HELP! SICK BABY!

[Ruchonnet]

My mom told me yesterday we will be babysitting an 11 month old sulcata until our cousins get moved into their new house. Our tortioses came from the same place mine is growing and very active and the one we got yesterday is VERY SICK. her shell is soft, shes the size of a newborn still and she wont even open her eyes. What do I do? do what I do to mine and wait to see an improvement or so more??

 

[tortle]

The most important thing is to not put them together. If it has a disease, your tortoise could catch it too.
And then I'm sure more experienced people will give their input on the rest.

 

[dmmj]

A baby's shell should be leathery not really soft, is it soft or leathery? Closed eyes usually are attributed to a RI
(see glossary http://www.tortoiseforum.org/Thread-Glossary-of-terms-and-definitions#axzz210Lk2U4U)
I would def. keep them separate.

 

[wellington]

Do you have any idea of how the sick one was being housed? Give us if you can, substrate,type of lighting,temps, humidity, soaking or not, food anything you can think of. For now, keep separate from yours. Keep it warm and hydrated. Is it eating at all now?

 

[Maggie Cummings]

Keep it by himself, you don't want to pass anything onto your resident colony. If it were mine I'd be soaking it in baby food water to get it some sort of nutrients. Is it eating? What kind of bulb has the sick one been under? Put half a jar of strained carrots or sweet potato in a small container, just big enough for the baby to get comfortable. Fill with water up to his bridge and let him soak for about 30 minutes. Put calcium powder on his food daily. What has he been eating?

 

[Mordy]

any updates? Soak it in baby food to get some nutrients and i agree that more info is needed to be able to guess what made her sick and how to fix it.

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi Ruchonnet:

Welcome to the Tortoise Forum!!

Your cousins have not been caring for the baby properly and its pretty sick. Chances are it hasn't been kept warm enough and so has not been eating. Its pretty critical in the baby stage for them to eat and take in their calcium, along with the UVB from the sun or an expensive light.

I don't think the problem is respiratory. Its nutritional. Maggie has given you the best thing you can do for the baby at this stage. Soak him every day in Gerber strained carrots mixed with warm water. If you have a UVB light, be sure this new baby is allowed the use of it. He's probably not going to eat until his eyes open and he can see again, so the daily soaks will help in that case.

Once his eyes are open, start offering him calcium-rich foods. Turnip greens and cactus are good ones. You may have to chop it up very small for him to eat because if his shell is soft, that means he has no strength in his "bite" either.

Good luck with the baby. I hope your cousin realizes how sick the little baby is, and if it dies, YOU didn't kill it.

May we know your name and appx. where in the world you are?

 

[Ruchonnet]

Thank you for all your guys' advice. unfortuantely she died a few hours after I posted this. My email hasnt been getting the replied of all you helpful people but thank you! One more question, I didnt read not to put them together and they were together for about 12 hours. do you think mine could have caught something in that time?

 

[Ruchonnet]

Hi Ruchonnet:

Welcome to the Tortoise Forum!!

Your cousins have not been caring for the baby properly and its pretty sick. Chances are it hasn't been kept warm enough and so has not been eating. Its pretty critical in the baby stage for them to eat and take in their calcium, along with the UVB from the sun or an expensive light.

I don't think the problem is respiratory. Its nutritional. Maggie has given you the best thing you can do for the baby at this stage. Soak him every day in Gerber strained carrots mixed with warm water. If you have a UVB light, be sure this new baby is allowed the use of it. He's probably not going to eat until his eyes open and he can see again, so the daily soaks will help in that case.

Once his eyes are open, start offering him calcium-rich foods. Turnip greens and cactus are good ones. You may have to chop it up very small for him to eat because if his shell is soft, that means he has no strength in his "bite" either.

Good luck with the baby. I hope your cousin realizes how sick the little baby is, and if it dies, YOU didn't kill it.

May we know your name and appx. where in the world you are?

My name is Tara! my little healthy 11 month old is named Sharkie and we live in the Central Valley of CA.

 

[Jacqui]

Thank you for all your guys' advice. unfortuantely she died a few hours after I posted this. My email hasnt been getting the replied of all you helpful people but thank you! One more question, I didnt read not to put them together and they were together for about 12 hours. do you think mine could have caught something in that time?

Very sorry to hear this. I actually don't think the visitor died from anything infectious, rather it sounds like she did not get proper care most likely no sunshine, no UVB, no calcium, perhaps a poor diet too. She never got the things she needed not just to survive, but to thrive. That's my guess any how from her symptoms. Even if she did have a disease, nothing you can do now to change that they were together. Just keep taking great care of your little one and keep a close eye on it for any changes such as lack of normal energy, lack of appetite, eye issues, and such.

 

[Ruchonnet]

Thank you for all your guys' advice. unfortuantely she died a few hours after I posted this. My email hasnt been getting the replied of all you helpful people but thank you! One more question, I didnt read not to put them together and they were together for about 12 hours. do you think mine could have caught something in that time?

Very sorry to hear this. I actually don't think the visitor died from anything infectious, rather it sounds like she did not get proper care most likely no sunshine, no UVB, no calcium, perhaps a poor diet too. She never got the things she needed not just to survive, but to thrive. That's my guess any how from her symptoms. Even if she did have a disease, nothing you can do now to change that they were together. Just keep taking great care of your little one and keep a close eye on it for any changes such as lack of normal energy, lack of appetite, eye issues, and such.

Okay, thank you very much! Ill keep an eye on him to make sure he stays healthy.

 

[TortieLuver]

I agree with Jacqui and keep us posted on sharkie's growth over time.

 

[Ruchonnet]

I agree with Jacqui and keep us posted on sharkie's growth over time.

Oh definitely will!!
I need to post a picture of him on here soon

 

[Biff Malibu]

So sad.

Reading through the symptoms you described and other peoples responses I was sure it was "past the point of recovery" ... They're just babies, they can't fight off an illness like an adult, they ESPECIALLY can't handle a lack of proper care. And yes, its absolutely not your fault, I don't think there was anything you could have done.

Possibility your tort caught something? With being together for 12 hours, If it was a contagion... absolutely.

BUT - It really doesn't sound like that. So don't worry too much about it, but keep a real good eye on it for a while.

 

[Ruchonnet]

So sad.

Reading through the symptoms you described and other peoples responses I was sure it was "past the point of recovery" ... They're just babies, they can't fight off an illness like an adult, they ESPECIALLY can't handle a lack of proper care. And yes, its absolutely not your fault, I don't think there was anything you could have done.

Possibility your tort caught something? With being together for 12 hours, If it was a contagion... absolutely.

BUT - It really doesn't sound like that. So don't worry too much about it, but keep a real good eye on it for a while.

Well thank you very much! I keep an eye on him everyday so I'll be sure to notice if something about him changes very bery quickly.

 

[cemmons12]

So many poor Sully's (and tort's) die so early. I just wish people would do just a little bit of research before and after they get any kind of new animal. I hope your tort didn't get anything from the little one. But to me it sounds like a RI that went untreated for far to long, and by the time u got it there was no chance for it to make it... RIP little

 

[Julius25]

sad for the lil tort =(

 

[clare n]

;( very sad

 

[Ruchonnet]

Good news so far, my tortoise has had no signs he caught anything from the sick baby! Hope it stays that way!

 

[jpmcclure]

So happy to hear that "neighbor"