lost a baby :(

[crzsteveo]

I believe I lost my hermanns tonight. I left for a few hours and I came back and saw my little guy sitting in his water dish. I figured hes hydrating or cooling off, but after watching him for awhile I realized he wasn't moving. he usually twitches his front legs. so I picked him up and the water felt a little cold, but not drastically cold. he also felt a little cold

He was not moving , I don't know what could have caused this. I just had him outside yesterday because it was a warm day in quite some time here in Viriginia. hes been perfectly fine for the past two months, eating and roaming around in his home. I was just about to make him a new home tomorrow

could the cold water have caused him to pass away? I just feel awful now

 

[destiny88]

oh my goodness I am so sorry to hear this
I hope someone comes along to answer your questions soon
xx

 

[mike taylor]

Are you sure its dead and not just cold? Have you tried putting him under a heat lamp? I had a snake once that I thought was dead heated him up and I stell have him today . If he is gone I'm really sorry for your loss .

 

[crzsteveo]

yeah I am most certainly sure he is dead his eyes are a little cracked open. I tried soaking him in warm water for awhile and that didn't work....

he is just very unresponsive. ive been having problems with him since I got him at a family owned pet store they had him and another hermanns in a 10 gal fish tank with that green reptile carpet bedding.

when I got him he was active, but not eating much. he would sleep a lot. but once I soaked him, he ate more and moved around more.
from the looks of it, I think when I got him he was pretty young still because it looks like he still has a marking or indentation on his bottom side that looks like where the yolk sac was being absorbed. he was a curious guy when I took him outside, he was exploring and eating weeds and grass.

I have an indoor enclosure with a heat lamp, uvb bulb water dish, and soil/sand mix as a substrate.
I just don't see what could have caused this

im just sad because my girlfriend bought this as a gift for me since she knew I was looking at getting a tortoise for awhile

 

[Jlant85]

sorry you had to go through with that... i wonder what was the cause of death... how deep was the water dish?

 

[Ashes]

Oh no! I'm so sorry.....

 

[mike taylor]

Sorry bro but don't give up . Sometimes is how the people before you set them up . He was started wrong and sometimes no mater what you do they fail . So start looking for a breeder not a pet store . Don't hate yourself it's probably the pet stores falt .

 

[crzsteveo]

yeah I was pretty bummed ill start looking for breeders. hopefully I can find someone on here. but before I get another hermanns, im going to have a big outdoor pen with weeds, grass flowers and all the necessities for him to thrive.

jlant85, the dish was like a small dipping dish, if that's the right explanation. but I only had enough in there so he could lay down in it

 

[HermanniChris]

Sorry to hear. Most likely not the water dish or the cool temperature. Sounds like he at some point ingested something, possibly the carpet he used to be on and it finally caught up with him. He may have crawled into the water dish to flush himself and hydrate and that's where it ended for him. Don't beat yourself, this happens. Next time just be careful where you obtain one from. How they are kept from the start can mean a lot for their future and longevity. Too many pet stores put too much emphasis on warm temps and keeping them dry when in fact they can take very cool temps just fine and should be kept properly hydrated on a substrate that is not dried out.