Help what is it and what do I do?

[Amberp]

Not sure what to do or what this is. I have 2 and perfectly happy, healthy and fun baby desert tortoises and just got a 3rd all hatched at the same time. What is this and will it go away it was so so bad off when I got it but with some love and care ❤ and a lot of talk to seemed to be getting better then it played with it's siblings and well here are rhe photos

 

[Hamiltondood]

Not sure what to do or what this is. I have 2 and perfectly happy, healthy and fun baby desert tortoises and just got a 3rd all hatched at the same time. What is this and will it go away it was so so bad off when I got it but with some love and care ❤ and a lot of talk to seemed to be getting better then it played with it's siblings and well here are rhe photos

thats the yolk sac, it'll get absorbed as it grows
but correct me if i'm wrong, the sac hasn't been absorbed fully and if you put it on substrate too soon, it won't be absorbed "correctly" (does that sound right?).
this is how tom starts his hatchlings:

How To Incubate Eggs And Start Hatchlings

I put my eggs in a plastic shoe box with a lid on it and put the shoe box in the incubator. You can drill a couple of very small holes around the top of the container, but not on the lid. I use vermiculite as an incubation media. I mix it in a 1 : 1 ratio with water by weight for Sulcatas and...

tortoiseforum.org

 

[Javk]

Yes. It seems you might have some incorrect husbandry that caused the yolk sac to calcify and dry up. It looks like there is a beginning of an infection. Try to house them on paper towel until it has been absorbed. If persists, you may want to contact a licensed, exotic vet specialized in torts

 

[KarenSoCal]

There are some issues with these babies that need to be addressed, but keeping this one alive is the first priority.

How long after hatching did you get this baby? And how long have you had it?

You said this appeared after being with the others. Are you sure it wasn't there before that? Could you have just not noticed it?

Please take a picture of each of the others showing the same area, so we can see if there is something you need to do with them.

As Javk said, remove the substrate and put this baby on paper towels. Do not touch the yolk. If you break it open, infection will go into the baby's belly and it will die.

Be sure to keep it warm (80°F), and remove anything rough that it could walk on and scrape this in the enclosure.

I'm tagging help, hopefully he'll be online in the morning.

@Tom

 

[Tom]

Not sure what to do or what this is. I have 2 and perfectly happy, healthy and fun baby desert tortoises and just got a 3rd all hatched at the same time. What is this and will it go away it was so so bad off when I got it but with some love and care ❤ and a lot of talk to seemed to be getting better then it played with it's siblings and well here are rhe photos

First and foremost this baby needs a long warm soak. Then it needs to be set up in a warm brooder box for 7-10 days. The other ones might need to join him too. Its all explained in the link from Hamiltondood. Here is another link with more explanation and pics: https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/sudan-sulcatas-this-never-gets-old.184832/

Most of the care info for DTs is wrong and will lead to the death of babies. Read those two previous links and then this one for baby care:

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

 

[wellington]

If you are breeding tortoises I think you need to do a lot of reading on this forum before doing any more hatching. I don't mean to be rude but not knowing what that is does not go hand in hand with breeding and hatching tortoises. There is a lot to learn on here that will help you hatch and raise healthy tortoises.
If you bought those tortoises then the breeder has no right breeding as they should not be sold with the yolk sack still visible.

 

[KarenSoCal]

I suspect this may have been an accidental backyard breeding.
But no matter how it happened, accidental or intentional, it is illegal to breed desert tortoises.

The parents need to be separated now.

 

[Amberp]

There are some issues with these babies that need to be addressed, but keeping this one alive is the first priority.

How long after hatching did you get this baby? And how long have you had it?

You said this appeared after being with the others. Are you sure it wasn't there before that? Could you have just not noticed it?

Please take a picture of each of the others showing the same area, so we can see if there is something you need to do with them.

As Javk said, remove the substrate and put this baby on paper towels. Do not touch the yolk. If you break it open, infection will go into the baby's belly and it will die.

Be sure to keep it warm (80°F), and remove anything rough that it could walk on and scrape this in the enclosure.

I'm tagging help, hopefully he'll be online in the morning.

@Tom

I believe they are 7 weeks old. I got the 2 I have on 9/7 and the other one last Friday and it was in really bad shape a long warm soak a soft bed and heat along with lot's of talking to it is really doing better but put it with it's siblings for about 40 minutes and it crawled on top of the other one and was sleeping and it must have rubbed on the shell I feel horrible it was so happy to be with the others.

 

[KarenSoCal]

So this actually was not there before he "played" with his siblings? You're sure? You had looked at his plastron and it was OK?

I'm just amazed that this could happen from rubbing on something. It's so much more likely that the yolk had not been absorbed in the first place.

In any case, this yolk sac must be protected from breakage until it is completely absorbed by the baby, and the scar is totally healed.

Keep him on the paper towels, warm, and humidity above 80% at all times.

How are you housing them? What kind of enclosure?
Could you post pics of your entire set up, including lights?

Did you get these babies from a friend or relative? We are not here to get anyone into trouble. We just want to help you help your babies to thrive.