Help! I'm pretty sure this isn't right!!! :(

[flem363636]

Hi there! Thanks in advance to anyone who might be able to give some input/advice!

First off, I have to juvi MEE's, about 3-4 weeks old. So far they seem to be doing great, by all accounts they seem to check out perfect in livelyness, appetite, growth, etc. I noticed this tiny worn 'spot' on one of 'em almost 2 weeks ago, and after talking to the owner of the pet shop that bought the others she said it was fine and typical growing pains and that i was a paranoid torti momma. I am thinking I was right to be paranoid?

The spot has grown in the past couple of weeks to encompass almost all the sections of his shell. The first pic is the start, the second is now. (He is mid-walk in the second one which is why he looks all funny

Pic 1
Pic 2

I am getting so worried now! Again, TIA!!!

 

[Yvonne G]

That's not showing wear and tear. I think you need to keep them a bit more moist. Maybe a light spritzing every so often throughout the day. Those are just brand new, tiny babies. In the first picture you can still see the egg tooth. Your light might be too strong for them. These are a forest species and pretty much stay out of the full sun in the wild. They also like to sit in their water dish, so having a waterer big enough for them to climb easily into and out of is a must.

 

[flem363636]

That's not showing wear and tear. I think you need to keep them a bit more moist. Maybe a light spritzing every so often throughout the day. Those are just brand new, tiny babies. In the first picture you can still see the egg tooth. Your light might be too strong for them. These are a forest species and pretty much stay out of the full sun in the wild. They also like to sit in their water dish, so having a waterer big enough for them to climb easily into and out of is a must.

Thanks for the input! I have done tons of research and I can't seem to find any reference to this same issue anywhere; very frustrating! I definitely felt like there was no way this was wear and tear, and the really strange thing is his sibling (same enclosure, same conditions) shows no signs of this at all. I do spritz them several times a day since they don't have a water dish to crawl in right now, they do however get to soak at least every other day for about 10-20 min. Currently they are in a temp aquarium, but there pimped out turtle table will be done by this weekend. They have a basking spot (with lamp) and a UV bulb (26w; my 13w broke so I had to get a bigger one, so I raised it a bit given the smaller tank with less airflow than needed I didn't want to over do it). So given that info, any input as to if its more likely too strong light or water? The other guy being fine though really throws me....

 

[Yvonne G]

My group of Manouria, neither the Mep nor the Mee, bask. If I have the light on for too long a time in the baby habitat I will never see them. I have raised it up about 2' over the habitat and have placed quite a few potted plants in there to diffuse the light.

 

[flem363636]

My group of Manouria, neither the Mep or the Mee, bask. If I have the light on for too long a time in the baby habitat I will never see them. I have raised it up about 2' over the habitat and have placed quite a few potted plants in there to diffuse the light.

If you could, can you rec any good varieties of plants for the juvi setup?

I have raised both lamps a bit and hope that will help, but I think some cover from foliage and maybe something to create 'activity' would be useful as well?

 

[Yvonne G]

You can use any house plant. They love to eat the colocasia/alocasia, banana tree, canna lily, and then there's the viola family including pansies, and hosta. I have used gardenia and ferns, neither being edible, but the tortoises leave them alone. However, they provide good cover.

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I planted a large pony tail palm (Beaucarnea recurvata) in the Manouria pen and this is what happened to it:

There are big bites out of the stem and half the bulb is eaten away.

You can buy smaller versions of this plant in the house plant section of the store.