Hello!

[Melicia]

Good day all!

I am new to the turtle business, so be patient!! I'm a lot better versed on birds, but totally animal crazy.

I got my 2 turtles last night, and I'm wondering if anyone can help me identify them. But here is the catch: I live in South Africa. Would you be able to identify them if I posted pictures? I need to sort out feeding and housing for them, as they are still tiny. They are the same species, but from 2 different clutches of eggs. The larger one was hatched in feb (so we were told), and is now 36 grams. The smaller can't be too old, it still has a tiny bit of egg sack/yolk ( not sure what it is called), and is not eating, but does drink water.

I'm a big fan of google, but you can't google what you can't name!!

O, I meant tortoise, not turtle. (Bad SA manners shining through)

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi Melicia:

to the forum!

Yes, we have some folks on this forum that are quite good at identifying tortoises from pictures. Please post them.

Yvonne

 

[Melicia]

It looked like the bigger one was bullying the smaller one, but I thought I was imagening it. I will split them as soon as I get home. I will post pics on friday at the latest. I am using the pc at work, and the data cable for my phone is not here to download the pictures. Forgot to say, the smaller one is 25 grams.

 

[katesgoey]

Welcome to the forum

 

[Isa]

Welcome to the forum Melicia I can't wait to see the pic of your 2 little ones.

 

[sulcata]

welcome

 

[Stazz]

Welcome Melicia !!! I'm South African too ! Can't wait to see the pics of your new babies. This is the best place for you to learn how to care for them properly. I keep learning everyday !

 

[Crazy1]

Melicia welcome to the forum.

 

[egyptiandan]

Welcome to the forum Melicia

Danny

 

[terryo]

Welcome Melicia!

 

[Melicia]

Good morning all. Thanks for all the warm welcomes. I have pictures of the little ones. If someone could identify them, it would be great. Also, if someone could confirm the thing on the smaller ones belly is a yolk sack?

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[Meg90]

Those are both leopard tortoises, I believe because of the two spots to a scute, that their subspecies is actually Stigmochelys pardalis pardalis.

How are you keeping them? Now that you know their species, please check out the Leopard Lounge: http://tortoiseforum.org/forum-19.html

It will have lots of useful care info there, and you can post about them in that forum, so you will get more specific answers.

They do look rather young. But please, if you could share some pictures of their setups, we could help more quickly. A picture is worth 1,000 words you know.

 

[Melicia]

My pictures came out wrong. Because I was not sure what they are, I have them in plastic containers, with newspaper lining. All of that should be sorted out by the end of the weekend.

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And I decided to call them Vinkel and Koljander

 

[egyptiandan]

I agree with Meg They are Leopard tortoises, Stigmochelys pardalis pardalis.

Danny

 

[Melicia]

Any comment about the thing on the belly of the baby in the second picture. I've seen pics of large yolk sacks. Is that it or is it something else?

 

[egyptiandan]

It is the remnants of the yolk sack. It looks fine to me.

Danny

 

[Melicia]

The baby with the sack is not eating. He is drinking water, but not eating. Is that normal? From what I've read, they start eating when it goes away. Do I need to worry? It's eyes are gummed shut aswell. The eyes produce a white gunk that dries the eyes shut. I use rooibos tea to soften and open them (a trick from raising lots of kittens)

 

[Yvonne G]

Tortoises DO depend upon their sense of smell to eat, however, a tortoise whose eyes are stuck shut and can't see his food, even though he can smell it, won't eat. So try to figure out why the eyes are sticking, then once you get them to stay open, you can worry about the not eating part.

My sense of the matter is that he is being kept too dry. We have learned that we need to keep them on a moist substrate. I like to use cypress mulch. I don't know if you have access to cypress mulch in SA, so maybe you can use a combination of coconut coir and dirt mixed together. That way you can pour a pitcher of water on it, stir it up to wet it evenly. The lights quickly dry out the top layer so that the babies are not walking around in a puddle, but the substrate underneath stays moist and they receive the humidity they need to be healthy.

Babies are small and dry out inside quickly. So daily soaks are helpful.

Yvonne