Cleopatra 2020
Well-Known Member
Just curious if I need to worry or not about the bottom of her shell it's clear on the left and right side as you can see in the picture just wondering what it means or what's going on with her
Bottom shell clear???
- Thread starter Cleopatra 2020
- Start date
Usually when you see a clear shell on a baby tortoise it means they're calcium deficient. Are you using a UVB light? and do you sprinkle a pinch of calcium over the food (or offer calcium-rich foods?
Cleopatra 2020
Well-Known Member
well I had one of those small incandescent UVB bulbs that I got it Walmart I got a white one for the daytime in a black light looking one for the night time and I have some reptile calcium powder that I sprinkle in my crickets for my frogs I guess I could use that right?
I think your problem is the bulb then. You can't skimp on price. Get a good bulb. Now-a-days I'm recommending the T-5 long tube fluorescent UVB bulb.
You can buy the fixture for this bulb at lightyourreptiles.com
Until you can get the bulb set up, your baby needs the real sun ASAP. It's pretty dangerous to allow the shell to get that thin. Real sunshine a couple hours a week. Take him outside and just sit there in the sun with him for about 15 minutes every day.
In order for the calcium the baby eats to work (to make the shell and bones hard and healthy) you also need UVB either from the sun or from a GOOD UVB light.
(And yes, the cricket calcium is the same you'd use for the tortoise)
You can buy the fixture for this bulb at lightyourreptiles.com
Until you can get the bulb set up, your baby needs the real sun ASAP. It's pretty dangerous to allow the shell to get that thin. Real sunshine a couple hours a week. Take him outside and just sit there in the sun with him for about 15 minutes every day.
In order for the calcium the baby eats to work (to make the shell and bones hard and healthy) you also need UVB either from the sun or from a GOOD UVB light.
(And yes, the cricket calcium is the same you'd use for the tortoise)
Cleopatra 2020
Well-Known Member
She gets hours of sunlight a week outside when it's warm out also I just ordered that T5 bulb yesterday with the fixture the high output one I believe it's a 22 inch bulb
Unfortunately your tortoise does not look well at all. From your other posts, I am assuming this tortoise is at least 4 or 5 months old. From the look of the plastron and the way the umbilical scar healed, it was started way to dry and did not have the chance to fully develop. Just as that scar and plastron could not fully develop, then normally the internal organs and ability to properly metabolize food is also not given a chance to develop and leaves the baby compromised. I wish I had better news, but it is the way the breeder started this baby from the day it hatched and it's first few weeks that causes this.
Cleopatra 2020
Well-Known Member
Well we soaked her and she improved greatly she has been eating grass from the backyard and pooping I still Soaker in the Pedialyte baby food carrot baths I figured maybe she was clear on the bottom of her shell from soaking her couple times a day every day for month
Unfortunately, that doesn't look good. Most times when people post pics like this it's not a good outcome. Hopefully your little guy/girl pulls thru.
Cleopatra 2020
Well-Known Member
we've had our baby leopard girl since the end of October and I was wondering if her internal organs aren't working wouldn't she be dead by now? I ask this because a forum member said that she wasn't developed all the way because your umbilical scar didn't heal properly because the Breeders started her off to dry. She's still seems pretty active once she gets warmed up she was out eating clovers yesterday which was nice to see...she just recently recovered during the whole month of February by getting Pedialyte carrots soaks as suggested by some members of The Forum which greatly helped her since she was dehydrated... when I took her to the vet at the end of January she gave her some saline water injections which helped her greatly and then shortly thereafter I started her on the daily soaks twice a day 20 minutes minimum sometimes 30 minutes lately the last couple days she doesn't want to seem to soak more than 5 or 10 minutes and then she's up and wanting to go my thought is should I cut back on the soaks since her plastron looks clear? And is there hope of her plastron returning to normal? And Leslie has anybody in here used tcvm on their tortoises? I've used Chinese herbs with my other animals with great success and was just curious if anybody here has used them on their torts..
Cleopatra 2020
Well-Known Member
Error
The soaking would not make the plastron clear.
There are huge variables in the damage we see with Babies that are started too dry. Often you can have a tortoise make it several months or even a year or more, but they will not grow. They seem to stay at the 40g -45g stage. They can act and eat and look OK at times, but their body just cannot metabolise food properly and they don't seem to grow and we see little good bone development. I had 2 leopards I purchased several years ago, and despite keeping them in optimal conditions as I do all my other tortoises, one died after 14 months. the other finally started to grow after about a year and turned out to be what appears a healthy, growing tortoise.
Cleopatra 2020
Well-Known Member
I didn't mean to reply that to you sorry Mark that was meant for the Forum as I changed it all into a question and copy and pasted it but didn't mean to hit post aren't your reply
what is your set up like
Cleopatra 2020
Well-Known Member
I weighed her February 1st she weighed 43.5 G and I weighed her again yesterday and she weighed 47 3 and was curious if this is good progress and if there's anything I could possibly do to help clear her shell she hasn't pooped a whole lot lately but in February when I started her on those soaks she had some good 1 inch long dark solid poops also yesterday I Incorporated some reptocal in her Critical Care food I had that I've been hand feeding her to make sure she gets to eat enough as well as hand feeding the Mazuri pellets to her I'm hoping the reptical helps her bones since it's got calcium and D3
Cleopatra 2020
Well-Known Member
I'm currently working on that and wondered if I actually do need to drill holes at the top of her storage tote or if it's just completely sealed
A closed chamber does not need air holes. Enough air exchange happens when you open it to feed, water etc. If you still feel the need for holes don't put them at the top. Heat and humidity rises and will escape and it will be a bit harder to keep them temp and humidity where it needs to be.
I would cut back on the baby food soaks as long as he is eating and do the pedialyte soaks every other day. Be sure he never goes below 80 degree temps. Even 85 would be better. I dont think there is an incandescent bulb with proper if any uvb in it. With a lot of the best care and fingers crossed, hopefully this one will pull thru and live a long life. However like Mark said, we have seen them last past a year and then die for no real obvious reason except for going back to the slow growth etc in the beginning.
