Is my baby sick?

[TylerFranz]

I have a question about activity level. Over the past week, Tori (a 3- 4 moth leopard Tortoise) has either become a picky eater or she is starting to develop an illness.

She has started to spend a lot of time sleeping, outside of the basking area, but not in the dark. She used to eat a ton. She will nibble and eat some after a soaking. When we go outside, she will roam around and eat. She pooped today after not having pooped since Friday. Today after her soak, she walked straight to the basking area, sat there, and just went to her "burrow".

If she eats, it will be hibiscus leaves and romaine lettuce. However, I have been trying to giver her chard. She doesnt seem to like it, but will eat some of a carrot or cucumber. When we go outside, she will ONLY eat clovers and nothing else.

So my question....Is she sick (because she is spending more time sleeping) or just not hungry?

MfG
Tyler

 

[TylerFranz]

have a question about activity level. Over the past week, Tori (a 3- 4 moth leopard Tortoise) has either become a picky eater or she is starting to develop an illness.

She has started to spend a lot of time sleeping, outside of the basking area, but not in the dark. She used to eat a ton. She will nibble and eat some after a soaking. When we go outside, she will roam around and eat. She pooped today after not having pooped since Friday. Today after her soak, she walked straight to the basking area, sat there, and just went to her "burrow".

If she eats, it will be hibiscus leaves and romaine lettuce. However, I have been trying to giver her chard. She doesnt seem to like it, but will eat some of a carrot or cucumber. When we go outside, she will ONLY eat clovers and nothing else.

So my question....Is she sick (because she is spending more time sleeping) or just not hungry?

MfG
Tyler

 

[Tom]

Where did you get her?
How much does she weigh?
How are you housing her?
How often do you soak her?

 

[Bee62]

Hello and welcome to the forum.
I am not experienced with leopard tortoises but I`ve read that they are a little bit more difficult to keep when they are hatchlings.
Do you know how your baby tort was started ? With much humidity, warmth and daily soaks ?
Do you soak him daily and keep humidity and warmth high ?

I would ask @Tom for help.

 

[TylerFranz]

Where did you get her?
How much does she weigh?
How are you housing her?
How often do you soak her?

I got her 3 weeks ago from a local exotic pet story. I have not checked her weight, but I know she has grown. I soak her everyday, based on the information from other threads from this forum. She lives in a terrarium like enclosure. Her heat is at 96-98 in the basking area.

 

[TylerFranz]

I am not sure how my baby was started. I do know that they started him on lettuce. I soak her daily, and have since I got her. The warmth in the basking area is 96-98. The cooler side is about 78 (room temperature). I spray the enclosure daily to create humidity.

 

[Kasia]

I am not sure how my baby was started. I do know that they started him on lettuce. I soak her daily, and have since I got her. The warmth in the basking area is 96-98. The cooler side is about 78 (room temperature). I spray the enclosure daily to create humidity.

Babies like it warm and humid. What is your humidity level? In high humidity temperature should be at least 80f. From what you write it sounds like you keep your tort in an open top enclosure and it's not the best choice. In open top moisture and heat can easily escape. So daily spraying the substrate maybe ineffective. Post a pic of your enclosure/lightning/tortie. It will give us better view on what's going on.

 

[Tom]

Since we don't know the history, we can only speculate. Most breeders don't start them correctly. Here is more info explaining this possibility:
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/hatchling-failure-syndrome.23493/

 

[TylerFranz]

When I got home from work, she was walking around the enclosure. I put some fresh Greens in her food bowl, and she ate an entire leaf! I then took her outside for about 45 minutes. She wandered around and nibbled on a couple of clover leaves. She also pooped a ton this morning!

 

[Ghazan]

Sounds better, post some pics too of the tortoise and enclosure

 

[TylerFranz]

She pooped again today. I am planning on taking her out for "recess". She didn't eat much today (or I couldn't tell). I added some fresh food when I got home and she wasn't interested. I woke her up and it took her a while to get going, but she didn't want to eat and went back to bed

 

[TylerFranz]

How much do they usually sleep. Yesterday I got home and she was wondering around the enclosure for a bit

 

[TylerFranz]

Outside time

 

[Neal]

Try bumping up your temperatures a little more. The warmer they are, the more active they will be. I would suggest aiming for a low of 85 in the coolest part of the enclosure and keep that for awhile until your tortoise shows more positive signs.

My babies and adults will sleep or become inactive from about 10am until 3pm. They are usually non-stop moving during the mornings and late afternoon-early evening hours, provided there is daylight.

 

[Greg T]

Sounds like she is improving. Some suggestions are to continue soaking several times a week, feed early in the morning and rotate greens. For my babies, I like to use a base of spring mix and include red or green leaf lettuce. The I mix flowers, weeds, or even certain fruits mixed in. I also include moist Mazuri 2 or 3 times a week. Your temps are good and keep taking her outside for some sunshine to get the Vitamin D they need. As they get older, they will start an adult routine - get up at dawn, wander and eat food, find a napping place for a few hours during the heat of the day, then wander and eat late afternoon and go off to bed. Do not expect them to be constantly active all day long. As long as she is eating and drinking, walking around and pooping, no need to be worried.

 

[TylerFranz]

Thanks! I will keep you all posted

 

[TylerFranz]

So this morning after a soak, and pooping, Tori did not want to eat and just went to the basking are. After that she went to her new "burrow". Am I just a worry wart or is something wrong?

 

[Tom]

So this morning after a soak, and pooping, Tori did not want to eat and just went to the basking are. After that she went to her new "burrow". Am I just a worry wart or is something wrong?

Put your tortoise on a gram scale. When they have damaged kidneys from the dry routine when they were first hatch, they don't grow past 50 grams or so. If your 3-4 month old baby is 35 grams and not closer to 100 at this age, you'll have your answer.

 

[TylerFranz]

She weighs 34 grams. I am not sure how old she is. However, when I take her outside in the afternoons, she eats leaves.

 

[Robber]

Yeah, that is pretty light weight still - you hope they grow rapidly from 30 to 60 grams or so, and a decreased appetite is not a good sign. That said, it is not unusual for them to be fairly inactive during much of the day at that age, so that's not necessarily a bad sign. It's also not unusual for them to be picky if they were started on a limited diet...not as good of a sign if they stop eating things they used to eat.

Timing can be important as Neal mentioned, and sometimes you have to kick start eating a little with some intervention. By that I mean, if you just put food in the cage, they may sleep in the corner and not come out and eat all day. If instead you put food in the cage, soak for a few minutes, and set them right in front of the food, the same tortoise that may have slept all day may eat a big pile of food for you...and then go sleep all day.

I hope things go well for you.