Help needed !! Our baby tortoise died ?? and need advice before getting another

Kerryb1976

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Jan 11, 2022
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Hi, I’m new on here but we bought a baby Hermann just before new year from a specialist shop which is reputable and has been selling only tortoises and fish for 15 years . This was my 9 year old daughters birthday present and we invested in everything we were advised (full start up kit) . We went to a couple of places before we bought our tortoise , and the main difference was advice of getting a viv or table .

We have a bearded dragon in a viv so we know about them and we’re happy to get one - but the advice from where we got the tortoise from was def no to vivs unless it was a red foot .

Anyways all was going great - then last week one night he was sort of stretching his neck out in a weird way - kind of was doing it repeatedly - anyways we asked the shop for advice and they said it might be that he’s got a bit of skin that he’s trying to loosen . I thought it was like he was straining .

Anyway next day it was like he was asleep and so we got appointment at vets but the special exotic vet wasn’t available to the following day so we drove to the shop so they could have a look - they said he was maybe trying to force hibernation - or a bit dehydrated ?- so said to bathe him - so we went home and bathed him - but it made no difference - by the time we got to the vets the following day they said he had died . We were devastated

We only had him 3 weeks - and we thought we took super good care of him and we were so careful- the shop feel bad for my daughter- and are giving us another - and say they have gone back to the breeder and no one can think of an explanation .

The thing I was bothered about was the vet passed on to the nurse that we saw that we need to make sure they are in a viv etc as it’s usually about heat - we had him in our daughters bedroom - so it wasn’t cold and he had his lamp - but should they be in a viv ?

The tortoise people say no ! But the vet seemed to say yes !

I’m so confused and scared about getting it right !
Any help would be greatly appreciated xx
 

TheLastGreen

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Hi, I'm sorry for your loss?
Some shops just aren't reputable with torts, they do give the wrong info on how to care for torts. You also don't know how the tort was started or hatched, so it's best to get one from a forum member, you could get one from the shop but do be careful.
It sounds like he had pneumonia or a respitory infection, did he have a runny nose?
Do you have any images of your tort?
Can you send images of the previous setup?
What did you use in the setup?
Before you get another tort, we should make sure what the problem was, hopefuly this helps!
This is the best way to care for hermanns
@Tom is the expert on them
 

Kerryb1976

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Joined
Jan 11, 2022
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5
Location (City and/or State)
Preston
Hi, I'm sorry for your loss?
Some shops just aren't reputable with torts, they do give the wrong info on how to care for torts. You also don't know how the tort was started or hatched, so it's best to get one from a forum member, you could get one from the shop but do be careful.
It sounds like he had pneumonia or a respitory infection, did he have a runny nose?
Do you have any images of your tort?
Can you send images of the previous setup?
What did you use in the setup?
Before you get another tort, we should make sure what the problem was, hopefuly this helps!
This is the best way to care for hermanns
@Tom is the expert on them
 

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Kerryb1976

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Jan 11, 2022
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Preston
The shop is a little shop that only sell tortoises and axylotyls and fish - not one of the big reptile type shops - and they say they only use one breeder and say this has never happened in 15 years and seem genuinely shocked and upset too .

I just want to get it right if she gets another . We thought we were being so careful by looking up who we bought him from and they seemed very well thought of.

Thanks for your help with this - I want to know if our set up is right ?

He had no sign of a respiratory infection as that’s what we looked for - nothing seemed wrong ….no mucus - He just went to sleep and never woke up ?
 

TheLastGreen

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I would remove the gravel, replace it with what is in the link above.
The hay I'd remove, it can mif.
The enclosure needs to be closed, (to keep humidity in and stop pyramiding).
I'd use the heating in the link above.
Could it be impaction? I'm not sure what the cause could be @wellington @ZEROPILOT @Toddrickfl1 , what do you guys think?
 

Kerryb1976

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Preston
I would remove the gravel, replace it with what is in the link above.
The hay I'd remove, it can mif.
The enclosure needs to be closed, (to keep humidity in and stop pyramiding).
I'd use the heating in the link above.
Could it be impaction? I'm not sure what the cause could be @wellington @ZEROPILOT @Toddrickfl1 , what do you guys think?
So like a viv ? Is that because he’s was so little - or are they best anyways for tortoises.

Thank you so much for taking the time to respond .
 

TheLastGreen

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So like a viv ? Is that because he’s was so little - or are they best anyways for tortoises.

Thank you so much for taking the time to respond .
I'm not sure, some members recommend against viv's.
You can cover the enclosure with tin foil, I believe @Yvonne G uses that method, in the link there are also excellent examples of what Tom uses.
Closed enclosures are good for all torts of all ages, it ensures better health and stops pyramiding. (All baby torts need high humidity +80%)
Make sure to get the tort UV, different methods of getting UV are listed in the link, hope it helps!
@ZenHerper , what do you think about the situation?
 

Sarah2020

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Sorry for your loss. Tortoise are tough but at such a young age it must if been sick or had bad history. Please have a good read of the document you have in thread #2. Many of us keep tortouse in UK but they need space and lots if care. It is best to start them in an enclosed enclosure as they need humidity for smooth shell growth and avoid a bumpy pyramid shell that can effect their spine just under the shell. They must be on substrate of orchid bark or coir with correct heat, light, hydration and diet. Havexa read and decide if you want to try again. This is a great forum for asking questions and getting experienced help.
 

cesdrp

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The reason most people don't recommend a Viv is because of the glass. A tortoise doesn't understand glass so it will spend all of its time trying to walk through the glass. If you cover the bottom portion of the tank with paper or tape then it will solve the problem. Also because a viv can only get so large and eventually most tortoises will out grow them. As long as your viv is the correct size and the glass is covered where the tort can see then it will be ok!
 

Sarah2020

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The reason most people don't recommend a Viv is because of the glass. A tortoise doesn't understand glass so it will spend all of its time trying to walk through the glass. If you cover the bottom portion of the tank with paper or tape then it will solve the problem. Also because a viv can only get so large and eventually most tortoises will out grow them. As long as your viv is the correct size and the glass is covered where the tort can see then it will be ok!
I have tape on mine as they grow more tape applied :) now nearly 50% of the glass, but it stops the stress and scratching.
 

Yvonne G

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The neck stretching thing was because he had a respiratory infection and was straining to breathe.

cesdrp above gave you a good reason why you were told no vivs. But, in my opinion, a viv was just what this baby needed. Please read the care sheet linked in previous posts and learn how to care for a baby tortoise. He will need you to measure the temperature in his "VIV" and try to keep it up in the 80'sF day and night until he gets to be about a year old, then you can start giving him a 'warm side, less warm side' in the enclosure with a slight drop at night.

I'm pretty sure this baby was sick when you got it.
 

Toddrickfl1

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It sounds like your baby was suffering from a respiratory infection. Sorry for your loss. Here is a good care sheet of you try again.

 

Lyn W

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So very sorry for your loss.
There is a lot of old information about tortoise care still being passed on by pet sops breeders, and even some non specialist vets; pet shops often sell unsuitable and unsafe equipment for profit. So please read the caresheet linked above and set everything up as recommended before you get your next tort. You'll not get such up to date advice anywhere else and everyone here is only interested in helping you get things right to give your tort everything he needs so ask as many questions as you like.
Straw, gravel, pellets, hay, sand or anything with little white bits in it are not good substrates for torts; they are too dry and if ingested could eventually cause impaction, but the caresheet will give you much better options.
 
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