Leopard tortoise

[Daisy13]

Hi, I have a 1 year old leopard tortoise and her shell is soft I looked on Google why this happened and it says lack of calcium and vitamins. We don't have any closer vet. Can anybody tell me what should I do and what to give her? I'm scared that she's gonna die

 

[Tom]

Hi, I have a 1 year old leopard tortoise and her shell is soft I looked on Google why this happened and it says lack of calcium and vitamins. We don't have any closer vet. Can anybody tell me what should I do and what to give her? I'm scared that she's gonna die

Hello and welcome. Where is it soft, and how soft? Does it feel like a sponge, or is it just flexible like the plastic lid of a butter tub. How many grams does the tortoise weigh?

Here is all the correct care info, including UV lights and calcium supplementation. Read these and see what changes need to be made.

Info For New People. Please Read This First.

Hello and welcome to tortoiseforum.org! We are all glad you are here! There is no other forum like this anywhere. We have tens of thousands of members from all over the world ranging from kids with their first tortoise to people who have been breeding and keeping high end tortoises since the...

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The Best Way To Raise A Sulcata, Leopard, Or Star Tortoise

I chose the title of this care sheet very carefully. Are there other ways to raise babies? Yes. Yes there are, but those ways are not as good. What follows is the BEST way, according to 30 years of research and experimentation with hundreds of babies of many species. Babies hatch during the...

tortoiseforum.org

 

[Daisy13]

Hello and welcome. Where is it soft, and how soft? Does it feel like a sponge, or is it just flexible like the plastic lid of a butter tub. How many grams does the tortoise weigh?

Here is all the correct care info, including UV lights and calcium supplementation. Read these and see what changes need to be made.

Info For New People. Please Read This First.

Hello and welcome to tortoiseforum.org! We are all glad you are here! There is no other forum like this anywhere. We have tens of thousands of members from all over the world ranging from kids with their first tortoise to people who have been breeding and keeping high end tortoises since the...

tortoiseforum.org

The Best Way To Raise A Sulcata, Leopard, Or Star Tortoise

I chose the title of this care sheet very carefully. Are there other ways to raise babies? Yes. Yes there are, but those ways are not as good. What follows is the BEST way, according to 30 years of research and experimentation with hundreds of babies of many species. Babies hatch during the...

tortoiseforum.org

Hello and welcome. Where is it soft, and how soft? Does it feel like a sponge, or is it just flexible like the plastic lid of a butter tub. How many grams does the tortoise weigh?

Here is all the correct care info, including UV lights and calcium supplementation. Read these and see what changes need to be made.

Info For New People. Please Read This First.

Hello and welcome to tortoiseforum.org! We are all glad you are here! There is no other forum like this anywhere. We have tens of thousands of members from all over the world ranging from kids with their first tortoise to people who have been breeding and keeping high end tortoises since the...

tortoiseforum.org

The Best Way To Raise A Sulcata, Leopard, Or Star Tortoise

I chose the title of this care sheet very carefully. Are there other ways to raise babies? Yes. Yes there are, but those ways are not as good. What follows is the BEST way, according to 30 years of research and experimentation with hundreds of babies of many species. Babies hatch during the...

tortoiseforum.org

her

 

[Daisy13]

View attachment 390612

Her side shell and under her is soft, feels like water inside her. She's very light too she lost weight.

 

[Yvonne G]

Do you have a GOOD UVB light over her? They need the UVB because it works with the calcium she eats to make the shell and bones strong.

 

[Tom]

Her side shell and under her is soft, feels like water inside her. She's very light too she lost weight.

Most breeders and sellers don't start or use this species correctly as babies. When this happens, they get dehydrated and it damages their kidneys. These tortoises usually make it to about 50 grams and then stall there. They will live for a few weeks or months, all seemingly normal, and then expire. Softness of the plastron is one of the tell tale signs.

Your tortoise has grown past that point. This leads me to believe that your tortoise was started well enough to survive, but then it didn't received what it needed to thrive and grow. Let's help you figure this out...

-How are you housing the tortoise?
-How often do you soak it?
-What are your four temperatures? Warm side, cool side, basking area, and overnight low?
-What types of bulbs are you using?
-What type of UV bulb?
-What do you feed the tortoise?
-What supplements are you using and does it have D3 in it?
-Where did you get the tortoise?

 

[Daisy13]

Do you have a GOOD UVB light over her? They need the UVB because it works with the calcium she eats to make the shell and bones strong.

I think that one thing I don't have, I only use heating lamp. But I just ordered UVB light for her and hopefully she gets better.

 

[Daisy13]

Most breeders and sellers don't start or use this species correctly as babies. When this happens, they get dehydrated and it damages their kidneys. These tortoises usually make it to about 50 grams and then stall there. They will live for a few weeks or months, all seemingly normal, and then expire. Softness of the plastron is one of the tell tale signs.

