Help! soft shells

Sydney G

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Screenshot_2014-12-31-13-35-57.png :( Here's the sicker one. He's walking around more after his bath. Them he just burrows and sleeps until i disturb him again.
 

Jacqui

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Your light might be too high up to do them good. What is the actual height and what did your bulb say to use it at what height? How long do you have it on for each day. Make sure nothing is blocking the light... not sure if the foil is or not. I think your openings might be a bit small, but atleast it doesn't look like fine mesh.

What I like to do with "soft" babies, is when I soak them in baby food I also use some liquid calcium to help get calcium into them. It takes BOTH the UVB rays and the calcium inside them to produce the needed properties.
 

Sydney G

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The light is maybe 18in. From the floor of the enclosure. It didn't say anywhere on or in the box how high it should be.
 

Yvonne G

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Put it down to 12" from the floor and use your temperature gun to see what the temperature is. Don't rely on those little thermometer spots that stick on the sides. They don't give an accurate reading.
 

Sydney G

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That's actually where i moved it to earlier when you said it wasn't close enough. It's 128F directly under it.
 

Sydney G

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The only one near me i have been to before and she wasn't very good. The one baby I am just really worried about. Know any good vets near Shreveport Louisiana?
 

TylerStewart

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Sorry you are having trouble! The leopards you got were very well started, nice sized babies, no pyramiding, etc. Like was said, all babies have some amount of softness to them which remains until they are nearer to 4" size (at that point, they should be mostly firm). Looking at your setup, it doesn't appear they have a humid enough hide area. The wood half logs don't work well as a "humid hide" because they are too open, too much airflow, unless they are mostly buried and backed against a wall (so air doesn't flow through them). We prefer smaller ceramic hides like this one which restrict airflow and keep a humid environment within them.

What wattage are you using on the mercury vapor? If it's 100W, it shouldn't need to be 18" high to get the proper temperatures (we use 100W mercury vapor on almost all babies, and they are usually more like 10-12" from the substrate). I have forgotten from the previous emails a month back, but were you using a night time heat source at all (heat pad, etc)? If they are getting softer, it can be caused by many different things other than just a lack of calcium or lack of UVB, but it'd be pretty rare for that to happen particularly because your tortoises were about 6 months old when you got it, and were probably twice or three times the weight of a new baby.

From your photo, I don't see any "peeling," but I'd be interested if you can get a better photo example of what you're referring to.

It's probably not politically correct to suggest against taking it to a vet, but if you do, I would strongly suggest you not allowing the vet to give it any type of injections. I can't remember the last time a vet gave a baby tortoise a shot and the tortoise actually survived (the shot). My vet seems to be the only person besides me that also thinks shots (of anything) kill 99% of the baby tortoises that get them.

Never buy from them my leopard had a soft shell to and he/she died in a couple of months.
Your care in your other threads leaves great questions as to a cause of death in the leopard that apparently came from me (I don't know who you are, so I can't look up emails to see if you had ever asked me for help in the past, but 60 seconds of research on this forum and it became quickly clear that my tortoise did as well as could be expected for you, given the conditions it was likely exposed to). Once a week soakings on a loose sand substrate isn't something that most baby tortoises can survive in.
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/what-to-name-my-tortoise.108181/
 

sulcata tortoise #1

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Sorry you are having trouble! The leopards you got were very well started, nice sized babies, no pyramiding, etc. Like was said, all babies have some amount of softness to them which remains until they are nearer to 4" size (at that point, they should be mostly firm). Looking at your setup, it doesn't appear they have a humid enough hide area. The wood half logs don't work well as a "humid hide" because they are too open, too much airflow, unless they are mostly buried and backed against a wall (so air doesn't flow through them). We prefer smaller ceramic hides like this one which restrict airflow and keep a humid environment within them.

What wattage are you using on the mercury vapor? If it's 100W, it shouldn't need to be 18" high to get the proper temperatures (we use 100W mercury vapor on almost all babies, and they are usually more like 10-12" from the substrate). I have forgotten from the previous emails a month back, but were you using a night time heat source at all (heat pad, etc)? If they are getting softer, it can be caused by many different things other than just a lack of calcium or lack of UVB, but it'd be pretty rare for that to happen particularly because your tortoises were about 6 months old when you got it, and were probably twice or three times the weight of a new baby.

From your photo, I don't see any "peeling," but I'd be interested if you can get a better photo example of what you're referring to.

It's probably not politically correct to suggest against taking it to a vet, but if you do, I would strongly suggest you not allowing the vet to give it any type of injections. I can't remember the last time a vet gave a baby tortoise a shot and the tortoise actually survived (the shot). My vet seems to be the only person besides me that also thinks shots (of anything) kill 99% of the baby tortoises that get them.


Your care in your other threads leaves great questions as to a cause of death in the leopard that apparently came from me (I don't know who you are, so I can't look up emails to see if you had ever asked me for help in the past, but 60 seconds of research on this forum and it became quickly clear that my tortoise did as well as could be expected for you, given the conditions it was likely exposed to). Once a week soakings on a loose sand substrate isn't something that most baby tortoises can survive in.
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/what-to-name-my-tortoise.108181/
I didn't use sand with my leopard I used the same coconut coir. My set up was exactly the same as now. How come my sulcata is living a great life and it's over a year that I have him. The only differences that was in my sulcata and my leopard was that the sulcata was bought from a captive breeder and the leopard was bought from you guys. I don't know if it was my tortoise that was the only sick one out of the bunch but it seems like Sydney G's leopard has the same problem. Thanks for your time.
 

sulcata tortoise #1

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Also that picture is not the leopard it is my sulcata. For proof that I have coconut coir here is a picture. ImageUploadedByTortoise Forum1420216532.760662.jpgalso here is proof that I am using a ceramic hide with a heat lamp. ImageUploadedByTortoise Forum1420216713.111144.jpg
 

Yvonne G

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Please...let's not derail Sidney G's thread. If you'd like to explain your tortoise-keeping to Tortoise Supply, send them a PM.
 

Yvonne G

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Sidney:

Please clear your mind and start with a clean slate. Re-read the leopard tortoise care sheet that's posted at the top of the Leopard section, and make any adjustments to your care that are necessary. Your baby needs warmth, moisture, UVB and calcium along with a good diet. The calcium won't work to make the shell hard unless it has UVB from either the sun or a good UVB bulb.
 
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