Tortiose shell is soft in the belly area

[ahawashin]

Hi guys
My sulcata is scaring me his shell is kinda soft around the the belly and he sleeps all-day my friend told me to put some calcium powder in his water and when he goes in the tub to sprinkle powders in there
Please help

 

[wellington]

How old is he/she? Was it hard before and now has gone soft? What are your temps, day, night and basking? What is the humidity and what are you using for uvb?
Have you read Toms threads below in my post, if not, do so, ASAP.

 

[ahawashin]

How old is he/she? Was it hard before and now has gone soft? What are your temps, day, night and basking? What is the humidity and what are you using for uvb?
Have you read Toms threads below in my post, if not, do so, ASAP.

He/she is about 6 months I never noticed it if it was soft or hard I noticed last week and he/she been sleeping more than normal not eating a lot
10 hr of heat at 95-98 on one side the other side I got uva light temp is 78-86
I noticed it when I switched to coco coir from mulch , he slowed down and started sleeping more
I don't know if that's normal I'm gonna take him to the vet on my day off

 

[wellington]

What is the humidity? It should be 80%. 86 is a good temp, but with a humidity of 80% otherwise it's a little too warm. How often do you soak? What kind of uvb bulb are you using? Is it warm enough outside where you are to get him some natural sunlight? Are you giving any calcium? Also, what are you using to read the temps? If it's those cheap disc type thermometer like the Petco's sell, they are useless and not accurate. Get a reliable thermometer and an infrared temp gun is a great device to have on hand.

 

[Tom]

Where did you get this tortoise and how was it started?

Read this:
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/hatchling-failure-syndrome.23493/

 

[ahawashin]

What is the humidity? It should be 80%. 86 is a good temp, but with a humidity of 80% otherwise it's a little too warm. How often do you soak? What kind of uvb bulb are you using? Is it warm enough outside where you are to get him some natural sunlight? Are you giving any calcium? Also, what are you using to read the temps? If it's those cheap disc type thermometer like the Petco's sell, they are useless and not accurate. Get a reliable thermometer and an infrared temp gun is a great device to have on hand.

The humidity reaches its highest at 86 I spray the habitat everyday to keep it humid
And I bought a digital thermometer and humid gauge from Walmart the disk one is cheap and don't work
I live in Florida so I don't have a problem with the sun my problem would be the raccoons that's what scares me raccoons are my parrots and the hatchlings before so that's what worries me

 

[wellington]

I would try to get him outside every day for 1/ 2 hour for some sun. Be sure to provide shade so it doesn't over heat.

 

[Yvonne G]

Please understand that calcium doesn't work by itself. It works in conjunction with the UVB either from a good light or from the sun. If you keep the tortoise indoors and you don't have a good UVB light on him, he's going to get soft and eventually die.

 

[ahawashin]

I been keeping him outside for now seems better , I saw some of the coco coir stuff in his mouth is this good or bad

 

[ahawashin]

I have a question
I have the baby feed mix for parrots , I used to feed it to my baby hatchlings
It's powdered you mix it with a little water pull it into an injector and then put it into the baby mouth and feed it
Now my question is can I do that with my sulcata ?

 

[Tom]

I have a question
I have the baby feed mix for parrots , I used to feed it to my baby hatchlings
It's powdered you mix it with a little water pull it into an injector and then put it into the baby mouth and feed it
Now my question is can I do that with my sulcata ?

No.

 

[ahawashin]

No.

Thank you Tom I'll keep him outside for now
He been eating the coco coir is that good for him ?
I got the mazuri for him plus fresh greens he don't touch at all

 

[Vinny Chiarito]

My baby Greek also has a soft underside. It is not warm here in Colorado to put him outside. So, do you think increasing his calcium powder will help? I was thinking the humidity level might be too high. Is that possible?

 

[Tom]

Thank you Tom I'll keep him outside for now
He been eating the coco coir is that good for him ?
I got the mazuri for him plus fresh greens he don't touch at all

Outside all day is not good for baby sulcatas. An hour or two of access to sunshine is all they need.

Something is wrong somewhere with your indoor set up. Or with your tortoise. Where did you get this tortoise and how was it started in its first few days and weeks?

The only time I see them eat their substrate is when they are diseased or when people use colored light bulbs. What heating and lighting equipment are you using? Indoor UV? What are your four temperatures? Warm side, cool side, basking area and over night low?

 

[ahawashin]

Outside all day is not good for baby sulcatas. An hour or two of access to sunshine is all they need.

Something is wrong somewhere with your indoor set up. Or with your tortoise. Where did you get this tortoise and how was it started in its first few days and weeks?

The only time I see them eat their substrate is when they are diseased or when people use colored light bulbs. What heating and lighting equipment are you using? Indoor UV? What are your four temperatures? Warm side, cool side, basking area and over night low?

He outside in an enclosure with a hide in my patio
His inside enclosure has a uva light a heat light from the pet store maybe cause it's 100W heat light?
Top temp 98 one side 76 the other
Baskin area in the 80s
Night temp 75-78

 

[WithLisa]

My baby Greek also has a soft underside. It is not warm here in Colorado to put him outside. So, do you think increasing his calcium powder will help? I was thinking the humidity level might be too high. Is that possible?

Put a small dish with calcium powder in his enclosure, he will take as much as he needs. But it won't help without enough UVB light.

 

[ahawashin]

Hi everybody my sulcata seems better today moving around more than the past week the shell is still soft I been mixing calcium with the food he been out in the sun for two days
I'm hoping it will work

 

[ahawashin]

So I took my sulcata to the vet he gave him a calcium shot he said it had antibiotic in it and told me if he don't get better in a week to bring him back and said to give him a lot of sun light
The good news is they had someone that dropped off a sulcata a couple of days before I went there that he was looking for a good home for
SO I ADOPTED HIM !!!
He is cute older than my sulcata but cute and healthy I'm keeping him in a different enclosure for now
But I will let them play and soak together

 

[Tortoise Man]

May I ask how much the vet bill was?

 

[peasinapod]

So I took my sulcata to the vet he gave him a calcium shot he said it had antibiotic in it and told me if he don't get better in a week to bring him back and said to give him a lot of sun light
The good news is they had someone that dropped off a sulcata a couple of days before I went there that he was looking for a good home for
SO I ADOPTED HIM !!!
He is cute older than my sulcata but cute and healthy I'm keeping him in a different enclosure for now
But I will let them play and soak together

Don't let them meet yet! You should keep the new one in a quarantine for a few months at least.

I hope your younger one feels better soon.