Poor Bones

[Arzu78]

He didn’t make it. I think because the temp got too hot that night it had did some irreversible damage to his internal organs. I have since that night corrected my mistake. The first ever animal that I had gotten attached to and one mistake killed him. I feel terrible about it. I'll still be on the forum as I continue to monitor my enclosure temps for a while and make whatever necessary changes. I was going to build his larger enclosure this weekend and then that happened and my car messed up again. I know everyone doesn't agree with Tyler's methods, but I'm convinced this was all my fault and that he was a happy healthy baby before I messed up. thank you for checking up it means a lot.

Drew it is very difficult, almost impossible, to bring back a little guy once he crosses over to not eating/moving. I had two sulcatas which I was raising “dry”, one stopped eating and moving, got better and took a turn for worst. I did EVERYTHING I could, spent a lot and at the end lost Jack. Lizzy is thriving in a closed enclosure. Try again ... So sorry for Bones

 

[drew54]

Drew it is very difficult, almost impossible, to bring back a little guy once he crosses over to not eating/moving. I had two sulcatas which I was raising “dry”, one stopped eating and moving, got better and took a turn for worst. I did EVERYTHING I could, spent a lot and at the end lost Jack. Lizzy is thriving in a closed enclosure. Try again ... So sorry for Bones

Thank you and I will try again. I learned a valuable lesson with bones and one I tend to carry with me to my next one. Just want to make sure 100% with my temps first.

 

[drew54]

Oh no! I’m sorry for your loss

Thank you

 

[drew54]

I'm so so sorry. I hope when you're ready you can have another tortoise to help fill the void [emoji45]

Thank you and I will. My temps are still good 80-85 cool 90-106 hot side. The probe is on the surface and not in the substrate. That's what the issue was and why my little guy got fried. The temp was reading the substrate temp and not the surface temp. So it read low and I bumped the heat up some which ended up being a fatal mistake. Anyway, my next one shouldn't have those issues.

 

[vladimir]

Thank you and I will. My temps are still good 80-85 cool 90-106 hot side. The probe is on the surface and not in the substrate. That's what the issue was and why my little guy got fried. The temp was reading the substrate temp and not the surface temp. So it read low and I bumped the heat up some which ended up being a fatal mistake. Anyway, my next one shouldn't have those issues.

May I ask if you plan on taking Tyler up on his offer?

 

[drew54]

May I ask if you plan on taking Tyler up on his offer?

My wife wants me to and I want to, but I don't think I'm ready yet. I'll be honest. When I received the tort from Tyler I immediately fell in love with him. I don't get attached to animals, but he was my first. It broke my heart that Saturday morning when I seen how high those temps got and I knew it wasn't good. I tried to cool him off and get him going, but he just kept declining. I don't believe Tyler's way of raising and breeding is necessarily wrong and I know it wasn't anything he did. The hatchling was very active happy and healthy when I got him and remained that way until I changed the substrate and the probe got covered causing the high temps. It's been rough since last Saturday. I buried him yesterday with my three year old who balled when he seen him. I did too and I don't think right now I'm emotionally ready. I have a lot guilt right now because all I had to do was check the floor temp and pull the probe up to the surface and he would still be running his laps and his water dish. In time when I'm ready I will order anther from Tyler. Bones was an amazing little guy.

 

[Arzu78]

Thank you and I will try again. I learned a valuable lesson with bones and one I tend to carry with me to my next one. Just want to make sure 100% with my temps first.

Believe me, I know how you are feeling, I shed tears for Jack while I tend to Lizzy, but it gets better day by day ... Temps are the most important !!!

 

[drew54]

I agree fully on the temps. I know it will get easier, but it just sucks because I checked the temps a hundred times a day and the one time I didn't it was fatal. I'm sorry you lost Jack. How old was he?

 

[Arzu78]

I agree fully on the temps. I know it will get easier, but it just sucks because I checked the temps a hundred times a day and the one time I didn't it was fatal. I'm sorry you lost Jack. How old was he?

A baby 3 months ... You know, once they cross that fine line, there is no temp, no soak able to bring them, don’t blame yourself ... it is a lot to take in as is, I could have done a thousands things, it was too late ...

 

[drew54]

A baby 3 months ... You know, once they cross that fine line, there is no temp, no soak able to bring them, don’t blame yourself ... it is a lot to take in as is, I could have done a thousands things, it was too late ...

Yeah, it's a difficult journey, but I'm confident next time will be much smoother and better.

 

[xphare]

I am sorry for your lose. Its never easy losing a friend.

 

[xphare]

Keeping moisture in the substrate will keep humidity in the moderate range at tortoise-level. Keeping the substrate moist and then putting a ceramic or plastic cave with a small opening over it will keep the humidity high inside that hide where tortoises spend a lot of time. The air 6 inches above that is very dry in Las Vegas, but the air 6 inches above tortoise level doesn't really mean anything to the tortoise. A typical enclosure of babies we dump 1/4 gallon of water a day in to, usually over the hide, but it spreads to the surrounding soil. It's never dry dry in the enclosure other than maybe right under the heat light (which we splash a few times a week also, but it dries up much faster than the hide area). The surface of the substrate is usually dry at the very top, with moisture 1/4" below that. Babies spend 70-80% of their day either in the humid hide or burrowed into the moist substrate (which would also be 80%+ humidity).

Outdoor enclosures here do stay pretty dry, but those are typically adult tortoises that can handle it (and we primarily keep desert/arid species here). We have raised testudo outdoors since hatching, and you'd be shocked to see how smooth they are. They grow pretty slowly, and fade (darken) with the sun, but they grow smooth and hard as a rock. They as outdoor babies spend a lot of time burrowed in to the root balls of plants that hold water (like they would in the wild). All the outdoor tortoises have hidebox areas with sand under them that we spray water in to at least 3-4 times a week during the warm months. It has an evaporative cooling effect in there that lasts for 1-2 days.

I am with @TylerStewart on this one. I'm glad the closed chamber works for everyone who uses it but I do not use it at all and have had nothing but success. I received a baby leopard from Tyler in 2017 and she is almost a year and a half now growing like a weed. She is in an open air enclosure where she can choose what micro-climate she wants to be at. She is soaked twice a day (morning and evening) and I also spray her carapace multiple times a day. Her humid hide is near 100% humidity and the substrate is always moist from pouring water on it when needed. She eats everything insight and is growing smoothly. I'm raising my sulcata the same way and he's thriving. Just goes to show you can raise tortoises different ways and still have success. BTW who is going to the TTPG conference. Would love to continue this conversation in person.