In crisis my tortoise is dying please help

[Lucy.needs.help]

For my birthday I impulsively decided to get a baby sully from a reliable breeder and she was just fine when we got her but now she is doing horribly. Her shell is extremely soft on the bottom and now she refuses to eat and she only sits in one spot all day and when I do pick her up to try to feed her or to soak her or something she does not open her eyes at all until like 5 minutes after she is already in the water. I have noticed her health declining and have tried to do things to fix what I am doing wrong but her health is just getting worse and worse. I decided to take her to the vet but they don’t open until Monday and I’m afraid she won’t even last that long. Today is the worst day it’s ever been she barely moved at all and I even tried force feeding her to get her to eat but even when the food was actually in her mouth she didn’t even try to chew it up or even spit it out she just let it sit there.

 

[Tom]

You didn't get this tortoise from a reliable breeder. You got it from one who doesn't start them correctly and this is not your fault. Most breeders, almost all of them across the country and the world, don't start babies correctly. Here is what is going on:

"Hatchling Failure Syndrome"

I've heard this term for many years and I don't like it. Its a way to excuse our ignorance and failure. I will agree that an occasional hatchling is born that is just not going to make it no matter what anybody does, but MOST of them, if they make it full term and hatch, SHOULD survive and...

tortoiseforum.org

No vet can fix this. This baby's fate ws sealed by the person who failed to start it correctly when it hatched.

If you want to try again, here is the current and correct care info:

The Best Way To Raise A Sulcata, Leopard, Or Star Tortoise

I chose the title of this care sheet very carefully. Are there other ways to raise babies? Yes. Yes there are, but those ways are not as good. What follows is the BEST way, according to 30 years of research and experimentation with hundreds of babies of many species. Babies hatch during the...

tortoiseforum.org

We can help you find a breeder that starts them correctly.

 

[Lucy.needs.help]

Ok I totally see what you are coming from but the only reason I choose that breeder was because he has a YouTube channel (Shadows Retiles) and all his viewers basically get to see everything that he does for the baby’s. I’m about as far away from being an expert as you can get but I ask you to at least check out his YT because based on all the posts and websites I have visited about the care it seems like he is doing all of those. I did a little bit of research before I got the little girl but essentially I had absolutely NO idea what I was doing but I thought I did. When I first got her I started her off in a bin with an open topped lid and a hide with a food and water bowl and just sprayed it down multiple times a day. Then I realized some stuff I was doing wrong and I switched her enclosure, it seemed to make her get so much better at first but then it just got worse and worse until I am here now. I’m not doubting you at all because you seem to fully know what you are talking about but I still think it is 100% my fault and I’m just trying my best to save her but it’s hard because we are pretty tight on money right now.

 

[Pastel Tortie]

How long ago did you get your little one?

 

[Pastel Tortie]

I thought the name of the vendor sounded familiar, so I searched on the forum and found where I remembered it from.

URGENT!! Sick Sulcata Baby.. :(

Hi everyone. I got my first Sulcata tortoise in August, he/she just turned two months. I did a lot of research before, but it’s still been nonstop stress. He’s been on a diet of grass and weeds up until five days ago. I introduced yellow squash without realizing that it’s a fruit. He was ok the...

www.tortoiseforum.org

 

[Pastel Tortie]

@Lucy.needs.help The thread I linked above mentions what a couple of our other members have done to try to get their hatchlings to eat. I'm so sorry you're having to go through this.

 

[Hamiltondood]

i watch a lot of his videos on youtube (for fun, of course) and he raises them wrong. try getting a refund. maybe comment on his videos and emailing him..? im sorry that i can't help

 

[Lucy.needs.help]

How long ago did you get your little one?

I got her on August 14th

 

[Lucy.needs.help]

i watch a lot of his videos on youtube (for fun, of course) and he raises them wrong. try getting a refund. maybe comment on his videos and emailing him..? im sorry that i can't help

Honestly I don’t care about the money I really just want my little Athena to survive, I know you guys are basically saying that there is no hope left but I’m still going to try and take her to a reptile vet to see if they can help at least a little bit and I’m definitely not going to give up. Even if I have to watch her just get worse and worse ?

 

[Pastel Tortie]

I got her on August 14th

That was within a few days of when the other member received hers from the same vendor.

 

[Hamiltondood]

Honestly I don’t care about the money I really just want my little Athena to survive, I know you guys are basically saying that there is no hope left but I’m still going to try and take her to a reptile vet to see if they can help at least a little bit and I’m definitely not going to give up. Even if I have to watch her just get worse and worse ?

if you go to a vet, there's no guarantee she'll survive..
but hopefully, it'll buy you a bit of time.
hatchling failure syndrome usually ends in heartbreak, but hopefully not in this case. please try to inform him of this so he can fix his mistakes..

