Soft shell

[pistachiosmama]

Hi all. I'm new here for the purpose of my 8 month old Hermann. I'm very concerned they haven't been eating or moving around and won't even open their eyes. I picked them up today to do a carrot soak and felt the belly shell soft. I looked closer and it appears as if there might be a crack as well. Please help.

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi, and welcome!!

May I offer a suggestion? In my opinion "they" "them" are pronouns to be used with HUMANS who are not satisfied with which sex they are. When you use those pronouns when referring to a TORTOISE it's confusing to us and we think you're talking about more than one animal. It's perfectly fine, even though you don't know your animal's sex, to refer to him as he or she.

So, to address your problem. . . We'll need to know how this tortoise is set up - lights, enclosure, food, etc. , as all these things have a bit to do with the symptoms you are seeing.

'can't open his eyes' - This MIGHT mean he's not warm enough. Or it might

mean the light's too strong and hurts his eyes. Or that the substrate is bothering him.

So, you see, the more you can tell us the easier and better it is for us to help you.

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

So sorry this is happening! As Yvonne says, further information on housing is needed to try and help get to the bottom of this, do your best to answer these questions!

What are your temperatures like all over? Ie basking temp(directly under the bulb), overall day temps(middle and cooler side), night temps?
What kind of basking bulb is being used specifically? Packaging photos are good if you have any
Do you use indoor uv? If so what kind?
How’s humidity?
What’s his substrate?
What kind of monitoring do you have?
What’s his diet been like with you?

A photo of the full set up would be wonderful! Welcome to the forum, sorry it’s under these circumstances

 

[_The_Beast_]

Hi all. I'm new here for the purpose of my 8 month old Hermann. I'm very concerned they haven't been eating or moving around and won't even open their eyes. I picked them up today to do a carrot soak and felt the belly shell soft. I looked closer and it appears as if there might be a crack as well. Please help.View attachment 388593View attachment 388594

As @Littleredfootbigredheart asked, can you share more information about your tortoise's:

- lighting (what is your UV source, what is your heat source)

- weight (has it increased since they've been in your care?)

- enclosure temps (warm side and cool side)

- food

Based on your description and the pictures, they look to be in rough shape (thin limbs, soft shell) and potentially at risk for hatchling failure syndrome or sepsis.

Re: pronouns. They/them is fine. I used they/them for my tortoise before it was clear the Walter is indeed a male. While politics are supposed to be left at the door, that doesn't always happen. In countries outside the US, they/them is not necessarily so politicized or polarizing. Those confused can ask a simple clarifying question (to clarify, you are asking about a single tortoise, the one pictured? In my answer, I'm going to assume that you are). Unfortunately, misinformation about biological sex (which, for the record, is more complicated than xx and xy) and gender identity have made their way into this thread and occasionally pop up on the forum. I sincerely hope that the responses that follow continue to focus on your tortoise's health and that you (and others encountering the forum for the first time) feel welcome and encouraged to continue engaging.

 

[pistachiosmama]

As @Littleredfootbigredheart asked, can you share more information about your tortoise's:

- lighting (what is your UV source, what is your heat source)

- weight (has it increased since they've been in your care?)

- enclosure temps (warm side and cool side)

- food

Based on your description and the pictures, they look to be in rough shape (thin limbs, soft shell) and potentially at risk for hatchling failure syndrome or sepsis.

Re: pronouns. They/them is fine. I used they/them for my tortoise before it was clear the Walter is indeed a male. While politics are supposed to be left at the door, that doesn't always happen. In countries outside the US, they/them is not necessarily so politicized or polarizing. Those confused can ask a simple clarifying question (to clarify, you are asking about a single tortoise, the one pictured? In my answer, I'm going to assume that you are). Unfortunately, misinformation about biological sex (which, for the record, is more complicated than xx and xy) and gender identity have made their way into this thread and occasionally pop up on the forum. I sincerely hope that the responses that follow continue to focus on your tortoise's health and that you (and others encountering the forum for the first time) feel welcome and encouraged to continue engaging.

We use an Arcadia pro t5 for us with a 75watt basking light and 100watt ceramic heat lamp on the other side. Temps range from 95 to 85 during the day and go down to 70 at night when the UVb and basking lights are off.

He (sticking with he instead of they now) usually goes crazy over dandelion weeds but hasn't been lately. He's always been picky and rarely goes for the weed pellets.

Not sure about weight but he definitely has grown about a centimeter since December when we got him.

Thank you all for your responses.

 

[COmtnLady]

Please post some pictures of your enclosure from various angles.

What is the humidity inside the enclosure?

And what are you feeding, plus quantity?

How often do you soak him in warm water, and for how long?

Is there any place where he might have fallen onto something or something fallen onto him? It does look like a crack in the plastron.

It may seem like these "details" are not the crux of the problem you are trying to solve, but frequently they prove to be major components of the whole.

 

[pistachiosmama]

Please post some pictures of your enclosure from various angles.

What is the humidity inside the enclosure?

And what are you feeding, plus quantity?

How often do you soak him in warm water, and for how long?

Is there any place where he might have fallen onto something or something fallen onto him? It does look like a crack in the plastron.

It may seem like these "details" are not the crux of the problem you are trying to solve, but frequently they prove to be major components of the whole.

The humidity has been staying at 27-29%. I know that's low but I have had trouble keeping it up. I spray it with water to keep the humidity up as much as I can throughout the day.

We feed him dandelion leaves. The occasional zucchini or carrot. He never really liked the food pellets that we got for him although we still try to leave it in his plate.

We soak him every other day for about 20 minutes in 85 degree water.

No falling or anything falling on him.

I hope this is enough info. I will attach photos as well. Tyia.

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

The humidity has been staying at 27-29%. I know that's low but I have had trouble keeping it up. I spray it with water to keep the humidity up as much as I can throughout the day.

We feed him dandelion leaves. The occasional zucchini or carrot. He never really liked the food pellets that we got for him although we still try to leave it in his plate.

We soak him every other day for about 20 minutes in 85 degree water.

No falling or anything falling on him.

I hope this is enough info. I will attach photos as well. Tyia.

Hi, I’d try and hang that one some more securely, those clamps have been unfortunately been known to fail and fall in.

Humidity definitely needs addressing, spraying won’t last long, you want to make sure it’s a nice damp layer firmly packed down by hand(if left loose it’ll dry quicker)in a closed chamber, not open like this. I’d look into some sort of cover, hopefully you’ll find some ideas in here

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