- Joined
- Jul 2, 2009
- Messages
- 7
Hi, all:
I'm taking my ~5-month old hatchling to a herp vet tonight, but wanted to post here as well because I'm very mystified about what I may be missing that could be causing what I fear is MBD.
I've had Dora for about 8 weeks; she appeared healthy when I got her but she does have split scutes (my understanding is that this isn't indicative of health issues, anyone know otherwise?). I purchased her and a sibling at the same time from a reputable breeder at a reptile show.
I had a problem with my set-up and as a result I didn't have UV light on them for the first week I had them. [Feel free to holler at me about this, but you won't make me feel any worse than I already do.] During that time they were in a room that averages 80-85 degrees F. Since the first week, they've had a Megaray UV lamp set on a thermostat to ~93 degrees for their basking spot, and they both spend a lot of time under it.
Both tortoises showed signs of mild resp infections after ~1.5 weeks, which I assume was due to inadequate temps during that 1st week. I treated them both by raising the basking site temp slightly to ~98-100 degrees, soaking them both 2-3x/day, and giving them a treatment called Reptaid with their food.
One hatchling steadily improved and since then has done great. Eats like a beast, drinks water, thermoregulates, has bright clear eyes, active. Dora has had her ups and downs but has never improved to the extent that the other one did. She usually eats fairly enthusiastically but other than that is quite lethargic, and she keeps her eyes closed the large majority of the time. She's gained a couple of grams since I started weighing her (24.5 g on 5/28 up to 27 g last week and today).
Over the last couple of days she's taken a turn for the worse. Extremely lethargic, not eating, and now I find that her shell and plastron feel very soft.
Husbandry details:
Substrate: 60% play sand/40% potting soil (they were on rabbit pellets the first 1.5 weeks, which I learned was a bad idea)
Enclosure: Plastic bin approx 3' long x 8" tall x 18" wide, 2 very shallow water dishes, 1 food dish, 1 humidity chamber filled w moist peat moss, 1 hide on non-basking side
Diet: Primarily grasses/clover (have been growing a tortoise mix from seed), mulberry and hibiscus leaves, hay salad, supplemented w occasional yellow squash and/or spring mix. I add Mazuri tortoise diet or Total Nutrition for Tortoises 3-4x/week. They have a cuttlebone in their enclosure.
I had thought the Mazuri and cuttlebone were adequate for calcium supplementation based on what I'd read (I didn't want to oversupplementing them), but I did start adding calcium and Reptivite to their food about 2 weeks ago since she was still looking poorly. Now I wonder if I miscalculated re omitting the calcium powder before that--although since her clutchmate is thriving, I'm not sure.
I realize this is a very long post, and if you're still reading, thanks. I'm still trying to figure out the optimal things to do for these tortoises, and I'm so concerned about Dora. I know that serious hobbyists often have better info about mysterious ailments than even herp vets, so if any of you have thoughts based on your experiences, I'd be grateful for your advice. Are there conditions that can cause limited uptake of calcium in these tortoises, or have I just made a terrible mistake with this hatchling by inadequately supplementing with calcium?
I'm taking my ~5-month old hatchling to a herp vet tonight, but wanted to post here as well because I'm very mystified about what I may be missing that could be causing what I fear is MBD.
I've had Dora for about 8 weeks; she appeared healthy when I got her but she does have split scutes (my understanding is that this isn't indicative of health issues, anyone know otherwise?). I purchased her and a sibling at the same time from a reputable breeder at a reptile show.
I had a problem with my set-up and as a result I didn't have UV light on them for the first week I had them. [Feel free to holler at me about this, but you won't make me feel any worse than I already do.] During that time they were in a room that averages 80-85 degrees F. Since the first week, they've had a Megaray UV lamp set on a thermostat to ~93 degrees for their basking spot, and they both spend a lot of time under it.
Both tortoises showed signs of mild resp infections after ~1.5 weeks, which I assume was due to inadequate temps during that 1st week. I treated them both by raising the basking site temp slightly to ~98-100 degrees, soaking them both 2-3x/day, and giving them a treatment called Reptaid with their food.
One hatchling steadily improved and since then has done great. Eats like a beast, drinks water, thermoregulates, has bright clear eyes, active. Dora has had her ups and downs but has never improved to the extent that the other one did. She usually eats fairly enthusiastically but other than that is quite lethargic, and she keeps her eyes closed the large majority of the time. She's gained a couple of grams since I started weighing her (24.5 g on 5/28 up to 27 g last week and today).
Over the last couple of days she's taken a turn for the worse. Extremely lethargic, not eating, and now I find that her shell and plastron feel very soft.
Husbandry details:
Substrate: 60% play sand/40% potting soil (they were on rabbit pellets the first 1.5 weeks, which I learned was a bad idea)
Enclosure: Plastic bin approx 3' long x 8" tall x 18" wide, 2 very shallow water dishes, 1 food dish, 1 humidity chamber filled w moist peat moss, 1 hide on non-basking side
Diet: Primarily grasses/clover (have been growing a tortoise mix from seed), mulberry and hibiscus leaves, hay salad, supplemented w occasional yellow squash and/or spring mix. I add Mazuri tortoise diet or Total Nutrition for Tortoises 3-4x/week. They have a cuttlebone in their enclosure.
I had thought the Mazuri and cuttlebone were adequate for calcium supplementation based on what I'd read (I didn't want to oversupplementing them), but I did start adding calcium and Reptivite to their food about 2 weeks ago since she was still looking poorly. Now I wonder if I miscalculated re omitting the calcium powder before that--although since her clutchmate is thriving, I'm not sure.
I realize this is a very long post, and if you're still reading, thanks. I'm still trying to figure out the optimal things to do for these tortoises, and I'm so concerned about Dora. I know that serious hobbyists often have better info about mysterious ailments than even herp vets, so if any of you have thoughts based on your experiences, I'd be grateful for your advice. Are there conditions that can cause limited uptake of calcium in these tortoises, or have I just made a terrible mistake with this hatchling by inadequately supplementing with calcium?