Need some help please.

[LostTortoise]

I’m in a spot of bother and was hoping that someone could help me out.
A friend of mine left me two baby tortoises out of the blue, he didn’t tell me anything about them (Species, ages and sex etc.), to be honest I don’t think he knew himself.

Let me split the Tortoises up,

The bigger one is called, for lack of a better name Sugar Daddy and the smaller one called Peggy.

Sugar Daddy:
4cm x 4cm (shell)
The Shell and underbelly are quite soft
He is quite active and likes taking walks
Sleeps quite a bit (Is this normal?)
Doesn’t show any real sign of problems, but isn’t eating or drink (from what I notice)
Is now showing signs of light patches on his head.

Peggy:
3cm x 3cm (shell)
The Shell and underbelly are quite soft

She is of greater concern she is hardly active at all, afraid to say it, its like she on her last legs.

She moves around a little, but spends most of its time sleeping. When she does move she doesn’t go very far unlike Sugar Daddy. What worries me is that is she doesn’t walk but rather drags herself along, her hind legs do move but they seem really weak, rather than picker her up and moving her forward they just push her along the floor.

Peggy does not open her eyes, they are always closed and she drags herself around blind.

Also Peggy is getting white residue around her mouth, like when you get salt crystals from sweating, is this dehydration?

A common problem that both have is that I have never noticed or have seen any signs that they have been eating, I have had them for almost a week, I’ve tried fresh lettuce and cabbage. Also I don’t think they have been drinking, but I have bathed them twice now, so they may have drunk then.
Sugar daddy is the only one that has dropped droppings and that was on the second day of getting him.

Sorry it’s so long winded, but I have no idea about tortoises so I wanted to give all relevant information.

Could somebody tell me something about them i.e. Sex, Species, Age and any advice on getting them to eat and drink and helping Peggy she worries me.

http://img389.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc00076na1.jpg
http://img411.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc00079bw2.jpg
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http://img141.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc00088v2za0.jpg
http://img145.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc00090rb6.jpg

 

[JustAnja]

Could be Greek hatchlings, Im not good at identifying hatchlings all that well. They are both very sick and either need to see a Vet who knows tortoises or needs to be handed over to someone who knows whats going on and can take care of them and ensure they have proper medical care. Lettuce and cabbage are both inappropriate foods for them. The swollen closed eyes indicate that one most likely has a respiratory infection going on. Where are you located? Would you be willing to give them to someone that knows how to care for them properly if we can locate someone in your area?

 

[jlyoncc1]

I agree, they need quick assistance!!!

 

[egyptiandan]

They are Greek tortoises, Testudo graeca ibera. They are this years hatchlings. As everyone has said they aren't doing well. They both have severe Metabolic Bone Disease, MBD.
The most immediate thing is to get some vitamins into them. If you can find Vitasol liquid bird vitamins at your local petshop or Pedialite for babies put either one of these into the water your soaking in.
I'd soak twice a day for 10 to 15 minutes in warm water.
How do you have them set-up?

Danny

 

[LostTortoise]

Thanks for the feed back.

I am going to try and take them to the vet tomorrow and have them looked at.

To be honest Danny, i don't really have a setup for them,
I am currently am using 100w lamp to give them some basking, and have tried to bathe them in shallow water, sugar daddy doesn't seem to have a problem, but peggy seems to just let her head drop into the water.

I've tried to feed them like i said, but no luck i have given them a water/bathing tray. Which they never use and they never go near the feeding bowl (which has cabbage or lettuce).
But i have also tried banana and brown bread soaked in milk.

Other than that i let them roam free in my bedroom.

Qusetion.
Should i keep them in shallow warm water and let them bathe as they please. Or should i restrict movement ,because Sugar daddy just walks out of the soaking tray, so should i use something like a bucket. With Peggy soaking is a nightmare she just drops her head into the water and so i try to keep her out the water.

Keep the advice coming.

 

[egyptiandan]

You need to have a set-up for them. You really can't let them roam around on your floor. http://tortoiseforum.org/showthread.php?tid=666 The first picture of JustAnja's is what you should be doing for them. A heat lamp with the temperature about 90F underneath it and a UVB florscent light. I'd go with just white paper towels as a substrate right now. You can have a very small shallow water dish with them, but your still going to have to soak them in the vitamin water twice a day.
No cabbage, fruit or brown bread. Romaine lettuce, green leaf lettuce, red leaf lettuce, escarole, curly endive or dandelions, from a yard that has never used weed or bug killer on it, are all great foods.
Your also going to need to supplement with a calcium and vitamin supplement on the greens. I personally use Reptocal by Terrafauna.

Danny

 

[jlyoncc1]

Where are you located Lost?

 

[LostTortoise]

United Kingdom, London

 

[JustAnja]

Have you gotten them to the Vet yet? I know several UK keepers that might be able to help out with them if need be.

 

[Meka]

soaking will be important and they need to not only have access to water in thier enclosure, but they also need soaked in a shallow dish where they cannot just climb out of. I would try to keep them contained in an enclosure with a heat lamp at one side. Keeping them warm is important when they are sick. Make sure when you soak them that the water is fairly warm and doesnt get too cold. For a temporary enclosure, you could set up a shallow rubbermaid tote and put some paper towels as mentioned before in it. I would ask around and see if you can find a tortoise rescue place or see if your vet knows anyone that cares for tortoises. They really at this stage need to be in the hands of someone with experience.

 

[TestudoGeek]

LostTortoise, as said, you should take them to a vet. You should also do some reading on caring for these animals. Read through this forum and visit www.russiantortoise.net (the care, diet, etc is the same for your torts).

Be sure to get them the food suggested by egyptiandan, and dust with calcium. Also get a supplement like Nutrobal (easy to find in the UK).

But your priority should be to get them setup (WARM & with a UVB light so they can start processing calcium) and eating asap. Dandelions are very popular with torts. You can start there. Just do it fast, because those torts are in really bad shape.

Please keep us posted. If you have any questions whatsoever, post them.

cheers,

Tiago

 

[TestudoGeek]

Any news about how these torts are doing?