think he was ever going to get better. He was all tucked in his shell that just broke my heart. I hate to say he's better off because I will miss him, but I just think he was so sick. RIP little guy

 

[Neal]

Sorry to hear that.

Not all hatchlings are born equal, some of them are just not meant to make it.

If you decide on another tortoise, I would recommend an older tortoise until you gain some good experience.

 

[AndreaT]

That is what I plan on doing for sure.

 

[jesst]

I am so sorry for you loss. You did and tried everything that you could to help the little guy.

 

[lisalove]

My heart is sad for you!

 

[tortoiselover+breeder1234]

I really do feel sorry for you! I hope everything turns out alright!

 

[*Barracuda_50*]

Awwww thats sad, very sorry for your loss..