We lost our baby red footed tortoise last night and we are absolutely devastated. If anyone has any input on things we can change if we ever decide to try again, it would be so greatly appreciated .
We got him from a highly rated reptile store at the end of February, the owner was out for the evening but the assistant estimated him at around 5 months old, although I always thought he seemed small for that age. His eyes and nose have always been clear. He seemed a little sleepier than usual the day before and hasn't had the biggest appetite for the last couple of days, and when we picked him up for his bath he was just... gone.
He was the first reptile my husband and I have ever owned. We absolutely adored him and his little personality. I thought we researched everything. I did want to get a better UVB light at some point, but I thought the setup was really good for him. Looking back there were things I wish I had been more concerned about- he rarely pooped in his bath and I don't think I ever saw pee, but the enclosure is so large and I was reading that baby tortoises sometimes eat their poop. He didn't seem to be growing at all. I monitored his weight for a while and it seemed to fluctuate within a few grams, but didn't trend upward by much. I wish so much that I had just taken him to a vet, just to be sure.
He got a warm water soak every single day, sometimes twice a day. There was one incident within the first month that he seemed listless and floppy, we gave him an extra long bath mixed with baby food and he perked right back up.
We tried to vary his diet every day. For greens we rotated romaine lettuce, collard greens, turnip greens, and dandelion greens. We also provided fruit most days, either in bites or mashed up on the greens; blackberries, raspberries, strawberries, and mango. We gave banana, white cap mushrooms, and carrots as an occasional treat, and a hard boiled egg or a little tuna in water about once a month. He also got a sprinkle of calcium supplement on his greens at least once a week, and the enclosure has a cuttlebone, although he never seemed to nibble on it.
The enclosure is a 6.5'x3' book shelf lined with a tarp, with a litter box sunk in the middle for deeper burrowing. Half of it is topped in plexiglass, and the other half was screened until we realized within a couple of days how much humidity we were losing, and ever since that side has been covered with a tarp. That side also has a humid hide.
The substrate is cedar mulch, coconut coir, and sphagnum moss. We have two 60W ceramic heating elements for night time. During the day we have a 13W UVA/UVB 5.0 bulb going, and one or two 75W UVA heat lamps depending on the temperature. We keep the basking spot at 95, ambient around 80, and the cooler half at around 75.
Thank you to anyone who took the time to read all of this, and in advance for any advice. We are stunned and heartbroken.
We got him from a highly rated reptile store at the end of February, the owner was out for the evening but the assistant estimated him at around 5 months old, although I always thought he seemed small for that age. His eyes and nose have always been clear. He seemed a little sleepier than usual the day before and hasn't had the biggest appetite for the last couple of days, and when we picked him up for his bath he was just... gone.
He was the first reptile my husband and I have ever owned. We absolutely adored him and his little personality. I thought we researched everything. I did want to get a better UVB light at some point, but I thought the setup was really good for him. Looking back there were things I wish I had been more concerned about- he rarely pooped in his bath and I don't think I ever saw pee, but the enclosure is so large and I was reading that baby tortoises sometimes eat their poop. He didn't seem to be growing at all. I monitored his weight for a while and it seemed to fluctuate within a few grams, but didn't trend upward by much. I wish so much that I had just taken him to a vet, just to be sure.
He got a warm water soak every single day, sometimes twice a day. There was one incident within the first month that he seemed listless and floppy, we gave him an extra long bath mixed with baby food and he perked right back up.
We tried to vary his diet every day. For greens we rotated romaine lettuce, collard greens, turnip greens, and dandelion greens. We also provided fruit most days, either in bites or mashed up on the greens; blackberries, raspberries, strawberries, and mango. We gave banana, white cap mushrooms, and carrots as an occasional treat, and a hard boiled egg or a little tuna in water about once a month. He also got a sprinkle of calcium supplement on his greens at least once a week, and the enclosure has a cuttlebone, although he never seemed to nibble on it.
The enclosure is a 6.5'x3' book shelf lined with a tarp, with a litter box sunk in the middle for deeper burrowing. Half of it is topped in plexiglass, and the other half was screened until we realized within a couple of days how much humidity we were losing, and ever since that side has been covered with a tarp. That side also has a humid hide.
The substrate is cedar mulch, coconut coir, and sphagnum moss. We have two 60W ceramic heating elements for night time. During the day we have a 13W UVA/UVB 5.0 bulb going, and one or two 75W UVA heat lamps depending on the temperature. We keep the basking spot at 95, ambient around 80, and the cooler half at around 75.
Thank you to anyone who took the time to read all of this, and in advance for any advice. We are stunned and heartbroken.
