Hatchling Shell peeling?

[katonk]

Hi there.

My neighbor gave me a tortoise hatchling. Part of the shell is peeling. Should I panic? Please help, lend me a clue, or point me to the right FAQ or documentation.

Also, help identifying the species and gender of my tort would be appreciated.

First post. Please be gentle.

 

[katonk]

Update: Took the tort to the vet. "Softshell Syndrome". He have us some supplements to feed with a syringe and recommended applying Neosporin to the shell.

 

[LaLaP]

Hi and welcome to the forum. Sorry your tort is ill. He does look pretty rough but I'm no expert... but there are plenty of experts on this forum and hopefully someone will have some advice for you.
Are you soaking your tort? You should be soaking him in warm water daily. Not too deep and keep it between 80-95 degrees. 20-30 minutes minimum and more is better while he's sick.

Is he eating?
What is your set up like? Have heat and uvb?

 

[Yvonne G]

That is an injury of some sort. Looks like the shell was manually bent down causing it to break. You really don't have to do anything about it. . . it will either fall off or it won't - no big deal.

You have a hatchling desert tortoise, Gopherus agassizii. They are protected and it is illegal to buy or sell them (free adoption is ok). The State wants you to register them right away, but because hatchling mortality is so common, I generally wait until they're three years old. You can find the registration form on the California Turtle and Tortoise Club's site.

Your little baby looks quite dry. Soak him in warm water daily for about 15 minutes, and keep his enclosure very humid and around 80-85F degrees.

Don't bother with neosporin. It won't help. This baby has no "syndrome.". All brand new baby tortoise shells are soft.

 

[katonk]

Thank both for the replies. Very helpful. I've had the Tort for less than 48 hours, yet I'm already quite attached to it.

I did soak her for about 15 minutes yesterday. Will soak daily.

The Tort is drinking, but not eating. I've tried spinach, a small slice of grape, Zoo Med Grassland Tortoise food, and some ice plant (aptenia cordifolia).

My table was a little dry. I sprayed it moderately and soaked the orchid moss. The temperature directly under the ceramic heat lamp is about 100F, and the far side of the table is about 75F. I turn the UVA/UVB light and heater off at night for about 12 hours. The bedding is Eco Earth Loose Reptile Substrate. Any input on the table is appreciated.

 

[Yvonne G]

Wow! That's a real nice table. Is it store bought, or custom made? I like that it has a plastic liner. That means you can have moist substrate that's not contacting wood. Good job! I'd add a few plants in there. Plants help the baby feel safer, more secure. They don't have to be real. You can buy those weighted plastic aquarium plants and bury the weight down into the substrate.

Spinach should be fed sparingly, and fruit not at all. If you have to resort to grocery store greens look for a packaged salad mix called Santa Barbara. It consists of escarole, endive and raddichio. Then you can add edible weeds from your yard. Grab a handful of grass and cut it off with the scissors, then cut it up into tiny sections and sprinkle it over the food.

 

[TammyJ]

All the best with this little sweetheart! Lovely enclosure.
Maybe he will enjoy some opuntia cactus pads.

 

[katonk]

Thanks to all for the feedback. It's really a relief. I made the table myself. It's mostly made from a wood pallet. The liner is a 24" by 36" concrete mixing tub. It's tough. If I didn't have a dog I might have just used the tub on its own.

I tried chopping up some grass. No luck so far. Will cut up some cactus next. If that doesn't work, should I try Oxbow Critical care? She takes water from a syringe.

The aquarium plant went over well. She moved next to it almost immediately.

 

[Yvonne G]

Yes, the Oxbow works

 

[Beasty_Artemis]

Omg!! My jaw dropped when I spotted that awesome table that you busted out for that hatchling! Wow. Now that is love. Your girlfriend should hold on to YOU!

 

[Tom]

If you dampen and hand pack the substrate, it will be less messy.

Looks like you are using a cfl for UV. Those are not effective UV sources, and some of them burn tortoise eyes. Use an HO type tube for indoor UV if you need it. A couple of hours of access to sunshine per week in a safe outdoor enclosure will make indoor UV unnecessary.

Get rid of the moss. When the appetite comes back, your tortoise will eat it and it can cause an impaction.

Most vets know very little about tortoises and tortoise care. The one you found doesn't.

