Badkneesbond
Member
Quick introduction...
I live in Salt Lake City Utah, grew up in Hawaii and have no idea how I ended up somewhere so cold.
I am a father to three children and two Leopard Tortoise hatchlings.
I feel like I have read every page on this forum and am grateful for all of the valuable information.
My son wanted a tortoise this Christmas so I did what most first time pet owners do and went to the pet store. My son of course wanted the smallest tortoise he could find and picked out a tiny little Leopard Tortoise hatchling. I knew nothing about raising them but took the small care sheet provided by the pet store and started this journey. The next month was filled with 3 Vet visits, countless hours of watching (I installed a nanny cam) and hoping the tortoise would thrive and eventually our first tortoise passed away from renal failure.
A few things about our first hatchling from the pet store.
1. I took him to the vet the 4th day we had him and he only weighed 18 grams!
2. Had a soft plastron and i could squeeze his shell at least a few milometers.
3. Rubbed his eyes from the first day we had him.
4. Never had a solid bowel movement.
I couldn't find pictures on the internet or on this forum of a hatchling as small as the one we had.
I had read through Tom's and others advice a hundred times and created a closed enclosure with 80% humidity, repti bark flooring, a humid hide, t5 high output UVB measured with a UVB reader, 95-100 basking and 80 degree cool end and soaked once a day for 20-30 minutes. Everything on timers thermostats and even wemo remote controlled outlets. I fed cactus, grasses, dandelion leaves, greens, Mazuri etc. I had done all of this the first week. With this setup and after a few months, the little guy still didn't thrive, passed away and I was exhausted. The vet did an final examination and determined it was dehydration and renal failure.
I have since purchased two new hatchlings from breeders mentioned on this site and my mind is blown. I purchased one from Kenan Harkin (Kamp Kenan) and one from Andrew Hermes (Arizona Tortoise Compound). With the same exact setup, they are eating and growing, active and bright eyed. The most interesting thing about these hatchlings is that they both weighed over 30 grams. The one tortoise from Kenan was born on January 15th and was sent two weeks later. He weighed 31 grams before his first month. The most important advice found on this forum has to do with how these tortoises are started and having a good idea about where they came from. I wish I had known this before the pet store purchase.
Here are the healthy new torts.
Sorry for typing so much... I just wanted to thank the power memebers of this forum for their advice and direction. I look forward to contributing and learning more.
I live in Salt Lake City Utah, grew up in Hawaii and have no idea how I ended up somewhere so cold.
I am a father to three children and two Leopard Tortoise hatchlings.
I feel like I have read every page on this forum and am grateful for all of the valuable information.
My son wanted a tortoise this Christmas so I did what most first time pet owners do and went to the pet store. My son of course wanted the smallest tortoise he could find and picked out a tiny little Leopard Tortoise hatchling. I knew nothing about raising them but took the small care sheet provided by the pet store and started this journey. The next month was filled with 3 Vet visits, countless hours of watching (I installed a nanny cam) and hoping the tortoise would thrive and eventually our first tortoise passed away from renal failure.
A few things about our first hatchling from the pet store.
1. I took him to the vet the 4th day we had him and he only weighed 18 grams!
2. Had a soft plastron and i could squeeze his shell at least a few milometers.
3. Rubbed his eyes from the first day we had him.
4. Never had a solid bowel movement.
I couldn't find pictures on the internet or on this forum of a hatchling as small as the one we had.
I had read through Tom's and others advice a hundred times and created a closed enclosure with 80% humidity, repti bark flooring, a humid hide, t5 high output UVB measured with a UVB reader, 95-100 basking and 80 degree cool end and soaked once a day for 20-30 minutes. Everything on timers thermostats and even wemo remote controlled outlets. I fed cactus, grasses, dandelion leaves, greens, Mazuri etc. I had done all of this the first week. With this setup and after a few months, the little guy still didn't thrive, passed away and I was exhausted. The vet did an final examination and determined it was dehydration and renal failure.
I have since purchased two new hatchlings from breeders mentioned on this site and my mind is blown. I purchased one from Kenan Harkin (Kamp Kenan) and one from Andrew Hermes (Arizona Tortoise Compound). With the same exact setup, they are eating and growing, active and bright eyed. The most interesting thing about these hatchlings is that they both weighed over 30 grams. The one tortoise from Kenan was born on January 15th and was sent two weeks later. He weighed 31 grams before his first month. The most important advice found on this forum has to do with how these tortoises are started and having a good idea about where they came from. I wish I had known this before the pet store purchase.
Here are the healthy new torts.
Sorry for typing so much... I just wanted to thank the power memebers of this forum for their advice and direction. I look forward to contributing and learning more.
