Hatchling Failure Syndrome, or not enough calcium?

B31415

New Member
Joined
Aug 22, 2017
Messages
9
Location (City and/or State)
United States
Hello all,

I am concerned about my five month old sulcata. He hasn’t been doing so well. He was sick when I received him three months ago. He has already completed one course of oral antibiotics. I took him to the vet again because I didn’t think his respiratory infection was ever fixed, and found out he still had the respiratory infection and also had a parasite problem. He has been wormed and is continuing to take antibiotics for his respiratory infection.

I am making this post because he had a new set of growth rings that grew in almost overnight. It has a pale color compared to his other growth rings. I also noticed that this new growth had a tiny pin hole looking dent in it. I realized immediately something was wrong. Upon further inspection, I noticed that his shell is somewhat pliable. Much more so than it seemed to be whenever I first got him.

Here’s a photo of the new growth ring that is a pale color, and a photo of his shell where it seems either he dinged himself on his hide, or I did it while inspecting his shell.

I’m nervous that things are not looking so good for him because he felt lighter than usual whenever I picked him up earlier today. He has had diarrhea for the past day and a half. I have fed only greens and weeds for the past day as a result. I plan on giving him a long bath after posting this to the forum and keeping him even more hydrated than usual. (Note: I don’t have a gram scale, so the part about him weighing less may be entirely in my head.)

His back legs look swollen. I know without a doubt that he is not an overweight tortoise. He can tuck his head all the way into his shell and cover his face with his arms.

Diet: Zoo Med’s version of Mazuri (twice a week with greens), Spring Mix, Mustard Greens, Fluker’s Tortoise Diet (about two teaspoons daily, 5 or 6 days a week), Bites for Tortoise (just a few squares 3 days out of the week), fresh wheatgrass clippings daily, and he eats bermuda grass out of my front yard several days a week. I supplement with Zoo-Med’s Calcium WITH D3 because my tort stays inside his hide a LOT. I sprinkle his food with a fair amount of the supplement daily. I don’t measure it out, but I thought he was receiving the amount of calcium that he needed. There is also a 10.0 UVB light on 14 hours a day.

He gets a bath every other day, though I have increased it to daily within the past week since he began antibiotics.

My tort was inactive and did not eat much before I took him to the vet for antibiotics, but he began to act more active once he began the antibiotics.

IMPORTANT QUESTIONS: Does this seem like hatchling failure syndrome to you? What should I change about his diet if this is a case of him not receiving enough calcium? Could the medication being given affect shell growth?


Screenshot_20170915-153422.png Screenshot_20170915-153458 (1).png Screenshot_20170915-160224.png
 

Yvonne G

Old Timer
TFO Admin
10 Year Member!
Platinum Tortoise Club
Joined
Jan 23, 2008
Messages
93,388
Location (City and/or State)
Clovis, CA
that's a lot of new growth. however, i don't see the area of concern.

to tighten up the loose stool, you feed more grass.

the shell looks great to me.
 

B31415

New Member
Joined
Aug 22, 2017
Messages
9
Location (City and/or State)
United States
What about the softer texture of his shell? Give more calcium?
And are his swollen legs something to worry about?
 

Yvonne G

Old Timer
TFO Admin
10 Year Member!
Platinum Tortoise Club
Joined
Jan 23, 2008
Messages
93,388
Location (City and/or State)
Clovis, CA
do you mean the poochy skin above the legs? that's probably water retention. might be something to worry about, and then again, might be nothing.

if you give more calcium he won't eat it. just be sure to feed a calcium rich diet along with real sun or a GOOD UVB light.
 

Yvonne G

Old Timer
TFO Admin
10 Year Member!
Platinum Tortoise Club
Joined
Jan 23, 2008
Messages
93,388
Location (City and/or State)
Clovis, CA
well, don't feed him the sun or the light, but you get the picture, right?
 

