Hello, my name is Joe. Was reaching out for a little help. My little buddy Romeo isn't doin do well.. Got him last April almost a year old..weighs 3 grams less then when I got em. Strange thing is his umbilical cord.. There's a little black dot there.. Taken to vets and treated for pin worms and antibiotics. But almost a year later and 3 grams less in weight? And just the past couple days seems his right inner thigh shell is splintering a little??? He's very active gets 2 soaks a day..90° on the dot 30 min first soak about an hour the second..Was only doing the one. I do add unflavored Pedialyte. Diets mainly dandelion, grasses, some farmed kale, different greens, pads. Has a brother, Samuel Stanley...he's my buddy too, but he's doing good. Got him in Jan last year he's about tripled in size haha.. Should I separate the 2? They been living together ever since?? I'll try and upload some pics in a bit..
Sick tortoise?
- Thread starter Izabjo
- Start date
Greetings.
Sounds at a minimum like a classic case of bullying going on here. Upload some pix of your enclosure and torts. Not sure what your temps, light8ng, etc are, but make sure you study up on the Care Sheet and other info under the Sulcata tab.
https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/how-to-raise-a-healthy-sulcata-or-leopard-version-2-0.79895/
Id separate as soon as you can. Happy Torting
Sounds at a minimum like a classic case of bullying going on here. Upload some pix of your enclosure and torts. Not sure what your temps, light8ng, etc are, but make sure you study up on the Care Sheet and other info under the Sulcata tab.
https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/how-to-raise-a-healthy-sulcata-or-leopard-version-2-0.79895/
Id separate as soon as you can. Happy Torting
Hello. I studied a little bit before hand. I wasn't to blind going in haha. Enclose is 110 gal tank. Jungle mix. Fir & peat moss. Temp hot spot 98 to 105 ish most the tank is around 87/90 burros can get down to about 75.. Got 2repti sun down the side, a150w uvb/a day light (goes out at night) 2 ceramic heaters and one red heat lamp for night. Stays humid. Mist it daily toss it about every 3 weeks..
I’m thinking bullying too. He isn’t the dominant of the two and is suffering. Please separate them. They will both be happier. I’ll check back about your temps and enclosure to see if it could be any of that too but right now, my guess is bullying.
With the top being open, the humidity can’t stay high and the temps aren’t consistent enough. You can make a top for it with holes for the lights. Wrap the light fixtures in foil to protect the lid. Get another enclosure for him too. You can search “closed chambers” on here and get lots of ideas.
I've read that's what the temps should be? Hot spot 105/110 tank 90 and the coldest spot about 75...lol thus the light config to get it as close as possible. Mine well flux about 3 to 5 deg. Depending on where they are.. And the humidity stays pretty high in there
These are my 4th and 5th guys and so far the only one having problems? Just my 5th guy.. They seem to get along good together they eat together sleep beside each other. The little guy sometimes will walk in the middle of the food and I have to pick em up and put him back on the side lol. I'm concerned of his umbilical cord issue though
I keep my baby habitats in the 80-85F degree range. . . all over the whole enclosure - no hot side, no cool side.
It looks like you have the lights sitting on screen? If so, the screen if filtering out the majority of the UVB. There should be no screen between the UVB bulb and the tortoise.
I also agree on the bullying issue. We've seen it over and over when you keep two together. The dominant tortoise is telling the less dominant tortoise to get out of the territory. The less dominant guy can't get out as he's contained inside by four walls. Very stressful on both of them. The little guy tries to stay out of the bigger one's sight, eats less, stays hidden, etc.
Sleeping together is the bigger one telling the smaller one, "Hey, this is my spot." Sitting on the food is also the way one tells the other this is MY food. Peeing on the food is another way.
I see the little spot you're talking about, but I can't tell if it would be a problem or not. Sorry.
It looks like you have the lights sitting on screen? If so, the screen if filtering out the majority of the UVB. There should be no screen between the UVB bulb and the tortoise.
I also agree on the bullying issue. We've seen it over and over when you keep two together. The dominant tortoise is telling the less dominant tortoise to get out of the territory. The less dominant guy can't get out as he's contained inside by four walls. Very stressful on both of them. The little guy tries to stay out of the bigger one's sight, eats less, stays hidden, etc.
Sleeping together is the bigger one telling the smaller one, "Hey, this is my spot." Sitting on the food is also the way one tells the other this is MY food. Peeing on the food is another way.
I see the little spot you're talking about, but I can't tell if it would be a problem or not. Sorry.
This is called bullying. Sleeping together, eating, climbing on food. They really need to be separated. As for the enclosures, if these are babies, they need temps above 80 degrees throughout the hole enclosureand humidity of 80 % or more. The only way to achieve this is with a closed chamber.
For sulcatas, it is recommended it not go below 80 in any area. A closed chamber keeps the temps stable so the ambient stays above 80 with a thermostat keeping it that way.
Get rid of the red light. It should be dark at night. Separate them. Cover the enclosure. Don't put the UV light on a screen.
It's surprising Romeo is still alive. How much does he weigh?
Also you should limit how much dandelion and kale they get.
It's surprising Romeo is still alive. How much does he weigh?
Also you should limit how much dandelion and kale they get.
