Tortoise not eating

[JoeyA95]

My leopard tortoise is not eating. I noticed about a week ago. Normally after her warm water soaks(which I do every day-every other day) I put her on her food dish and she begins to eat right away. But I’ve noticed she’s really not touching her food anymore and she’s also not pooping in the water like she normally does. I feed her cactus, mustard greens and kale mostly and she really loves kale. I also use calcium powder.
The tank temp is 75-79 degrees. I have a heat lamp and a heating pad on the side yet it still won’t go over 80. I mist the inside of the tank until the humid goes to 70+ but that doesn’t last more than a few hours. I’m not sure how old she is exactly, under a year. I’m worried!

 

[Bambam1989]

You need a basking area 95-100f. Your enclosure for a baby leopard should be no lower than 80 in the coldest spot.
What is the humidity?
Do you have a lid to cover your pen, otherwise your heat and humidity are just escaping.
If your tort is not warm enough they can not digest properly.
Hope I helped.

 

[JoeyA95]

You need a basking area 95-100f. Your enclosure for a baby leopard should be no lower than 80 in the coldest spot.
What is the humidity?
Do you have a lid to cover your pen, otherwise your heat and humidity are just escaping.
If your tort is not warm enough they can not digest properly.
Hope I helped.

The humidity fluctuates but is generally 30-50 percent until I mist it(then it goes up to 70-99)The enclosure is a long plastic tub with a lid and a hole cut out for the uv and heat lamp. I don’t know how to make it warmer since I already have two heat sources and keep the lid closed.

 

[Bambam1989]

The humidity fluctuates but is generally 30-50 percent until I mist it(then it goes up to 70-99)The enclosure is a long plastic tub with a lid and a hole cut out for the uv and heat lamp. I don’t know how to make it warmer since I already have two heat sources and keep the lid closed. View attachment 222118

Let's consider your lights then.
What types of bulbs are you using?
If you are using a red colored heat bulb they are not recommended. This is because they make the substrate look like food to the tortoise.
If your uvb is one of those curly or swirly ones they have been known to cause irritation to the eyes.
That screen that your lights are sitting on is also affecting how much uv is reaching your tort.

 

[JoeyA95]

Let's consider your lights then.
What types of bulbs are you using?
If you are using a red colored heat bulb they are not recommended. This is because they make the substrate look like food to the tortoise.
If your uvb is one of those curly or swirly ones they have been known to cause irritation to the eyes.
That screen that your lights are sitting on is also affecting how much uv is reaching your tort.

Hmm. I have both the swirly uv light and the red heat light. I don’t think the red one is affecting the substrate because there’s none in there right now. I’m using paper towels and carpet type stuff. This is because I was previously using a mixture of play sand and ZooMed eco earth. And she ended up getting mites or some type of small little bugs. So my local reptile store owner/friend said to get rid of that substrate.
Anyway when I get more money next month I will buy new lights but I’m stuck with them for now. Thanks for the info

 

[JoeyA95]

Let's consider your lights then.
What types of bulbs are you using?
If you are using a red colored heat bulb they are not recommended. This is because they make the substrate look like food to the tortoise.
If your uvb is one of those curly or swirly ones they have been known to cause irritation to the eyes.
That screen that your lights are sitting on is also affecting how much uv is reaching your tort.

What should I do about the screen? How is it affecting the light?

 

[Bambam1989]

I would recommend to build or buy a stand for the lights to hang from. You can raise or lower them as needed. I believe there is several threads discussing how screens affect the uv that can explain it much better than I can.

 

[Melis]

Just do away with the screen. I've read where many people then use foil to close the gap between the lights and top of the enclosure so heat and humidity doesn't escape. And you aren't able to maintain the proper humidity on paper towels. You need a proper substrate. Have you read about coco coir or orchid bark? When you get the new substrate in and ensure the enclosure is fully enclosed, the humidity will go up. But this means it's very important to keep the heat high like the others have mentioned. High humidity and cold temps are no good for a tort.

