Rehab time for baby leopard tort

[GaiasFamily]

Newbie here and how I wish I’d found this site earlier! We got a baby leopard tortoise three weeks ago from an exotic pet store, and we’ve had good results from them in the past. But I’m now realizing that we were advised very wrong about tortoise care care!
I am now following all the guidelines from Tom’s guide and also giving baby food vitamin baths several times a day to correct what I suspect is dehydration and vitamin A deficiency. I’m getting the recommended eyedrop today. How quickly should I see an improvement and appetite and activity level once I have corrected the enclosure climate? Gaia is 33g grams today, and she hasn’t eaten in three days.
TIA for any guidance, and I appreciate y’all!

 

[zovick]

Newbie here and how I wish I’d found this site earlier! We got a baby leopard tortoise three weeks ago from an exotic pet store, and we’ve had good results from them in the past. But I’m now realizing that we were advised very wrong about tortoise care care!
I am now following all the guidelines from Tom’s guide and also giving baby food vitamin baths several times a day to correct what I suspect is dehydration and vitamin A deficiency. I’m getting the recommended eyedrop today. How quickly should I see an improvement and appetite and activity level once I have corrected the enclosure climate? Gaia is 33g grams today, and she hasn’t eaten in three days.
TIA for any guidance, and I appreciate y’all!

You seem to be doing the right things now, but from the appearance of the tortoise in the photos, the lack of appetite, and the very low weight, I would say that you should most likely prepare for the worst. If you are able to pull the animal through, it will be a great achievement, but it is probably not overly likely.

That being said, are you keeping it warm and in a closed chamber with high humidity? If not, that should be very beneficial. I would recommend a temperature of 88-90F throughout the enclosure, with just a slight drop to 85F at night. I would not bother with a basking area for that tortoise at this point as it would possibly further dehydrate it, even in the closed chamber. A basking area and bulb could be added in a couple of weeks if the tortoise recovers and becomes more active.

Good luck!

 

[The_Four_Toed_Edward]

Are her eyes closed? Usually baby food baths get them opened in 3 to 4 days. After this their appetite should perk back up.

After you get her weight up, her overall behavior should improve too.