Here is some care info:
https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/beginner-mistakes.45180/
Care for DTs is the same as it is for Russian torts:
https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/russian-tortoise-care-sheet.80698/

 

[katonk]

Looks like you are using a cfl for UV. Those are not effective UV sources, and some of them burn tortoise eyes. Use an HO type tube for indoor UV if you need it. A couple of hours of access to sunshine per week in a safe outdoor enclosure will make indoor UV unnecessary.

Thanks for the reply. The bulb is 3W LED UVB. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07RKSCL2K/ Making a small bird proof basking/travel box is on my todo list.

I did notice she was trying (unsuccessfully) to eat the moss. Will remove.

 

[katonk]

Yes, the Oxbow works

Holy smokes. Indistinguishable from magic. Mixed 1 g of Critical Care with 20 g of warm water and fed her about .9 ml of the mix. Set her down in front of the grassland mix and she immediately began to eat that and the lawn clippings.

Thanks again.

 

[Tom]

Thanks for the reply. The bulb is 3W LED UVB. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07RKSCL2K/ Making a small bird proof basking/travel box is on my todo list.

I did notice she was trying (unsuccessfully) to eat the moss. Will remove.

There is no LED on the market that makes UVB in the wavelength needed by reptiles. I'd love to put a meter under that bulb to verify this, but Lakewood is too far from Santa Clarita. If I end up coming down that way, or if you ever come up this way, lets meet up and test that bulb with my meter. I'm right off the freeway near Magic Mountain. Ever go over the grapevine or come up this way?

On the bright side (See what I did there???), I don't think this bulb will be harmful to your tortoise, but I also don't think it will give your tortoise any useable UVB.

 

[katonk]

There is no LED on the market that makes UVB in the wavelength needed by reptiles. I'd love to put a meter under that bulb to verify this...

There's video review with a meter. I have no idea what the numbers mean. Could you shed some light (See what I did there?) on the readings?

My other concern is that I'll never know if it stops working. Would a small plant work as a canary, or a proof?

 

[Tom]

There's video review with a meter. I have no idea what the numbers mean. Could you shed some light (See what I did there?) on the readings?

My other concern is that I'll never know if it stops working. Would a small plant work as a canary, or a proof?

Depends on what meter was used and what it was reading. The industry standard is the Solarmeter 6.5. It reads the specific wavelength of of UV that our tortoises, and other reptiles, need to synthesize D3 in their skin. A minimal reading would be 1-2. 3 or 4 would be a nice amount to run all day. Anything 6 or higher is pretty high UV and should only be used for a few hours mid day.

Plants don't need UV, so that won't tell you much.

 

[katonk]

Depends on what meter was used and what it was reading. The industry standard is the Solarmeter 6.5...
...Plants don't need UV, so that won't tell you much.

Wait, wut? Plants don't need UV? I think I need to take Biology 101 over again. Clearly I don't know what I'm doing, so your help is appreciated.

This review shows a Solarmeter reading of 9.4 from close to .5 from far. Minimum distance from LED (PCB) to shell is about 8 inches. Seems fairly close to your recommendations. Might even be too high at the closest. I've asked for a reading at 8 inches.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/R378EYXUUY/?tag=exoticpetnetw-20 Edit: looks like BB is injecting a referral code to all Amazon links and is breaking my direct link to the review.

After a little more research, I do understand your scepticism. Right now she's getting Calcium and D3 supplements.

 

[Yvonne G]

I think he meant plants don't need UVB. However UVA is beneficial to plants.

 

[Blackdog1714]

INteresting. The video shows the Solarmeter Reptile 6.5 being used to measure UV. BUT the bulb is now currently unavailable. Maybe soon there will be an LED, but I will wait till real testing happens. Just dial your humidity in and the two of you will make a long lasting pair!

 

[Tom]

Wait, wut? Plants don't need UV? I think I need to take Biology 101 over again. Clearly I don't know what I'm doing, so your help is appreciated.

I said the same thing a few years back when I learned this little tid bit. Plants need the correct spectrum and intensity of lighting, which varies by plant species, but they do not need UVB at all. This is why all the plant "grow lights" for indoors look a little off colored and don't produce any UVB.

I'd like to put MY meter under one of those bulbs and see for myself. I figured that eventually something new would hit the market, but I remain skeptical since no one in the reptile community that I know has ever heard of this, or heard of any LED producing UVB. I've seen many times more scams over the years, than new products that actually do something new.