tracey.p
New Member
I posted on here a while ago regarding my Sulcata tortoise Flower, who wasn't doing so great, (probably as a result of being dehydrated at the pet shop I bought her from) and I received some great advice on how to best house my more tropical torts (closed chamber set up). Since setting her up in a vivarium, aswell as my other Sulcata Crash and my Leopard tortoise, Pokey, I have lost her, (she died in the night) which was wholly unexpected since she started getting better. Pokey and Crash beforehand were healthy, happy little torts who were very greedy and active, and since being moved into a vivarium are sluggish and withdrawn. I would like to point out that all the temps are perfect, it is very humid, they have two shallow water bowls each, and three hides, as well as fake leaves and plants to hide in; the substrate is coco noir. and they are in separate vivarium's. I have recently spent over £200 at the vets trying to save Crash, who has metabolic bone disease and Pokey is heading the exact same way - I will probably lose him soon. MBD is nearly always caused by not enough UVB and not enough calcium- I would like to point out that I sprinkle a supplement on their diet of freshly cut weeds and grass everyday, and they are under 12% UVB strip lights and a heat bulb on a thermostat. I have ran out of ideas of what to do, I am literally waiting to lose them. It is so frustrating and I sometimes wish I would have just left Pokey and Crash in their plastic runs, with a good old solar glo mercury vapour lamp instead - because that's when they were healthiest. The pain of watching your baby tortoises slip away before you is the hardest thing in the world - especially when everything is how is should be (apparently) in a closed chamber style set up. I have no idea what I am ding wrong anymore, and I will not accept that they all had 'hatchling failure syndrome' since two of them were from a very good breeder, and they have always had access to water, hides and cooler spots if need be. My advice to anyone would be to listen to your tort and maybe the set way of doing things is not always best - it only leads to heartbreak.