Concerned about plastron
- Thread starter benne070
- Start date
The limbs look thin and dehydrated. I would read this care sheet, and re-evaluate how you are keeping this tortoise. They need hydration and humidity as youngsters, and much of the old advice doesn't reflect this.
tortoiseforum.org
Questions are welcome, but to summarize, you need a large closed chamber, damp substrate, daily soaks, a humid hide, and you should be feeding this tortoise as much as it wants to eat of the right foods daily.
The Best Way To Raise Any Temperate Species Of Tortoise
I chose the title of this care sheet very carefully. Are there other ways to raise babies and care for adults? 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. What is...
tortoiseforum.org
Questions are welcome, but to summarize, you need a large closed chamber, damp substrate, daily soaks, a humid hide, and you should be feeding this tortoise as much as it wants to eat of the right foods daily.
Thanks for your reply. They told me after a year old that he didn’t need daily soaks anymore, maybe that’s the problem. He does have a large enclosure that’s closed, and a hide he goes into every night to sleep. I feed him greens and Mazuri tortoise diet.The limbs look thin and dehydrated. I would read this care sheet, and re-evaluate how you are keeping this tortoise. They need hydration and humidity as youngsters, and much of the old advice doesn't reflect this.
The Best Way To Raise Any Temperate Species Of Tortoise
I chose the title of this care sheet very carefully. Are there other ways to raise babies and care for adults? 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. What is...
Questions are welcome, but to summarize, you need a large closed chamber, damp substrate, daily soaks, a humid hide, and you should be feeding this tortoise as much as it wants to eat of the right foods daily.
I would agree with that, but I go by size, not age. My general rule for Testudo species, is daily soaks of 30-40 minutes until they hit 100 grams. After 100 grams, I will start skipping a day occasionally. By 400 grams or so, two or three times a weeks should be plenty for any situation or climate.
What is the ambient humidity in your enclosure, and how much are you feeding him?
I’m unsure of the humidity, I put a digital weather station in his enclosure and am trying to get a reading. I know it’s dry because it’s been bitterly cold where I am and my heat is on constantly. What are some good ways to keep humidity up?
I feed him a large handful of mixed greens everyday and two mazuri tortoise pellets soaked in water and sprinkled with calcium twice a week.
Using the correct substrate and keeping it lightly damp is one way to keep humidity where it should be. Large shallow water dishes help too. The main thing is to reduce ventilation, especially in summer and winter when AC or heat is running a lot.
What is mixed greens? Spring mix? That is not a good tortoise food. Most grocery store greens are not good tortoise food. They tend to lack fiber, have too much of some compounds, and not enough calcium. You need to find more natural foods like weeds, leaves and flowers. That is difficult in winter, so you need to be amending your grocery store greens to make them more suitable for a tortoise.
Mazuri is balanced nutrition. When you add calcium to it, you upset that balance. Feed Mazuri by itself or mixed in with greens. Save the calcium powder for days when you are feeding greens by themselves. This will help correct the low calcium content of some grocery store greens.
All of this and more is explained here. I think you'll find some useful info:
The Best Way To Raise Any Temperate Species Of Tortoise
I chose the title of this care sheet very carefully. Are there other ways to raise babies and care for adults? 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. What is...
tortoiseforum.org
Thanks for your help. The humidity is around 47% right now. Just changed the substrate so hopefully it will help. I also do have a large water dish in there but he constantly drags the substrate into the water and makes the water all dirty. Any tips on that?Using the correct substrate and keeping it lightly damp is one way to keep humidity where it should be. Large shallow water dishes help too. The main thing is to reduce ventilation, especially in summer and winter when AC or heat is running a lot.
What is mixed greens? Spring mix? That is not a good tortoise food. Most grocery store greens are not good tortoise food. They tend to lack fiber, have too much of some compounds, and not enough calcium. You need to find more natural foods like weeds, leaves and flowers. That is difficult in winter, so you need to be amending your grocery store greens to make them more suitable for a tortoise.
Mazuri is balanced nutrition. When you add calcium to it, you upset that balance. Feed Mazuri by itself or mixed in with greens. Save the calcium powder for days when you are feeding greens by themselves. This will help correct the low calcium content of some grocery store greens.
All of this and more is explained here. I think you'll find some useful info:
The Best Way To Raise Any Temperate Species Of Tortoise
I chose the title of this care sheet very carefully. Are there other ways to raise babies and care for adults? 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. What is...
What substrate are you using?
Firmly hand pack it and that will keep the mess down.
I prefer orchid bark for testudo once they reach about 3-4 inches in length. Much less messy.
You can also place some flat rocks sunk into the substrate all around the water bowl to reduce the amount of substrate tracked in.
