I have two 42mm Golden Greek Tortoise . My turtle case is 20 inches, I use powersun 100w 12hr per day, the temperature of the center of the case is 84F. The cold corner area is 80F. The humitity is 32-35%. I've raised them for three months already. One of the turtles are healthy. But the other one has been sick for about three weeks. He has a problem. He is always out of energy. When I pick him up, he is very tierd and out of energy, he just closes his eyes and not move all day. When I give him food, he eats a little bit. But then, the next few days he doesn't eat at all. He is very skinny. And, his shell got softer. Does anyone know what kind of problem this is? Is there a way to give him more energy? Or I can buy any vitamin or something for my turtle? And if my turtle does not eat, is there a way to make him eat the vitamin or something? I have NutriBAC where you put it in the water, and then put the turtle into the water, but he does not drink the water. Thank you.
Golden Greek Tortoise is sick. Help!
- Thread starter Waiman
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What is the temp of your basking area? It sounds like you need to start by increasing the temps. Are his eyes and nose clear? I would get him to a vet asap. The vet can give you some calcium for his soft shell and check him for any other illnesses. Good luck!
I don't do the metric too well. Are you saying that your 42 mm tortoises are babies? Is that about 2" in a straight line from front to back?
Are you sure that your light is putting out UVB? Tortoises absolutely have to have UVB, either from the sun or from a good light bulb, in order to make vitamin d3. Without that vitamin, the calcium won't work. And that's why shells get soft.
So, the first order of business is to be sure your light is putting out the necessary UVB.
Then get some liquid calcium from the vet and give it to him orally. It would also help to pick up some Critical Care from the vet at the same time. That's a powdered food that you mix with water and give to the tortoise orally.
Sorry...I should have started out this way:
Hi Waiman:
Welcome to the forum!! May we know your name and where you're located?
Are you sure that your light is putting out UVB? Tortoises absolutely have to have UVB, either from the sun or from a good light bulb, in order to make vitamin d3. Without that vitamin, the calcium won't work. And that's why shells get soft.
So, the first order of business is to be sure your light is putting out the necessary UVB.
Then get some liquid calcium from the vet and give it to him orally. It would also help to pick up some Critical Care from the vet at the same time. That's a powdered food that you mix with water and give to the tortoise orally.
Sorry...I should have started out this way:
Hi Waiman:
Welcome to the forum!! May we know your name and where you're located?
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yes, your torts need vitamins. i use this:
http://www.google.com/products/cata...og_result&ct=result&resnum=4&ved=0CEEQ8wIwAw#
in the pink container you can buy it almost anywhere.
this should be coupled with a good, varied, healthy diet. what are you feeding them? where did you get them and how were they housed before? it sounds like you could be dealing with hatchling failure syndrome, possibly. you could do a little more humidity but my humidity medians in the 40's, so i don't know how much difference 5% makes. do you soak them in warm water for ~15 minutes every day? i think 80 degrees is warm enough to keep them not cold, but you should have a basking spot under the heat lamp that should be around 100 degrees.
i think your tortoise needs calcium and vitamins. the shell getting soft means that your tortoise's blood stream is taking calcium out of it's shell and bones to keep it in the blood. this is very bad, by the time the shell gets soft, there may not be much hope. i'm sorry to tell you that!
you need to get it to the vet, they can give you liquid calcium that you inject them with every day. this is the best and fastest way to get calcium into your tort. get the rep-cal, sprinkle it on their food every day, and give them lots of soaks. if you have another container you could put the sick tort in this is something you should do.
welcome to the forum, and thank you for giving us so much info on how your tortoise is housed!
http://www.google.com/products/cata...og_result&ct=result&resnum=4&ved=0CEEQ8wIwAw#
in the pink container you can buy it almost anywhere.
