Mara29
New Member
I recently found a newborn baby tortoise in the yard of a client who has two adults herself. She did not know the female had laid eggs. The little one has damage to his shell and as a result has trouble walking and keeps flipping over. I did not think he would survive, so I brought him home. I took him to a desert tortoise specialist, who told me to keep him indoors through the summer and upcoming winter. Try to feed him as much natural plants as possible, supplementing with sprouts. He does not know if the shell heal. You can see two back bones in the nickel sized injury, so he advised me to not let him out in the sun more than a few minutes at a time. I have him in a terrarium with a little house for him to hide in. I also have a standard heat lamp and uvb lamp. He is eating well, but not a lot, maybe a tsp. to a tbsp. of chopped leaves, grasses and flowers per day. He poops every couple of days, so I know his tummy is working. He has not drank any water that I have seen, but he does have access to it. The day he was born, he weighed 23 grams. He now is two weeks old and weighs 26 grams. Does that seem like he's growing ok? Is there anything else I should be doing for him?
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