Indian star

[stinax182]

i didn't see anyone mention this so they may know something i don't about your lighting situation, but are you using a coil type bulb for uvb? if so, these are known to cause eye problems in tortoises. so if you have one of those, if replace it with maybe a mvb. the only other advice i would give is up the humidity and up the heat accordingly so it's not wet and cold.

 

[CLMoss]

Please try the baby food soaks. 100 degrees in the area where he basks (top of his shell). But make sure that he is well enough to move away from that heat if he becomes to hot. Baby food soaks, carrot with warm water. Look at the other threads to find out how it is done. Do it a few times a day. There is a lot of info about the soaks on this form. I don't know why forum members did not give you any info on this thread... Please try to get their attention.

 

[bogart20]

I don't use coil bulbs. I use a 150 mvb, and a black night 150 bulb
Raising humidity will help u think?
It's about 50-60%
And like 70-75% at night
Today he resisted his minerals and the mix that the vet said to feed him everyday.
He was strong enough to resist and his eyes are squinted but he's opening them a little more
He still didn't really move all day

 

[Yvonne G]

I don't think your vet gave you bad advice. I agree that what's wrong with the baby is something in the way you have him set up. It would be worth your while to start all over from scratch and be sure everything is the way it is supposed to be. I don't know how to care for the star tortoise, so I can't give you husbandry advice, all I can say is make sure his habitat, heat, lights, food, etc. is all the way it should be and soak him in Gerber strained carrots baby food water every day for about a half hour.

 

[bogart20]

Idk of this is good or bad so i figured I'd ask since everything else has gone wrong for some reason lol
The vet weighed him on Wednesday and he was 22 grams
And today (Sunday) he weighs 23 grams. Is this a good sign or bad?

 

[CLMoss]

My hatchling weighted more than 22grams when they were 3 weeks old. Try the baby food soaks as many times as you can each day. Make sure he dose not get cold. Feed him as much as he will eat. Every gram that he gains is a good sign. I will foward a hatchling culture sheet that I got from my breeder.
Good luck!
~C
Call me if you want to talk.

 

[bogart20]

So here's some new pictures!
Help! Does his stomach seem a little too round?
And these marks on his belly, I know the one in the center is where his yolk healed but what about these other marks? Is this normal looking?

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These are the pictures

 

[CLMoss]

What is important right now is food and water. Look over the culture sheet that I just sent to you.

 

[bogart20]

I looked at the culture sheet and I just started using the calcium with d3 and multivitamins.
But everything else I've been on top of since I got him.
The only thing I can think of to change is the moist paper towels.
Instead of substrate.
The pictures I put up because maybe I was wrong about what he's got so maybe new stuff will shed light on the real problem.
Does it look funny?

 

[CLMoss]

The photos are not that clear. What I can see, he looks find. But he has not been eating enough. He should weigh much more than he does. Has he been eating?

 

[bogart20]

I was just making sure. Unfortunately that's as close I could get to see it and still be clear.
But no he has t been eating. We've been having to surrenge feed him.
And I've also been putting turtle eye drops in his eyes. They are squinted but he's opening them a little more

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Also he's not a Sri Lanka star. He's the mainland indian star. Which is smaller then Sri Lanka's

 

[CLMoss]

Please just keep on doing what the vet told you to do and follow the culture sheet info. I believe that you can save this little one. ~C

 

[tickle]

i got my star from tortoise4 supply also but he is a shri lanken if youres is they are probabaly from the same clutch of eggs.i feel for you allot.i have a eastern boxie pair for over 20 years and a russian for a couple of years.also a sulcata but had to adopt him out when i got into my motorcycle accident.i allways wanted a star but in my times i have heard the hatchlings are very fragile onenight of cold can be irreversable and end up killing them.also they ship horrable and get sick or die from it but i tried anyway but i was prepared for him.i have the zoomed eydrops for him i give twice a week but when he arrived they were used everyday for 2 weeks.he gets only wild grasses weeds and optuna i hunt for him nothing else ever.i spray the foogs with zilla vitamin suppliment daily.he gets soaked every other day.the temp is in the high 90's to 100 in the day and mid to high 80's at night.i was told the warmer the better for hatchlings.i do not stress him at all.i used to add timothy hay on top of my 50/50 dirt sand mix but this irrated his nose and eyes so i had to remove it.i would pump the heat up on him you allready have the eyedrops so continue that and feed him and hope for the best.i dont think tortoise supply is at fault cause i no ty wouldnt sell a sick tort.when i kept my reef tank b4 sandy killed it i ordered corals threw the mail and the sensative and harder to keep corals only came with live arrival no other gauruntee because they are so hard to keep.same with the star hatchlings its up to you to keep them healthy and i feel that even perfectly healthy one are hurtimg after shipping its just that way.i find a small aquarium for hatchlings works best to keep the heat in so no cold drafts or cold spots accur.but one healthy enough they should go into a run,table or outside.i also feed only wild fresh cut grass as 70% clover,optuna,and dandylion25% and the rest i might use zuccini or mushroom.he loves the this diet chows ALL DOWN AND I can see a huge difference in him.i find it fun to go out and find the foods its like hunting.i also am growing chia and wheat grass.i have ahybiscuss and sqwash plant growimg wich i will feed the flowers of both.i think wild is the best i see how he likes zuccini and how they can get addicted to these foods so i givwe the tinniest amount.i hope youre star pulls threw i am praying for him.if he doesnt dont let this discourage you from another one learn from youre mistakes and try again.gl

 

[Neal]

Boagart - can you provide some detailed pictures of your enclosure? What do you use to measure the temperature and humidity?