this should be coupled with a good, varied, healthy diet. what are you feeding them? where did you get them and how were they housed before? it sounds like you could be dealing with hatchling failure syndrome, possibly. you could do a little more humidity but my humidity medians in the 40's, so i don't know how much difference 5% makes. do you soak them in warm water for ~15 minutes every day? i think 80 degrees is warm enough to keep them not cold, but you should have a basking spot under the heat lamp that should be around 100 degrees.
i think your tortoise needs calcium and vitamins. the shell getting soft means that your tortoise's blood stream is taking calcium out of it's shell and bones to keep it in the blood. this is very bad, by the time the shell gets soft, there may not be much hope. i'm sorry to tell you that!
you need to get it to the vet, they can give you liquid calcium that you inject them with every day. this is the best and fastest way to get calcium into your tort. get the rep-cal, sprinkle it on their food every day, and give them lots of soaks. if you have another container you could put the sick tort in this is something you should do.
welcome to the forum, and thank you for giving us so much info on how your tortoise is housed!
I would start Maggie's magic baby soak right away. Soak the little one in baby food carrots and some warm water. Use the whole jar of baby food, not just a little. You can also soak him in a bird vitamin called VITASOL, which is also another remedy Maggie uses. Keep the water warm, do not let him get a chill. If I were you I would call the vet before it gets too late and they start to charge emergency hours. They can prescribe a liquid calcium which will help the shell. Up the temps you want him roasty toasty. I would also seperate them if you haven't done so already, make a little hospital box so you can keep him warm. I am sure Maggie will be along shortly with her wonderful advice, she is the hatchling saver!
How high is your power sun from the back of the torties, if it's only 84 under it I am thinking you have it too high. I have the same bulb and it's mega toasty right under it.
What about calcium, do you add any to their food?
I am sure more advice will be coming soon. Keep us posted on the little guy, I hope he feels better soon.
How high is your power sun from the back of the torties, if it's only 84 under it I am thinking you have it too high. I have the same bulb and it's mega toasty right under it.
What about calcium, do you add any to their food?
I am sure more advice will be coming soon. Keep us posted on the little guy, I hope he feels better soon.
How old is your powersun bulb? and do what eveybody else said it should help keep us posted
emysemys said:
Yes, they are babies.
emysemys said:
I have Solarmeter 6.2 UVB Meter, they like to stay in the all day area and have 50uw/cm2 and 84F. And the case corner has 25uw/cm2.
emysemys said:
My real name is Waiman, I'm from NY. thank you for your help.
moswen said:
Thank you for your information.
I feeding him with dandelion greens, cabbage green, eruca sativa Mill, White Clover, Trogan collaris, watercress.
I bought it online. I soak them in warm water 30min every days. I have Basking 93-96F.
Torty Mom said:
I will buy the baby food and try it tomorrow. But the problem is that he does not eat, and not drink water. He will have one day very alive and walking and play 3-4hr and eat very little, then 5-7 days he does not eat and not move any more! It alreay happen 3 times like that!!! He weight is 10/05/10 = 40mm 15.60g, 11/05/10 = 41mm 21.77g, 12/05/10 = 42mm 22.93g, 01/05/11 = 42mm 21.69g.
Thank you.
coreyc said:
Oh! sorry, I have mistick. the bulb I use is SunForce Mercury Vapor Bulb 70w, (not powersun 100w). 11" high and witer.
I have bought the new version ZooMed PowerSun 100w from PETCO and returned, because with deep dome 12" only 35 μW/cm2.
Thank you.
