Hermans tortoise front legs weak?

[cwreckord]

Hi Everyone~
I am new to this forum, my son got a Herman's tortoise for his birthday a few weeks ago, and everything seemed fine until yesterday. He was flipped upside down for much of the day, and then I righted him, and found him upside down again before bed- and in the morning!
Ack! I am so worried. We have been feeding him mostly lettuce, some arugula (is this ok? anyone know?) with supplements- but he doesn't eat a lot. he is still tiny.

I watched him a lot yesterday and this morning and he seems to be scooting forward using mostly only his hind legs- I wonder if something is wrong. He doesn't seem to be using his front right leg much.
I read another post about soaking and we have been soaking him in plain water. Now I wonder if he needs some extra vitamins and minerals and I made him a solution to soak in, the recipe came from another post in this forum.
He does have a exo terra solar glo light so that is not the problem.
I would appreciate any advice because I am stressed out about the poor little guy! thanks in advance.

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi cwreckord:

Welcome to the Tortoise Forum!!

What would you like us to call you?

and may we know appx. where in the world you are?

Its always a good idea to see a vet who is well-versed in tortoise care when it involves the health of your little one. We, here on the forum, can give you the benefit of our experience if we've actually seen this problem before, but a lot of times, the symptoms lose quite a bit in the translation.

You are probably thinking this might be a calcium problem. And you may be right. It also could be an injury to the front leg. It might also be something because of being on his back for such a long time. We have no way of knowing what is wrong.

I soak babies in water that is laced with liquid bird vitamins. I hardly ever use plain water.

If the baby is eating, then just a little pinch of calcium powder over the food is ok, but all the calcium in the world isn't going to work if your light isn't providing the UVB/vitamin d3 required. Is there any way you can get the little guy out in the sun for a few hours each week?

 

[kimber_lee_314]

What kind of substrate are you keeping him on?

 

[dmarcus]

Hello and welcome to the forum..

One of the first things I would do, is to figure out what the tortoise is flipping over on.

The prolonged time that it was flipped over could have really stressed it out. It may have also hurt itself during one of the roll overs.

I haven't had much experience with injured tortoises, so someone else may know, but a vet visit may be needed...

 

[LuvmyGreenSon]

From what i've learned on this forum lettuce is okay but not alone. More variety is what I learned is best. Try spring mix, weeds (free from any chemicals), kale, dandelions... and also some Mazuri, or natural Grassland Tortoise food.

Here is a link to a thread that has great advice on food: http://www.tortoiseforum.org/Thread...ed-Greeks-Russians-Sulcatas-etc#axzz1ptcQymdA

I have no clue about the legs though. Do you have any rocks in the enclosure that he may be trying to climb? That may be why he is flipping over? Again, I am not sure.

 

[Maggie Cummings]

It sounds to me like his diet is not good enough and he needs some calcium. He needs soaked daily. Get some Spring Mix and mix that with kale, turnip greens and collard greens, add whatever dark leafy greens your produce section has now and cut it all up together. Sprinkle calcium powder over his meal daily. Get a 100 watt UVB bulb and keep his temp about 95 degrees. He needs humidity too. You need to do some research and see what he needs.

Figure out what he is using to flip himself over on and take it out. If you can't figure it out, take out everything except the hide...

 

[ascott]

I agree here with Maggie....also, was the baby walking regular with his front legs prior to the roll over?

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