I have a 4-month-old baby Russian tortoise he is smaller than the rest of his clutch mates anyways he's very lethargic doesn't move doesn't open his eyes doesn't want to eat I don't know what I did wrong but I already took him to the vet he's still sick I'm so sad I cannot stop crying cuz I don't know what to do for him I love him so much I don't want to see him going through this so it's giving me great pain is there anybody that could give me some suggestions on what do they might think it is
Sick baby tortoise
- Thread starter Kybry00
- Start date
Couple of things. Unless you bred them, you do not know they came from the same "clutch" and he could be slightly younger.
He could be smaller if he is a different sex to the others.
With tortoises, size isn't always a good indicator of health. Being active and eating well is.
So if he's very lethargic, that's not good. He could have something called hatchling failure syndrome, which causes certain hatchling to not thrive. Let's not write him off yet though as he could be lethargic for a number of other reasons.
Tortoises can become lethargic when bullied or feeling threatened and stressed, they are highly territorial and solitary creatures and in general become stressed and unwell when kept with other tortoises.
Impaction and dehydration are other reasons that tortoises will become lethargic and refuse to eat. It may be he has ingested some substrate and has a blockage or that he's very dehydrated.
You can't over bath a tortoise. So first things first are you bathing him daily for twenty minutes changing the water to maintain it at the temperature you would bath a child at? That will rehydrate him and help him pass anything that is blocking him up. Make sure temperatures are adequate so he doesn't get cold after bathing and offer him food then, when he's nice and warm from his bath.
Make sure he is getting the right food...dandelions, weed plantain, sowthistle, watercress, lamb lettuce, radicchio, and pak choi are all good, and kale can be fed in moderation. No fruit, tomato, carrot, Spinach, brocoli or Cabbage.
First thing to do is separate him from the others. How many are there total? You don't want any to be housed as a pair.
Next get him away from the peat moss. They eat that and it causes impaction. That might be your problem.
Realize that most of the care info that you get online and from pet shops or vets is all wrong. Read all this info and be sure you are housing, heating feeding them correctly.
The Best Way To Raise Any Temperate Species Of Tortoise
I chose the title of this care sheet very carefully. Are there other ways to raise babies and care for adults? Yes. Yes there are, but those ways are not as good. What follows is the BEST way, according to 30 years of research and experimentation with hundreds of babies of many species. What is...
tortoiseforum.org
Info For New People. Please Read This First.
Hello and welcome to tortoiseforum.org! We are all glad you are here! There is no other forum like this anywhere. We have tens of thousands of members from all over the world ranging from kids with their first tortoise to people who have been breeding and keeping high end tortoises since the...
tortoiseforum.org
Here is info on how to start babies correctly. Did the breeder do these things?
How To Incubate Eggs And Start Hatchlings
I put my eggs in a plastic shoe box with a lid on it and put the shoe box in the incubator. You can drill a couple of very small holes around the top of the container, but not on the lid. I use vermiculite as an incubation media. I mix it in a 1 : 1 ratio with water by weight for Sulcatas and...
tortoiseforum.org
I immediately Followed what you said but it's not working he's still won't open his eyes his he hasn't changed positions and still asleep he won't even move I took him to the vet she couldn't figure out why he was acting the way he did but she told me to give him critical care which I did and it's not working he seems really swollen like his little feet don't touch the ground when he's laying on his belly but he's been that way forever but I thought it was he was chunky and healthy you know like babies should be I'm doing what you guys are suggesting to me he's been in water all night but to keep the water warm I just hate interrupting him because you know he's sick nobody likes to be interrupted when they're sick so so I'm going to go out and get a heating pad to put underneath him I'll do anything to get him well I'm losing him is not an option for me losing him is losing me he is my world I love him and his sisters too and I did hatch them myself I think he is the middle baby to be born and I never saw anything was wrong with him because he was little just thought the mails are smaller than the females how do I free him from impaction
ShellingtonTheFirst
Active Member
Keep on trying everything you’re doing now. Don’t give up!
Most vets don't know tortoise care. Plain and simple. Forcing food into an animal that cannot handle it or process it does harm. That doesn't help.
Let's start at the beginning. Who hatched this baby? What incubation media did they use? What sort of care did the baby receive after hatching? Was it indoors or out? How often was it soaked?
I trusted the vet to help me with him and he died I'm so devastated I can't stop crying now it's my baby oh my God I Lost My baby!!!!!!!!! I'm never getting oh my God what did I do you speak moss and he ate it oh my God I loved him so much I'm so angry because he lasted a week he tried so hard to fight and I messed up I trusted the vet if only we had each other's numbers we could have talked can't stop crying and your life goes on I have four other babies but that doesn't besides the point I don't want this to happen to you my other babies so I took out the Coco fiber and I have them on a heat mattj listen I really need to talk to somebody I'm so devastated and I feel all alone
Sorry for your loss. Coco fiber is fine. Not the moss or the heat matt. What are your temperatures and what lights do you have? You need to help the others. Please follow the care sheet.
Everybody gets to learn the hard way sometimes. Sorry the little guy died. Are you absolutely sure he was dead yet?
Was it a little babie russian?
I'm using between 80 to 90 on the left side of the enclosure and then 72 I believe on the right side and the UVB and the UVA lighting I believe is 75 but I think and it's also I do use a heat mat it might not supposed to use a heat mat
No heat mat. Were you able to read the care sheet that was attached on the post above? @Tom or @ZEROPILOT should give you better information. How old are your tortoises? I think your temperatures might be too low for hatchlings. However wait for an expert because I am not one.how are the rest doing? I hope you are doing better.
I have a soak dish in the enclosure I use an incubator that I bought online I believe the temperature that I had it at was 31 c I don't know what caused him to be so little than the rest but he was the littlest he wasn't even the baby he was like the middle hatchling the vet called me and told me that the tortoise died overnight so I really don't want to regret anything yes he was a little Russian tortoise full bred
