Is my new aldabra Ada doing ok?

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dzha039

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Hello everyone, my name is Derek and I'm new to this forum. I live in Hong Kong and recently met my aldabra Ada (presuming a girl) at a local dealer about a month ago. When I first got her she was 15cm (5.9 inches) in length and weighed 580g. I have been feeding her mainly with Timothy hay, supplemented with Mazuri and Zoomed Grassland as well as some finely chopped opuntia cactus mixed in occasionally. She has had a great appetite and has steadily gained weight to about 743g in the past 4 weeks.

For enclosure she is being kept indoor inside a terrarium with free access to the outside (also indoor for now, we're in the process of switching to a new place with an open deck). In the meantime the indoor area is able to receive direct sunlight of around 5 hours daily through opened windows. The temperature inside her terrarium is being kept at about 27-29°C (80-84°F) at night and 30-32°C (86-89°F) during the day. A 75W Exo-terra intense basking spot light is added for her basking needs as well as a 10.0 UVB bulb. Cypress Mulch is used as the substrate and humidity is kept at around 65-70%.

I have been giving her daily soaks in the morning.

However I am somewhat concerned for Ada's health and noticed the following phenomena:

1) She always made a lot of arm pumping actions and particularly fast when she first woken up. I know tortoises pump their arms to assist breathing but she just seems to do it a lot more, sometimes even when she's in her "cogwheel" posture during sunbathing.

2) She makes a lot of "puffs" mostly during eating and drinking/soaking but also out of the blue at times.

3) Her excretion has been quite soft and watery lately (see attached photo)

4) For the past 2 days or so she just seems to sleep a lot inside her cave and had to be pulled out for her meal (which she'll directly rush in and clean up)

So is she showing symptoms of URI or just really tired?
Should I adjust the temperature settings? Too hot? too cold?

She is able to walk steadily upright on 4 limbs (see attached photo)

 

Yvonne G

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Hi Derek, and welcome to the Forum!

In my opinion, Ada could use a bit of a larger area to walk around in. Also, a deeper substrate would help cushion her legs and aid in keeping them from sliding out from under her. Tortoises like to be able to dig a bit in their substrate, so having it around 3 or 4 inches all over the whole habitat would be a good idea. Also, if you have substrate instead of newspaper you can keep it moistened, and I notice she's starting to pyramid a bit from being kept too dry.

It's good that she eats hay and the brands of pellets you feed are both good ones. Your feeding regimen sounds good to me, and you can try to find some dark leafy greens to add to it.

Now is the time to be thinking about buying a house with a big yard. My two aldabrans are only 13 years old, and weigh over 200lbs already.
 

Sulcata_Sandy

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Yep, time to buy yourself a ranch....LOL, you do know she will be four times as large next week? LOL

Just teasing....sorta.

I agree, the newspaper is going to cause musculature problems, and sooner than you think.
 

Laura

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she needs a yard to walk around in, get sunshine this is not filtered thru a window. Do you have access to that? if not, how soon can you get it?
 

sibi

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Space is very limited in Hong Kong. Did you know how large this animal will get when you bought him? How do you plan to care for this beautiful creature in a few months? Please tell is what you plan to do. Thanks
 

ShellyTurtlesCats

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She is darling.

Hope you can afford a home with a yard, soon.



_________
~ Shelly ~
 

nate.mann

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welcome. these tortoises get BIG and FAST, no tort should be kept in a space that small of a space (especially not an Aldabra, of all species). were all hesitant because of how true this is, hope to hear the good news that you have a nice big open space for your little one (soon to be huge one) will be able to roam free in.
 

Yellow Turtle

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What I really concern for now is it is not convenience for your aldabra to walk on that newsprint and hard surface. It will keep sliding his feets and I suppose to create problem with his posture in the future.

Good luck keeping it, and hope you can get a yard for him in the near future.
 

ALDABRAMAN

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One thing that is of real value is ample space in order to afford proper exercise!

15ckkrt.jpg


dzha039 said:
my name is Derek and I'm new to this forum.

* Welcome!
 

Sulcata_Sandy

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How is Ada doing?
I'm excited to hear about her growth. Also, what does she like to eat?

My 5lb Sulcata is not thrilled with being moved indoors for the winter, so every chance I get when it's sunny I take him outside and we sit in the grass...he grasses and I just relax and enjoy watching him. I find them very Zen to watch. Far more relaxing than a fish tank.
 
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