Your tortoise has grown past that point. This leads me to believe that your tortoise was started well enough to survive, but then it didn't received what it needed to thrive and grow. Let's help you figure this out...

-How are you housing the tortoise?
-How often do you soak it?
-What are your four temperatures? Warm side, cool side, basking area, and overnight low?
-What types of bulbs are you using?
-What type of UV bulb?
-What do you feed the tortoise?
-What supplements are you using and does it have D3 in it?
-Where did you get the tortoise?

 

[Daisy13]

View attachment 390613

View attachment 390613

View attachment 390613

I soaked her every other day but maybe sometimes I forgot. I thought heated lamp is enough I didn't know I need UVB light, I just ordered one! She usually ate lettuce, dandelions and clover but most of the time just lettuce. She didn't want any fruit I tried some fruit but she never touch it. We got her from a friend and he bought it from tortoise town. She looks very healthy when we got her and she gain weight every month, this only started maybe a week ago.

 

[zovick]

I soaked her every other day but maybe sometimes I forgot. I thought heated lamp is enough I didn't know I need UVB light, I just ordered one! She usually ate lettuce, dandelions and clover but most of the time just lettuce. She didn't want any fruit I tried some fruit but she never touch it. We got her from a friend and he bought it from tortoise town. She looks very healthy when we got her and she gain weight every month, this only started maybe a week ago.

Your tortoise weighs 63 grams. How long have you had it?

Unfortunately, Tortoise Town has a bad reputation. Your tortoise could have been exposed to any number of other tortoises and sicknesses at that facility.

Did the person from whom you got it get any others or was your the only one he/she purchased? Also why didn't the person keep it themselves? Did they suspect it had any problems before letting you have it?

 

[Tom]

I soaked her every other day but maybe sometimes I forgot. I thought heated lamp is enough I didn't know I need UVB light, I just ordered one! She usually ate lettuce, dandelions and clover but most of the time just lettuce. She didn't want any fruit I tried some fruit but she never touch it. We got her from a friend and he bought it from tortoise town. She looks very healthy when we got her and she gain weight every month, this only started maybe a week ago.

What type of UV bulb did you just buy? It should be an Arcadia 12% HO. They call it the "ProT5 Kit". This will need to be around 18 inches over the tortoise and set on a timer for about 6-8 hours a day in your case. You can also put the tortoise outside in warm sunny weather in a safe enclosure, but make sure it has shade available at all times and don't let it over heat.

You have the wrong type of enclosure. It needs to be a closed chamber with the heat and humidity inside.

Hay should never be used as substrate.

You also need night heat set on a thermostat.

Soak every day until the tortoise tops 100 grams. Keep the soak water warm the whole time.

You didn't get the correct care info to start with, but now you have found us, and we will help you. Hopefully it is not too late. Read those care sheets. Please feel free to ask all of your questions.

 

[Daisy13]

Your tortoise weighs 63 grams. How long have you had it?

Unfortunately, Tortoise Town has a bad reputation. Your tortoise could have been exposed to any number of other tortoises and sicknesses at that facility.

Did the person from whom you got it get any others or was your the only one he/she purchased? Also why didn't the person keep it themselves? Did they suspect it had any problems before letting you have it?

We have it for a year now, it's a birthday gift that's why he gave us one. He had some other tortoise too.

 

[Daisy13]

What type of UV bulb did you just buy? It should be an Arcadia 12% HO. They call it the "ProT5 Kit". This will need to be around 18 inches over the tortoise and set on a timer for about 6-8 hours a day in your case. You can also put the tortoise outside in warm sunny weather in a safe enclosure, but make sure it has shade available at all times and don't let it over heat.

You have the wrong type of enclosure. It needs to be a closed chamber with the heat and humidity inside.

Hay should never be used as substrate.

You also need night heat set on a thermostat.

Soak every day until the tortoise tops 100 grams. Keep the soak water warm the whole time.

You didn't get the correct care info to start with, but now you have found us, and we will help you. Hopefully it is not too late. Read those care sheets. Please feel free to ask all of your quesI did read the care sheets and I learned so much.

What type of UV bulb did you just buy? It should be an Arcadia 12% HO. They call it the "ProT5 Kit". This will need to be around 18 inches over the tortoise and set on a timer for about 6-8 hours a day in your case. You can also put the tortoise outside in warm sunny weather in a safe enclosure, but make sure it has shade available at all times and don't let it over heat.

You have the wrong type of enclosure. It needs to be a closed chamber with the heat and humidity inside.

Hay should never be used as substrate.

You also need night heat set on a thermostat.

Soak every day until the tortoise tops 100 grams. Keep the soak water warm the whole time.

You didn't get the correct care info to start with, but now you have found us, and we will help you. Hopefully it is not too late. Read those care sheets. Please feel free to ask all of your questions.

I did read the care sheet and I learned new stuff, I will get rid of that hay. Thank you very much.