lyingcat8
Member
Hi everyone -- I'm Anne from Indianapolis, IN.
Let me start by saying that the internet is vast and full of misinformation re: tortoise keeping. So I've come here to a place where after reading posts for an afternoon it seems the information is consistent and people are successful using it.
We (my boyfriend Chris) and I got a Leopard Tortoise hatchling three weeks ago today. We thought it was a girl, so we named her Eliza. Vet confirmed it is actually a boy, now Pepperoni, still just as cute.
Some background info:
Arrived on 08 Oct 2019 - captive bred - current weight: 51.7g.
We originally thought a tortoise table was the way to go - the web said open air flow was just absolutely imperative... well, we weren't able to retain any humidity, Pep was seeming to slow down. So, I made a vet appointment for them.
Vet gave me some immediate instruction to get him out of the table, get rid of the substrate we were using and to put him in an aquarium. We had a 55 gallon aquarium in the garage, so I was able to clean it up and essentially did exactly what the vet described. I have a 75 watt heating bulb, a UVB bulb, as it is now getting wintry and chilly in Indy. I bought this 'shelf liner' to use as the 'substrate' even though I'm not a huge fan of how it looked - she said that it would be easy for them to walk on with their little feet, and unlike substrate, it won't cause a respiratory infection. Prior to this we were using coconut coir and coconut bark.
We do keep some spagmoss in the tank, there's a little cluster of it under the heat bulb which I keep moist so he can stay humid while he basks. We also have a humid and dry hide.
So, on the 18th of October he was moved into an aquarium.
Temperatures in the tank are: Basking - 100F, and then a nice gradient with the cool end at 70 - 75F. Maintained at these temps throughout the evening, too, as we use a ceramic heat bulb for night time with a thermostatically controlled outlet.
We have a humidifier set up to run 30 minutes every 2 hours or so. But the humidity is only maintaining about 40%. We spray it with a water bottle maybe 2 times a day.
Diet: We are offering him a little bit of everything that they are supposed to have, to be honest, just in hopes that he will eat some of it. Timothy hay chopped finely, grass, dandelion greens, collard and mustard greens, romaine, carrots, flowers... We've only seen him eat dandelion greens in the table, but we've not seen him eat anything in the tank. We've chopped his food into very small bites, we've left it whole.
He has not lost any weight, but he's not really gained any, and I'm afraid if he doesn't start eating he may fail quickly.
He is being soaked two times a day currently, just to really push for hydration... His eyes, nares, chubby little legs look good to my best knowledge. He's active and paces a bit in his tank. I really want to create something larger for him. We are trying to keep handling to a minimum since he's still new, and since we've switched his enclosure around so much...
He was clicking for a little bit, but we've not heard him do this anymore. It was definitely coming from his beak, like he was using the top and bottom to click. He'd do this after drinking, and one time he did it while standing over some rose petals, like he wanted to eat them, but just ... stood there clicking. The vet said his beak didn't need trimmed.
Essentially, after reading the recommended care sheet for Sulcatas / Leopards on here, I know that I need to find a way to completely cover the tank to retain humidity at about 80% - I am guessing I should increase the frequency that the humidifier is on, and also up the temps.
Any other suggestions? Anything we are doing glaringly wrong? I am really smitten with this baby, and it would be devastating to lose him.
I'm struggling to upload photos - Keeps giving me a "server failed" error, but I hosted a few photos on my onedrive, understand if you don't want to click on external links! https://1drv.ms/u/s!AvvGpHlK7GIH0QBGQsMcUR8qUgP-?e=VtPsQG
Let me start by saying that the internet is vast and full of misinformation re: tortoise keeping. So I've come here to a place where after reading posts for an afternoon it seems the information is consistent and people are successful using it.
We (my boyfriend Chris) and I got a Leopard Tortoise hatchling three weeks ago today. We thought it was a girl, so we named her Eliza. Vet confirmed it is actually a boy, now Pepperoni, still just as cute.
Some background info:
Arrived on 08 Oct 2019 - captive bred - current weight: 51.7g.
We originally thought a tortoise table was the way to go - the web said open air flow was just absolutely imperative... well, we weren't able to retain any humidity, Pep was seeming to slow down. So, I made a vet appointment for them.
Vet gave me some immediate instruction to get him out of the table, get rid of the substrate we were using and to put him in an aquarium. We had a 55 gallon aquarium in the garage, so I was able to clean it up and essentially did exactly what the vet described. I have a 75 watt heating bulb, a UVB bulb, as it is now getting wintry and chilly in Indy. I bought this 'shelf liner' to use as the 'substrate' even though I'm not a huge fan of how it looked - she said that it would be easy for them to walk on with their little feet, and unlike substrate, it won't cause a respiratory infection. Prior to this we were using coconut coir and coconut bark.
We do keep some spagmoss in the tank, there's a little cluster of it under the heat bulb which I keep moist so he can stay humid while he basks. We also have a humid and dry hide.
So, on the 18th of October he was moved into an aquarium.
Temperatures in the tank are: Basking - 100F, and then a nice gradient with the cool end at 70 - 75F. Maintained at these temps throughout the evening, too, as we use a ceramic heat bulb for night time with a thermostatically controlled outlet.
We have a humidifier set up to run 30 minutes every 2 hours or so. But the humidity is only maintaining about 40%. We spray it with a water bottle maybe 2 times a day.
Diet: We are offering him a little bit of everything that they are supposed to have, to be honest, just in hopes that he will eat some of it. Timothy hay chopped finely, grass, dandelion greens, collard and mustard greens, romaine, carrots, flowers... We've only seen him eat dandelion greens in the table, but we've not seen him eat anything in the tank. We've chopped his food into very small bites, we've left it whole.
He has not lost any weight, but he's not really gained any, and I'm afraid if he doesn't start eating he may fail quickly.
He is being soaked two times a day currently, just to really push for hydration... His eyes, nares, chubby little legs look good to my best knowledge. He's active and paces a bit in his tank. I really want to create something larger for him. We are trying to keep handling to a minimum since he's still new, and since we've switched his enclosure around so much...
He was clicking for a little bit, but we've not heard him do this anymore. It was definitely coming from his beak, like he was using the top and bottom to click. He'd do this after drinking, and one time he did it while standing over some rose petals, like he wanted to eat them, but just ... stood there clicking. The vet said his beak didn't need trimmed.
Essentially, after reading the recommended care sheet for Sulcatas / Leopards on here, I know that I need to find a way to completely cover the tank to retain humidity at about 80% - I am guessing I should increase the frequency that the humidifier is on, and also up the temps.
Any other suggestions? Anything we are doing glaringly wrong? I am really smitten with this baby, and it would be devastating to lose him.
I'm struggling to upload photos - Keeps giving me a "server failed" error, but I hosted a few photos on my onedrive, understand if you don't want to click on external links! https://1drv.ms/u/s!AvvGpHlK7GIH0QBGQsMcUR8qUgP-?e=VtPsQG