 

[Pastel Tortie]

You can try carrot soaks to help get some nutrients into your tortoise. This is how @KarenSoCal explained it recently to another owner in a similar position.

Tortoise won’t eat

Hello! I'm sorry your baby is so sick. You said he isn't drinking while he's soaking, but this is worth a try anyway. When you soak him, do this...get some baby food at the store. Get pureed/strained carrots. Also pick up a bottle of unflavored Pedialyte. At home, mix the water and...

www.tortoiseforum.org

 

[Lucy.needs.help]

That was within a few days of when the other member received hers from the same vendor.

Ok I just read that entire thing that you linked and that persons tort looks better than mine so I think that the breeder had something to do with both of our tortoises getting sick but mine would probably not be on the verge of death right now if I had been more prepared. I’m going to do everything I can to try to save her and get her to eat but if she ends up dying I don’t think I will ever get another tortoise again

 

[Pastel Tortie]

Ok I just read that entire thing that you linked and that persons tort looks better than mine so I think that the breeder had something to do with both of our tortoises getting sick but mine would probably not be on the verge of death right now if I had been more prepared. I’m going to do everything I can to try to save her and get her to eat but if she ends up dying I don’t think I will ever get another tortoise again

Take a close look at the care sheet that @Tom linked in the second post at the top of this thread. See what changes need to be made to give your little one the best fighting chance possible. Pay special attention to keeping the little one warm enough (they need to be warm enough to digest properly).

 

[Tom]

Ok I totally see what you are coming from but the only reason I choose that breeder was because he has a YouTube channel (Shadows Retiles) and all his viewers basically get to see everything that he does for the baby’s. I’m about as far away from being an expert as you can get but I ask you to at least check out his YT because based on all the posts and websites I have visited about the care it seems like he is doing all of those. I did a little bit of research before I got the little girl but essentially I had absolutely NO idea what I was doing but I thought I did. When I first got her I started her off in a bin with an open topped lid and a hide with a food and water bowl and just sprayed it down multiple times a day. Then I realized some stuff I was doing wrong and I switched her enclosure, it seemed to make her get so much better at first but then it just got worse and worse until I am here now. I’m not doubting you at all because you seem to fully know what you are talking about but I still think it is 100% my fault and I’m just trying my best to save her but it’s hard because we are pretty tight on money right now.

I just watched 24 minutes of his videos. Too many mistakes to list...

Understand that no vet can do anything about what is happening. If money is tight, there is no point in spending hundreds of dollars for the vet to give your baby a vitamin injection that will probably kill it. Your babies best chance of survival is following the care sheet, and keeping it warm and hydrated.

No one can overcome the types of mistakes made by this breeder as the babies were hatching.

 

[Maro2Bear]

Id also pipe in to say that “force feeding” won’t help. Your best bet TODAY is the infamous carrot juice soak.....(info already posted above).

best of luck.

 

[SKOLsuper]

For my birthday I impulsively decided to get a baby sully from a reliable breeder and she was just fine when we got her but now she is doing horribly. Her shell is extremely soft on the bottom and now she refuses to eat and she only sits in one spot all day and when I do pick her up to try to feed her or to soak her or something she does not open her eyes at all until like 5 minutes after she is already in the water. I have noticed her health declining and have tried to do things to fix what I am doing wrong but her health is just getting worse and worse. I decided to take her to the vet but they don’t open until Monday and I’m afraid she won’t even last that long. Today is the worst day it’s ever been she barely moved at all and I even tried force feeding her to get her to eat but even when the food was actually in her mouth she didn’t even try to chew it up or even spit it out she just let it sit there.

 

[SKOLsuper]

What’s your set up can u send pictures

 

[Lucy.needs.help]

Hey..Thank you all for the advice and such but right as I was done preparing the carrot bath..it was already too late, she was gone. I am gonna try again, definitely from a better breeder but that won’t be for a while and I’m gonna make 100% sure that the new set up I get will be PERFECT for the new little guy or girl that I get. Many tears were shed but since Athenas life ended so soon I’m gonna make sure that the next one I take in will have an amazing life ?

 

[Hamiltondood]

Hey..Thank you all for the advice and such but right as I was done preparing the carrot bath..it was already too late, she was gone. I am gonna try again, definitely from a better breeder but that won’t be for a while and I’m gonna make 100% sure that the new set up I get will be PERFECT for the new little guy or girl that I get. Many tears were shed but since Athenas life ended so soon I’m gonna make sure that the next one I take in will have an amazing life ?

i am very sorry for your loss..
i hope that if you get a new one, luck will be on your side