~~ My baby cherryhead eats little

[phtanus]

Hi guys,

I just got two baby cherryheads for a week. They are 6 cm long (a little more than 2''). I soaked them every morning with warm water, and the temperature and humidity are fine. I used cypress mixed with some substrate brick as their bedding.

But the thing is, one of them is perfectly fine, but the other one does not like to eat. It spends a lot of time soaking in water, and often drinking water.

Every morning I gave them different food. I tried cabbage, strawberry, butternut squash, lettuce, apple, tortoise food from ZooMed. But every time the tortoise only took a few bites, then went to its "bathroom" to drink. The other baby is just fine. It eats everything, with a very good appetite. This poor guy maybe eats only 10% of the other guy everyday.

So is ths tort ok ?


Another question is, can I give them the cuttlebone for birds (see the following amazon link) to them and let them bite ?
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0002DH2WO/?tag=exoticpetnetw-20
I found this cuttlebone is very soft, and it is easy for them to bite off a small block.


Thank you guys.

 

[Momof4]

First Congtrats on your new little RF's. Remember that it takes about a month for them to relax and settle in. Try not to handle or bug them for a couple of weeks. Except maybe a few soaks and offering food. I know it's hard but just let them be. I would offer food in their enclosure and leave it for the day. Try spring mix, dark leafy greens, bananas, mango, mushroom and zuccini. Offer protein once a week like hard boiled eggs or boiled chicken too. Since they're so tiny make sure you chop up the food really small. They will hid a lot forever. Mine is 1 yr and he eats, walks around for 1 second and hides. That's just what they do. Good luck and be patient.

 

[ascott]

I agree with Kathy..also keep an eye out for any potential bullying from the stronger more assertive tortoise towards the shy one...

 

[tortuga_please]

Try feeding them separately, if it still won't eat much you can try a baby food soak

 

[Mgridgaway]

I wouldn't worry too much. Like others have said, some torts just take a while to get adjusted. Continue to feed them, leave food in there so it can eat whenever and make sure it's hydrated. I wouldn't start to worry until after a month if he's not showing any signs of sickness.

It may also be a good idea to buy a gram scale and keep track of his weight on a weekly basis.

 

[Madkins007]

Hi guys,

I just got two baby cherryheads for a week. They are 6 cm long (a little more than 2''). I soaked them every morning with warm water, and the temperature and humidity are fine. I used cypress mixed with some substrate brick as their bedding.

Soaking every morning while they are trying to 'settle in' may be stressful, Try backing off as long as the humidity is good.

Also- forgive me, but just saying something is 'good' does not really help. What ARE the temps and humidity levels? It is also helpful to know how they are measured.

But the thing is, one of them is perfectly fine, but the other one does not like to eat. It spends a lot of time soaking in water, and often drinking water.

This is a pretty typical behavior for a new animal, and having a pair can sometimes make it a little worse. Sometimes, the bigger or more aggressive one can hog the food, hides, best basking area, etc. The best overall solution- if this is actually happening- is more space. Offering a choice of hides, feeding spots, etc. can help as well.

Every morning I gave them different food. I tried cabbage, strawberry, butternut squash, lettuce, apple, tortoise food from ZooMed. But every time the tortoise only took a few bites, then went to its "bathroom" to drink. The other baby is just fine. It eats everything, with a very good appetite. This poor guy maybe eats only 10% of the other guy everyday.

So is ths tort ok ?

A few bites is actually good news. Can you tell if it has good bowel movements?

First thing- relax. Then, see if there is a way to separate the torts, or offer more space, or at least feed them separately.

As mentioned in another post, see if you can find a good book or site and review the basics so you have a better understanding of your new guys.

Another question is, can I give them the cuttlebone for birds (see the following amazon link) to them and let them bite ?
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0002DH2WO/?tag=exoticpetnetw-20
I found this cuttlebone is very soft, and it is easy for them to bite off a small block.


Thank you guys.

The cuttlebone should be fine, and biting off bits is the plan.

 

[phtanus]

Hi guys,
Thank you all for the patient answers. I appreciate all of them.

To answer some of your questions, the humidity is over 70%, sometimes 80%, and the temperature is about 24 degree (C). So these two factors should be fine ?

Some updated symptoms for the baby I was worrying about:

I just found it giving green pee, not very dark, but green color. On Sunday or Monday it gave runny/transparent/soft fecal. (See the attached). The first two photos are the fecal in water, and the last one is the fecal on a napkin.

I googled and some people said this may indicate Hexamita infection ? Please see the following link:

http://www.tortoisetrust.org/articles/parasites.html

This website says: Hexamita: Is highly contagious and identified from a urine sample. Symptoms include Strong smelling urine,Dark green urine sometimes flecked with blood, excessive thirst, anorexia and fluid retention, weight loss.

My baby tortoise has green pee and always drinks. And it is now 50g, and the other healthy tort is 60g, so probably weight loss seems also true.

I am considering treating it with Flagyl (metronadizole) , but I have no experience on this. Some people said just feed the tort; some said solving the medicine in water and let the tort have bath and drink the solution inside.

Please give me more suggestions, anything.
If using Flagyl (metronadizole) , how much do I need to feed it ?

Thanks.

 

[Mgridgaway]

That fecal definitely concerns me. I'd like to hear a more experienced opinion.

Have you considered getting it checked out by a vet?

 

[phtanus]

Update :

A month ago I took her to a vet, and now she is very healthy.
The vet first check her fecal, but did not find a significant level of parasites, which was unexpected. However the vet still treated the tort with metronidazole and Vitamin B (to stimulate her appetite). Also the vet prescribe an eye drop containing gentamicin, and told me to feed the tort through her nose.

This did not help obviously in the first week. So I decided to feed the tort more amount of gentamicin. I soaked the little particles of T-Rex tort food and feed her. Meanwhile I increased and maintained a high temperature, even at night. We did not disturb her and let her recover by herself except feeding. I don't know if this really helped, but a week later she became healthy.

Hope this will help people in the future.