Is he eating? What type of foods are you offering him?

 

[bogart20]

Honestly the culture sheet is more then the vet did.
I've been doing what she told me to do
But idk what to think its been 4 days and his appetite isn't back but I'm pretty sure that's normal
But I took him in there because I thought it had some sort if infection.
But they didn't run any tests or snything and just looked at him and said "there's no swelling so I don't think it's an infection" and "he's too small to do anything" they wouldn't even take a mouth swab to test and then they told me "he might not make it."
My question is he light not make it from what? They didn't try to figure out what I even brought him in for
They jus looked at him. Held him and that was it. Gave me a surrenge and crushed food. And said feed him twice a day.
No medicine no anything.
He's never been cold for one day that I've had him.
The culture sheet is easy enough because I've been doing that since I got him. Minus the calcium and multivitamins.
I have no idea what the problem is because they refused to run any tests.
I don't think it's tortoisesupply. He was eating and moving as soon as he got warmed up after the truck ride.
Idk if this vet knows what their doing but it's our only reptile vet in our area. Which is sad because even though i think they difnt do wverything they could tgats the only vet we have. the reason I thought he has an infection is because he's rubbing his head and eyes on his forearms alot and I read that's sign of an infection.

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I use an electro thermometer in his cage that's always in there. It's pretty simple. Nothing fancy

 

[CLMoss]

Is he feeling any better today? Weight gain? Did he eat anything? Did you give him some baby food soaks and warm water soaks? Is he moving around at all?
~C

 

[tickle]

Give him some time that's the best I can think try some pedialit with the babyfood.rubbing Can be allot of nothing he could just be reacting to the substrate what do u use.sometimes to much info can be a bad thing like reading a medicine book and you have all the diseases.my star reacted very bad when I co mered the sh strategy with Timothy hay it seemed to really get in his eyes and nose and kept the moisture in the substrate and my humidity skyrocketed.removed it and it was night and day.have you tried wild grass and clover with zilla vitamin spray mine loves the wild grass and clover also dandylion.I soaked my star in pedialite the first two weeks I had him I went all out on him and his shell and bodies are showing great results also I use the zoomed tirtle eye drops.shipping. was real hard on them.I would pump the heat to the high nineties give him the babyfood soaks with pedialite and eyedrops and feed wild cut grass clover and dandylion only with the zilla vitamin spray and no stress and hope for the best.I think antibiotics will kill him anyway.high heat 40% humidity and time.what ki d of substrate do u have?

 

[bogart20]

Really thank you for all the help. It's like one question and you get more info then the vet can give u!
I have always soaked him in warm water. I change the water 2 or 3 times in one session so there's always fresh.
He lives in a 2' by 1.5' that's about 2' tall.
Soon I'm gonna build him a 3' by 3.5' and like 2.5' tall but its kinda rainy and stormy here lately.
I prep food before I go to bed which is like 2 or 3 hrs before he wakes up and I also change his water
When I wake up I give him a soak for half an hr
He hasn't been eating so we gotta pry his mouth upended and squirt ground up wet food in it. In small amounts of course. But like 3 cc's is what he gets over all.
I just changed his substrate from coconut fiber and cypress mulch to jungle mix and orchard grass.
His weight gain is from me surrenge feeding him but I haven't seem him poop in any of his soaks

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The surrenge feeding of ground oxbow was wat the vet told me to do 3cc's twice a day if possible she said.
But idk if there's any benificial property to thes other then my tort isn't starving lol which is good but I though maybe the vet would b a major solution lol

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He moves around during his soaks after 5 minutes or so of sitting. Snd he opens his eyes mostly during that time do after his soak I give him his eye drops

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He seems a little bloated.

Like rounder in the stomach. If you put a little pressure on it his limbs kinda bulge

 

[CLMoss]

Your Star is most likely too small for the vet to do much. Also, sometimes the information that you will receive from forum members is more species related, because they have more experience with that species.
It sounds like you are doing everything that you can to help you little Star. I would just try to get more food into him, try the baby food soaks and warm water soaks. Also, I would use the paper towels...it may be too hard for him to walk on the substrate that is in his enclosure. I just hope that he makes it... He is very small, even for an mainland Star.
~C

 

[bogart20]

The first picture. The one where he's eating the carrot is granted when he was smaller but the other two picture I took to demonstrate
Does he look bloated or kinda bulgy?

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