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Nomad

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Hi, I am worried about Waldo, my baby eastern hermanns,
I received him at the end of March, He has been eating
and doing great, roaming all over his enclosure. the last
2 weeks his eating has slowed down and seems to have stopped
I have to give him a soak while he is sleeping because I can
not catch him awake, he is sleeping all the time. Is this a
normal behavior?
Any input will help and be greatly appreciated.
Thanks
 

Laura

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what was he eating, how warm do you keep him, what is the lighting, how old, and if you can post pics of his encosure that might help us help you.
 

shelber10

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this is on sulcatas but i think its the same thing for all torts




Sulcata Station's response: It's critical that you get this tortoise to a reptile vet immediately! Your hatchling is more than likely suffering from severe dehydration and possible renal (kidney) failure. If left untreated, it will be fatal. Even with veterinary treatment, the odds of surviving kidney failure are not too good.

Dehydration and the resulting renal failure seem to be the main cause of death for hatchling sulcata tortoises. For more information about this issue, please see our Hatchling Failure Syndrome page

follow this link it might help
http://www.sulcatastation.org/faq.html#hatchling
 

Nomad

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also his shell seems to be a little softer than normal

His diet is mainly dole spring mix. I do give him dandelions on
occasion. I do not know exactly how old he is but I would guess around 3 months He has a basking lamp and a uvb light, it is
around 95 deg F under the lamp.
 

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Candy

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I'm not sure, but 95 degrees sounds a little hot. I know that Dale really likes it at 80 to 85 degrees.
 

tortoisenerd

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**You need a vet immediately.** If you don't have one, please let us know what area you live in and some members can look one up for you.

This sounds like hatchling failure to thrive and metabolic bone disease. Prepare for the possibility the tort may not make it, even with treatment. If it's been going on for two weeks that's quite a while because torts have to get very sick typically before they even show symptoms.

What's the green stuff in the enclosure? That picture is a little small. Try posting the image code from uploading a picture to tinypic.com or photobucket.com

If it is 95 max at the hottest point with a gradient between the 70s and 90s that is good for a Hermanns.
 

Crazy1

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If that is calci sand you are using it is not totally harmless. But is in fact very dangerous for your tort it can cause impaction. The coil lights have been known to create problems for torts. Please check that out here; http://www.uvguide.co.uk/
Your tort is very small and I would get him to a vet as soon as possible he may need IV fluids.

Here are some vets in your area.
http://www.veterinarians.com/city/Winnemucca_NV.html
 

Yvonne G

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Give some of those vets on Robyn's list a call and ask them if they treat tortoises. Not all vets are familiar with tortoises. Your baby is in serious trouble and needs to be seen by a tortoise vet ASAP.

Yvonne
 

Nomad

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Thank you all for your help but Waldo died last night.
I do not believe the sand is calci sand but have requested info
from the manufacturer. I am still trying to figure out what
happened, and would like to eventually get another tortoise.
The article on the light was very interesting and i think i will go with the tube type next time. When I first got him he was in an
aquarium for the first few weeks and getting around all over and
eating well, I Had read that an aquarium is not the best habitat so i purchased a black plastic mixing tub at home depot, This gave
him more room. Everything in the tub was the same i covered the
tub with wire to keep the dogs out. He never seemed to like this
enclosure and went downhil from there. But I can not see how this
was harmful to him, I wil not use the tub again no matter what.
If anyone has any ideas i would greatly appreciate it. Also
the last week he has not pooped when i soaked him, and he quit eating a couple of days ago.
 

Yvonne G

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I'm really sorry that you lost Waldo. That's a very hard thing to have to go through. It may not have been your fault. Babies are pretty hard to take care of. I doubt the cement mixing tub had anything to do with it. Quite a few baby tortoises die...some from poor husbandry, and some just die for no reason.

I always try to encourage new tortoise keepers to start out with an older animal. Get your feet wet, so to speak. Then after you gain the experience of taking care of an animal that is more forgiving of mistakes in their care, you can try again with a baby.

When a baby is eating and acting normal, its impossible for you to know that there is something wrong. And by the time the eyes have swollen shut and the plastron is starting to get soft, its almost too late to do anything about it.

I'm very sorry about Waldo.

Yvonne
 

tortoisenerd

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I'm so sorry to hear this.

What kind of wire?

Mercury Vapor Bulbs are considered the best UYB bulbs by most people due to the high output, one fixture (light, heat, UVB), and they last 12 months vs. 6. I agree an older tort is best (over 1 year). I even regret getting a hatchling even though he's healthy and thriving. By the time any tort shows signs of being sick, a lot of the time its already too late to help them. I don't think it could be the tub--probably just bad luck with the tort being too young, but of course examine your husbandry such as lighting, substrate, diet, hydration, etc. That little guy just looks so tiny!
 

bettinge

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I wish I knew the answers, but I don't! You have now experienced the worst of pet ownership! We all have! With what I know now, I agree 99.99999% with Yvonne! Buying an adult seems so logical. I think its so cool to have a tort from 25 grams on.....but what a science. Different advice, always questioning your judgement, doubt, the highs, the lows, Death! It sucks. BUT, if it was as easy as owning a dog, with a million knowledge vets, we might not even attempt the task. There is still a lot to be learned about captivity of reptiles, and what you have learned is part of that learning process. Moving forward with more knowledge is also part of that process. Its the effort of learning that matters, and one set back should not be an end, but a new begining! JMO!
 

Crazy1

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Craig, I too am sorry to hear of Waldo's passing. As Yvonne said some babies just do not seem to thrive, though it is never easy to lose one. My thought are with you.
 

Tim/Robin

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Sorry to hear of your loss. Losing a tortoise isn't easy. We agree, use it as a lerning experience. One thing we have learned is that it is very hard to keep babies warm enough in an open tub. For some reason some babes just have a hard time finding the heat. We also think a smaller enclosure is better for babes. They can get lost so easily. :D Don't give up, do your homework and do what you can to make sure you start with a healthy animal from the get go.
 

Stazz

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Oh Craig, I am so very sorry to hear about Waldo. Sending you healing hugs
I bought an 'older' tortoise, she is 5yrs old...much easier than a baby, a bit less worry. So just take your time in learning all the right stuff, choose the type of tort you want, and adopt/buy an older one.
 
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