 

[Destben]

https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/leopard-tortoise-care-sheet.63792/

Read the tortoise care sheet if you haven't and maybe try warming her inclosure to at least 80F and give her a basking spot of at least 95F. I had issues because my baby tortoise got sick because of colder temperatures so now I don't let her tank drop below 80F even in the coldest part.

 

[JoeyA95]

Thanks everyone. I don’t have money until December 1st so I’m trying to make do but she’s still barely eating and I’m so worried. I put a divider type thing in her enclosure so the lamp only has to heat half of it and I covered most of the open areas with foil. Right now the temp is at 77.9 and hopefully will get to at least 80, it’s been slowly climbing. I know carpet and paper towel aren’t good but like I said she ended up getting mites or something so that’s why I switched. However I’m back to using play sand and once I get paid I will mix it with some cococoir or something. I’m thinking of getting a smaller tub or a tortoise box. Any reviews in this one?

 

[Bambam1989]

Sand is not a recommended substrate. It tends to cling to food and can cause blockages in the digestive tract.
I use straight coco coir with sphagnum moss in the hides for my lil sulcata. Some people prefer orchid bark.
Keep asking questions and the forum will keep trying to help

 

[JoesMum]

It isn’t warm enough. It must be 95-100F directly under the basking lamp. You fix that by moving the height if the basking lamp up and down. If your tort can’t bask at this temperature it cannot digest food or be active. Your tort is going to get sick if the temperatures aren’t fixed quickly.

 

[Destben]

Thanks everyone. I don’t have money until December 1st so I’m trying to make do but she’s still barely eating and I’m so worried. I put a divider type thing in her enclosure so the lamp only has to heat half of it and I covered most of the open areas with foil. Right now the temp is at 77.9 and hopefully will get to at least 80, it’s been slowly climbing. I know carpet and paper towel aren’t good but like I said she ended up getting mites or something so that’s why I switched. However I’m back to using play sand and once I get paid I will mix it with some cococoir or something. I’m thinking of getting a smaller tub or a tortoise box. Any reviews in this one?View attachment 223280

This is what I was using when my baby leopard got sick. It’s not recommended for babies. It’s too open. You need an enclosed chamber. @Tom knows how to make them. If you would rather not you can order one from animal plastics , but they take a long time to get. I ordered one last week and it won’t be here till next month and that’s the fast ship option.
http://www.apcages.com/home/

 

[Tom]

My leopard tortoise is not eating. I noticed about a week ago. Normally after her warm water soaks(which I do every day-every other day) I put her on her food dish and she begins to eat right away. But I’ve noticed she’s really not touching her food anymore and she’s also not pooping in the water like she normally does. I feed her cactus, mustard greens and kale mostly and she really loves kale. I also use calcium powder.
The tank temp is 75-79 degrees. I have a heat lamp and a heating pad on the side yet it still won’t go over 80. I mist the inside of the tank until the humid goes to 70+ but that doesn’t last more than a few hours. I’m not sure how old she is exactly, under a year. I’m worried!

Joey, You've gotten some bad care info somewhere. Your baby will not wait until December to get warm enough. You need to make these changes right now, today, or the likelihood of your little one surviving is slim.

Please give these a read through and then come back with your questions:
https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/how-to-raise-a-healthy-sulcata-or-leopard-version-2-0.79895/
https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/beginner-mistakes.45180/

 

[JoeyA95]

Joey, You've gotten some bad care info somewhere. Your baby will not wait until December to get warm enough. You need to make these changes right now, today, or the likelihood of your little one surviving is slim.

Please give these a read through and then come back with your questions:
https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/how-to-raise-a-healthy-sulcata-or-leopard-version-2-0.79895/
https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/beginner-mistakes.45180/

I’ve gone over the care sheet, thanks. I moved her into a drawer for now that I took out of my dresser. It’s about 2 feet long and a foot wide. I’m using foil to cover the top. Much smaller than what I had her in before so now it’s heating up nicely! Been 85-95 during the day and I take the foil off at night and it goes to 80-85. Tonight will be the second night I’ve had her in there. I soaked her today and put with her food, she took like one bite and walked away.

I’m talking with my brother to have him custom build an enclosure that’s closed top so I can include the heat and lights inside the enclosure and better maintain the temp and humidity