ChloeRagusa
New Member
Hello all!
I am hoping to pick the brains of a few members here who seem to really understand desert tortoises so that I can raise my baby right! I recently received what I think is a gopherus agassizii from a neighbor whose tortoises accidentally bred. He (I say he for now just to make life easier) was incubated by the neighbor and raised for 4 months in a small tank with 5 siblings. Hatch date was Sept. 7th. He was raised on spring mix, soaked 2x per week, and taken out to get sun daily.
We were NOT prepared for this baby, but we are getting it together and trying our best. We have had him for 7 days and temporarily had him in a large plastic tub on a towel with a small box as a hide, a water dish, a terra cotta saucer for his food, and a washcloth folded up to sunbathe on. We have been soaking him daily and taking him outside when there is sunshine for him to enjoy.
As of yesterday, we have a 2x4 foot enclosure with coco coir substrate approx. 4 inches deep. We have a CHE for the nighttime and a basking bulb, and have been keeping basking temp at 95, ambient temp at 85, coolside at 76, and nighttime about 72. Humidity has been between 40-60 and we aren't sure what the right humidity is. His eyes are bright and clear, he is active and strong, he eats a lot of food and has been munching on his cuttlebone from time to time, and he is not scared of us hardly at all. When we introduced him to the new enclosure he ate dinner, paced for about 20 minutes (exploring the entire cage), pooped 3 times, and then buried himself in the substrate and went to sleep. I believe he also ate a small bite of the substrate when he first touched it, but doesn't seem to have eaten any since.
He eats 2x per day, with a Grassland pellet and Mazuri pellet (he loves it!), and a medium amount of organic greens that Tom listed are safe for him (escarole, endive, mustard greens, turnip greens, collard greens, cilantro, bok choy, dandelion leaves, etc.) about half the size of his shell is how I would describe the amount. Please stop me if I am overfeeding him!
Previously he was eating dandelion greens, romaine, fresh bermuda grass sprouts. I have to admit, we did accientally feed him a plant we thought was clover that turned out to be Oxalis- we are still terrified we poisoned him. If anyone has made a similar mistake, I would love to know if it impacted your baby down the line.
Some concerns:
His mouth has a little black ring around it. I understand it may be poop, which makes sense since I have only found 5 poops. Is there anything else it could be?
The sides of his top shell have a little give, but are hard to the touch. Is this normal at his age? I read this species takes quite a while for the shell to harden. Additionally, I think I can feel him breathing when I hold him in my hand and am wondering if that is possible or if I am just being anxious. There is evidence of a small bit of pyramiding on his shell from what I understand, but we are trying to correct it.
We soak him (daily), but he still looks very dry. We are hoping the new substrate will help a lot. In the bath he sticks his nose and mouth underwater and drinks, but when he comes up it sounds like he is pushing water from his nose. It makes a squeaking sound for about 2 seconds or sometimes a clicking sound I can liken to when a toddler has a clogged nostril and is trying to get the mucus out. He does not make squeaking noises any other time, but makes that clicking noise once in a while when I pick him up. It is barely audible, I have to hold him to my ear to hear it. In the tub I can see the breath from his nostril fogging up the side of the container, so I know he is breathing well at this point.
Normal tort noise or RI? Does he not know how to drink properly and is inhaling water? As a new caretaker I always think the worst. Is there anything I can do to get ahead of it if it is an RI? At 4 months I hesitate to take him to the vet for fear they might inject him with something bad and I won't know enough to object. If anyone has a good vet rec for Long Beach/Lakewood, CA or any surrounding area please let me know!
The skin on his neck is peeling? His head seems very dry as well. Is shedding normal for his age and species? The shed is slightly orange, I'll post pics. His skin seems to be greenish brownish otherwise. Could this be some type of fungal issue? His shell on the bottom seems to have some orangish color too. It does not look like the photos I have seen of typical shell rot or that other immune issue some tortoises get and develop yellow blisters.
His mouth looks fine and so does his beak, however he seems to have a very pale pink tongue. Can you think of a reason for that? I will try to attach a photo.
Please let me know if more info is needed. I apologize for the redundancy of some of my questions. Everyone thinks their baby is unique and special, and I am no different it seems. I have read the care sheets provided by Tom, threads answered by Yvonne and Tom both with great information, and many threads where advice and info has been given about these types of tortoise. I am trying my best, but appreciate any help I can get. Thank you all in advance!
