Possibly sick?

[Peytons torts]

So I have a 1 1/2 year old Hermann tortoise his/her shell was hard about a week ago but I just picked him up and he felt lighter and the top and bottom of his shell was a little soft what should I do I'm giving him a warm soak right now

 

[johnsonnboswell]

How are you keeping him?

Offer cuttlebone.

 

[Peytons torts]

I have the zoo med tortoise house with a mixture of coco coir and cypress mulch bedding the temps are at around 88 degrees F they do have a cuddle bone in there he eats it quite often I also sprinkle calcium supplement on their food 3-4 times a week he is around 2 inches long

 

[ascott]

What is your source of uva and uvb rays? I would hold off on offering too much calcium supplement, that can back fire in a bad way....what is the diet usually consist of?

 

[WillTort2]

Sunshine would be a good start along with a good variety of healthy foods.

 

[Peytons torts]

I feed my tortoises spring mix and once in 1-3 months alittle fruit I have the powersun uv bulb

 

[johnsonnboswell]

No fruit. The diet is not varied enough. It will get you through the winter, but there are so many more foods available, and free up until frost. Light is probably the big issue.

 

[Peytons torts]

So what lighting should I get

 

[WillTort2]

The powersun is a good bulb, but I've read that their uv output drops rapidly after the first 90 days. Therefore, get some sunshine and get a new bulb before winter sets in.