Roo Bot
New Member
After obsessively trolling the tortoise forum, (thankful my girl is getting better,) I'm wondering if she's might have MBD. Also, does she appear to be a she? I thought she was female, but the vet told me she was male.
I'm wondering if her shell is slightly misshapen. She has curled nails on her back feet and her hind legs seem weak-ish. Her shell doesn't drag when she walks, but it doesn't seem really high above the ground either. I don't know how a 'normal' tortoise should walk.
I feed her about half spring mix (she's a whore for radicchio!), and half assorted weeds that I forage. The greens are roughly chopped and mixed so she can't pick out the radicchio. When she's allowed supervised grazing time, she eats grass. I soak her every day, usually for about 20 minutes.
When it is warm enough outside (or at least not raining), she spends 1-4 hours outside with access to sun and shade. (I jury rigged a ceramic heat emitter to the large storage bin she goes outside in, so she's heated when it isn't very warm outside.) (She's getting over a respiratory illness, so I'm still keeping her pretty warm.) I'm guessing she has access to sun about 15 hours a week?
The basking spot in her enclosure is as close to 95 as I can maintain. (I'm sure it fluctuates some with room temperature.) The cool end of her cage is usually above 70. She seems to like to be in 85 degree spots. Indoors, I don't have full spectrum lighting. (I wasn't planning on getting a tortoise. She was found by a coworker in a rural yard on a cold rainy day barely moving. It is on my purchasing list as soon as I can afford it.) (Outdoor pen that isn't a rubbermaid is also high on the list as well as indoor enclosure upgrade. She lives in a broken bathtub because I'm classy.) I use coconut coir as a substrate, mist 2-3 times a day and have two slate tiles under the heat lamp.
My questions:
Does it seem like she might have MBD?
Approximately how much should I feed her daily? She didn't eat for at least a few weeks and seems ravenous.
She finished antibiotics about 2 weeks ago. I'm unsure when I should allow for night time temperature drop.
Should I be supplementing calcium? If so, how often?
If I should be supplementing calcium, would http://www.fmbrown.com/products/pet-birds/brown-sr-cuttlebone-calcium-powder-orange.html this product be ok to use? I already have it for my finches. I'll copy and paste the guaranteed analysis and ingredients below. (I'm totally happy to purchase a better supplement.)
Crude Protein (min) 9.75%
Crude Fat (min) 0.01%
Crude Fiber (max) 4.0%
Moisture (max) 8.0%
Calcium (min) 35.0%
Calcium (max) 40.0%
Vitamin A (min) 8,500 IU/100g
Vitamin D3 (min) 1,000 IU/100g
Beta Carotene (min) 8,500 IU/kg
Ingredients:
Calcium Carbonate (from Ground Cuttlebone), Dried Peach Powder, Dried Apple Powder, Dried Raisin Powder, Dried Apricot Powder, Dried Cherry Powder, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Carotene, Vitamin A Supplement, Red #3 and Yellow #5.
THANK YOU!!! for all your support and advice. Beaulah would say thank you too, if she could. Also, if you made it through the above novel, thank you for your time! My apologies if I should have separated all these questions out into different posts/categories.
I'm wondering if her shell is slightly misshapen. She has curled nails on her back feet and her hind legs seem weak-ish. Her shell doesn't drag when she walks, but it doesn't seem really high above the ground either. I don't know how a 'normal' tortoise should walk.
I feed her about half spring mix (she's a whore for radicchio!), and half assorted weeds that I forage. The greens are roughly chopped and mixed so she can't pick out the radicchio. When she's allowed supervised grazing time, she eats grass. I soak her every day, usually for about 20 minutes.
When it is warm enough outside (or at least not raining), she spends 1-4 hours outside with access to sun and shade. (I jury rigged a ceramic heat emitter to the large storage bin she goes outside in, so she's heated when it isn't very warm outside.) (She's getting over a respiratory illness, so I'm still keeping her pretty warm.) I'm guessing she has access to sun about 15 hours a week?
The basking spot in her enclosure is as close to 95 as I can maintain. (I'm sure it fluctuates some with room temperature.) The cool end of her cage is usually above 70. She seems to like to be in 85 degree spots. Indoors, I don't have full spectrum lighting. (I wasn't planning on getting a tortoise. She was found by a coworker in a rural yard on a cold rainy day barely moving. It is on my purchasing list as soon as I can afford it.) (Outdoor pen that isn't a rubbermaid is also high on the list as well as indoor enclosure upgrade. She lives in a broken bathtub because I'm classy.) I use coconut coir as a substrate, mist 2-3 times a day and have two slate tiles under the heat lamp.
My questions:
Does it seem like she might have MBD?
Approximately how much should I feed her daily? She didn't eat for at least a few weeks and seems ravenous.
She finished antibiotics about 2 weeks ago. I'm unsure when I should allow for night time temperature drop.
Should I be supplementing calcium? If so, how often?
If I should be supplementing calcium, would http://www.fmbrown.com/products/pet-birds/brown-sr-cuttlebone-calcium-powder-orange.html this product be ok to use? I already have it for my finches. I'll copy and paste the guaranteed analysis and ingredients below. (I'm totally happy to purchase a better supplement.)
Crude Protein (min) 9.75%
Crude Fat (min) 0.01%
Crude Fiber (max) 4.0%
Moisture (max) 8.0%
Calcium (min) 35.0%
Calcium (max) 40.0%
Vitamin A (min) 8,500 IU/100g
Vitamin D3 (min) 1,000 IU/100g
Beta Carotene (min) 8,500 IU/kg
Ingredients:
Calcium Carbonate (from Ground Cuttlebone), Dried Peach Powder, Dried Apple Powder, Dried Raisin Powder, Dried Apricot Powder, Dried Cherry Powder, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Carotene, Vitamin A Supplement, Red #3 and Yellow #5.
THANK YOU!!! for all your support and advice. Beaulah would say thank you too, if she could. Also, if you made it through the above novel, thank you for your time! My apologies if I should have separated all these questions out into different posts/categories.