Bee62

Well-Known Member
Joined
Nov 13, 2016
Messages
11,981
Location (City and/or State)
Germany
Can you show us some pics of the enclosure of your tort and tell us the temps and humidity ? With this parameters we can see if there are deeper problems.
 

B31415

New Member
Joined
Aug 22, 2017
Messages
9
Location (City and/or State)
United States
Here's his enclosure. The water looks funny because it's how the vet told me to give him his antibiotics.
His food dish isn't in the enclosure at the moment, but it's a small flat dish that goes in front of his hide. His hide has sphagnum moss inside to keep it humid. Substrate is repti-bark. I tried coco coir and it was way too messy for this little guy.
He's in a 25 gallon terrarium with two open sides so it gets plenty of ventilation.
The basking spot stays around 100 during the day (it's on 14 hours) with an ambient temp of about 80 in the cooler spots of the tank, at night there's a nocturnal heat bulb I use that keeps the tank about 90-70 degrees. My tank doesn't drop below 68 degrees ever, even if the AC is full blast. (Is this too cold for high humidity?)
I haven't had the humidity where I would like it lately because my tortoise has been so congested. It has stayed about 40-50% while he has been sick because either was worried it was making it harder for him to breathe. I would like to keep the humidity within 60-80% by misting a few times a day once his sniffles are gone.
 

Attachments

  • Screenshot_20170915-192613.png
    Screenshot_20170915-192613.png
    1 MB · Views: 51

Bee62

Well-Known Member
Joined
Nov 13, 2016
Messages
11,981
Location (City and/or State)
Germany
Hello,
68 F at night is much too cold for high humidity and a sick baby tort.
Let night temps never drop under 80 F.
Your day temps are alright.
High humidity and warm temps are the best for a sick tortoise. Don`t fear that your baby can`t breathe well in high humidity.
And soak your baby every day in warm water that stays warm during the soak.
 

Bee62

Well-Known Member
Joined
Nov 13, 2016
Messages
11,981
Location (City and/or State)
Germany
What do you mean with that your tort lives in an 25 gallon terrarium with two open sides ? How much are the sides open ?
When there is a draft it makes the tort sick.
 

B31415

New Member
Joined
Aug 22, 2017
Messages
9
Location (City and/or State)
United States
What do you mean with that your tort lives in an 25 gallon terrarium with two open sides ? How much are the sides open ?
When there is a draft it makes the tort sick.
I mean that the top of the terrarium and one of the sides open. It's not drafty, I just meant that it's not stagnant and smelly.
 

B31415

New Member
Joined
Aug 22, 2017
Messages
9
Location (City and/or State)
United States
Thanks for your help! What would you suggest I do to raise the temp at night, simply buy a higher wattage bulb?
 

Melis

Well-Known Member
Joined
Aug 9, 2017
Messages
509
Location (City and/or State)
Maryland
How does the antibiotics in the water work? Is the vet saying the tort will drink it? How do you know the proper amount is ingested?
 

Tom

The Dog Trainer
10 Year Member!
Platinum Tortoise Club
Joined
Jan 9, 2010
Messages
63,264
Location (City and/or State)
Southern California
Thanks for your help! What would you suggest I do to raise the temp at night, simply buy a higher wattage bulb?

They need it dark at night. You need a CHE and a thermostat to maintain ambient temperatures day and night.

Read these:
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/beginner-mistakes.45180/
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/how-to-raise-a-healthy-sulcata-or-leopard-version-2-0.79895/
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/for-those-who-have-a-young-sulcata.76744/
 

crimson_lotus

Well-Known Member
10 Year Member!
Joined
Dec 28, 2013
Messages
1,385
Location (City and/or State)
Massachusetts
I have 2 CHE's on a thermostat for my 4x4 enclosure, plus a UV tube that doesn't emit any heat. You will probably just have to increase the wattage of your bulb as 2 CHE's may be too strong for a 25g.
 
Top