I am hoping to pick the brains of a few members here who seem to really understand desert tortoises so that I can raise my baby right! I recently received what I think is a gopherus agassizii from a neighbor whose tortoises accidentally bred. He (I say he for now just to make life easier) was incubated by the neighbor and raised for 4 months in a small tank with 5 siblings. Hatch date was Sept. 7th. He was raised on spring mix, soaked 2x per week, and taken out to get sun daily.
We were NOT prepared for this baby, but we are getting it together and trying our best. We have had him for 7 days and temporarily had him in a large plastic tub on a towel with a small box as a hide, a water dish, a terra cotta saucer for his food, and a washcloth folded up to sunbathe on. We have been soaking him daily and taking him outside when there is sunshine for him to enjoy.
As of yesterday, we have a 2x4 foot enclosure with coco coir substrate approx. 4 inches deep. We have a CHE for the nighttime and a basking bulb, and have been keeping basking temp at 95, ambient temp at 85, coolside at 76, and nighttime about 72. Humidity has been between 40-60 and we aren't sure what the right humidity is. His eyes are bright and clear, he is active and strong, he eats a lot of food and has been munching on his cuttlebone from time to time, and he is not scared of us hardly at all. When we introduced him to the new enclosure he ate dinner, paced for about 20 minutes (exploring the entire cage), pooped 3 times, and then buried himself in the substrate and went to sleep. I believe he also ate a small bite of the substrate when he first touched it, but doesn't seem to have eaten any since.
He eats 2x per day, with a Grassland pellet and Mazuri pellet (he loves it!), and a medium amount of organic greens that Tom listed are safe for him (escarole, endive, mustard greens, turnip greens, collard greens, cilantro, bok choy, dandelion leaves, etc.) about half the size of his shell is how I would describe the amount. Please stop me if I am overfeeding him!
Previously he was eating dandelion greens, romaine, fresh bermuda grass sprouts. I have to admit, we did accientally feed him a plant we thought was clover that turned out to be Oxalis- we are still terrified we poisoned him. If anyone has made a similar mistake, I would love to know if it impacted your baby down the line.
Some concerns:
His mouth has a little black ring around it. I understand it may be poop, which makes sense since I have only found 5 poops. Is there anything else it could be?
The sides of his top shell have a little give, but are hard to the touch. Is this normal at his age? I read this species takes quite a while for the shell to harden. Additionally, I think I can feel him breathing when I hold him in my hand and am wondering if that is possible or if I am just being anxious. There is evidence of a small bit of pyramiding on his shell from what I understand, but we are trying to correct it.
We soak him (daily), but he still looks very dry. We are hoping the new substrate will help a lot. In the bath he sticks his nose and mouth underwater and drinks, but when he comes up it sounds like he is pushing water from his nose. It makes a squeaking sound for about 2 seconds or sometimes a clicking sound I can liken to when a toddler has a clogged nostril and is trying to get the mucus out. He does not make squeaking noises any other time, but makes that clicking noise once in a while when I pick him up. It is barely audible, I have to hold him to my ear to hear it. In the tub I can see the breath from his nostril fogging up the side of the container, so I know he is breathing well at this point.
Normal tort noise or RI? Does he not know how to drink properly and is inhaling water? As a new caretaker I always think the worst. Is there anything I can do to get ahead of it if it is an RI? At 4 months I hesitate to take him to the vet for fear they might inject him with something bad and I won't know enough to object. If anyone has a good vet rec for Long Beach/Lakewood, CA or any surrounding area please let me know!
The skin on his neck is peeling? His head seems very dry as well. Is shedding normal for his age and species? The shed is slightly orange, I'll post pics. His skin seems to be greenish brownish otherwise. Could this be some type of fungal issue? His shell on the bottom seems to have some orangish color too. It does not look like the photos I have seen of typical shell rot or that other immune issue some tortoises get and develop yellow blisters.
His mouth looks fine and so does his beak, however he seems to have a very pale pink tongue. Can you think of a reason for that? I will try to attach a photo.
Please let me know if more info is needed. I apologize for the redundancy of some of my questions. Everyone thinks their baby is unique and special, and I am no different it seems. I have read the care sheets provided by Tom, threads answered by Yvonne and Tom both with great information, and many threads where advice and info has been given about these types of tortoise. I am trying my best, but appreciate any help I can get. Thank you all in advance!