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Waiman said:
i think we found your problem! well, what i think your problem is, anyways!
the Sun Force, while being an MVB, does not produce active UVB, am i correct? i'm pretty sure i know what you're talking about, did it come in a black box?
if on the box, it does not say that it provides both UVA and UVB, then we've got some good ideas about what's wrong with your tort. torts need uvb to survive, uva and uvb are what allow your tortoise to absorb the calcium in it's system. without these two paramount lights your tortoise can not absorb calcium that it's eating into it's blood stream. it sounds like you've got a good diet going, you could vary it a little more by buying some spring mix from your grocery store. it's in the same area as the lettuces and it will either come in a plastic bag or a plastic tub. your little hatchling could be suffering from mbd. that would be causing him to have no energy, because his bones aren't strong enough to keep him up. this could also be why his shell is soft.
i would strongly suggest taking the bulb and old clamp lamp back to the store and getting the powersun bulb, and also getting a bigger clamp lamp to fit it!
also, i wonder why you've said for 3 days he'll have energy, then 5-7 days he will be lethargic like this? you've said it has happened 3 times? i have no idea how he could be up and walking around and then lethargic again in 3 days. especially if he's got mbd, like i think. someone else will have to help out with this one!
and i would strongly recommend the baby carrot soak as previously mentioned. even though he may not eat or drink, it can only help if he does happen to drink a bit, especially with it smelling so tantalizingly tasty. i did not know until i had problems with one of my hatchlings, every single one of my tortoises loves it when i take a potato peeler to a few carrot sticks and then i dice the peelings up. and my little sick one loved her baby carrot food soaks! she drank a lot!
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wandering blindly? what is that? what are they doing when you say that? how can that be linked to pneumonia? this is interesting, i've never heard that before. if it was pneumonia, could they have that with a clear nose and no wheezing?
mine did had all the symptoms he's stating. its on the tortoise trust under common diseases of tortoises.the nostril discharge was hard too spot on mine.long story short went too vet got baytril did several injections tort better now.
What Waiman's tortoise is going through sounds more like MBD, or metabolic bone disease, than pneumonia.
Waiman, somehow you have to get some Vitamin D and calcium into your tortoise. Getting a bulb that puts out UV will help, and will keep your other tortoise from getting sick, but the sick one needs help right away.
You need to get a food that is strong tasting and bright and tempting. Babyfood squash or carrots will work. Then you need some calcium powder for reptiles, the kind that has Vitamin D3 in it. Mix some of the powder with the baby food, and offer it to your tortoise daily. Keep doing warm water soaks with the baby food and vitamins in it. You can mix some of the calcium powder in the water too. You will need to do this for some time until your baby's shell hardens back up.
The bright color and strong taste/smell of the baby food will hide the taste of the powder and the baby will be more likely to eat it. You need to start giving it the calcium powder with Vitamin D3 right away.
Waiman, somehow you have to get some Vitamin D and calcium into your tortoise. Getting a bulb that puts out UV will help, and will keep your other tortoise from getting sick, but the sick one needs help right away.
You need to get a food that is strong tasting and bright and tempting. Babyfood squash or carrots will work. Then you need some calcium powder for reptiles, the kind that has Vitamin D3 in it. Mix some of the powder with the baby food, and offer it to your tortoise daily. Keep doing warm water soaks with the baby food and vitamins in it. You can mix some of the calcium powder in the water too. You will need to do this for some time until your baby's shell hardens back up.
The bright color and strong taste/smell of the baby food will hide the taste of the powder and the baby will be more likely to eat it. You need to start giving it the calcium powder with Vitamin D3 right away.
moswen said:
No. I'm very sure not the UVB.
The SunForce Mercury Vapor Bulb 70w is UVA/UVB Bulb, I have Solarmeter 6.2 UVB Meter, and I have Zoomed 10.0, Zoomed 5.0 and Mega-Ray SB 100w. But anyway I will try change to use Mega-Ray SB 100w.
SunForce Mercury Vapor Bulb:
http://www.bigappleherp.com/Sun-Force-Mercury-Vapor-Bulbs?sc=2&category=20
Some tortoises need more D3 than others. If you have adequate lighting and your baby is failing, you need to get the powdered calcium with D3 in his system quickly. When the plastron goes soft, and they are lethargic and won't open their eyes, they are getting bad and need treatment right away.
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