Need Help!! Whats wrong with my sons tortoise?!?

[shellygirl]

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Hi Everyone! I am new to this site and found it by looking up information about my sons tortoise. We have an african leopard tortoise. I recently found out from the internet something may be wrong with our tortoise Shelly. We have had her about 6 months and it appears she has pyramiding on her shell? We were told from the reptile store to feed her various green lettuce. Give her the calcium powder, and leave her light on for about 12 hours then turn it off. Was also told she got most of her water from her food and only needed it a couple times a week and that they absorb water from their skin. After doing all this reading on the web, I have discovered that is not at all correct! Also her poop is dark and runny and has always been that way, yet another problem. Her shell is bumpy and there are tan spotches in where all the black lines are. Photos I have found show their shell to be almost smooth and solid black lines....that's not what mine now looks like. I learned they need to eat 70% various grasses? Which this poor thing has never had grass before. Now when I try to feed it to her she wont eat it. I have also learned if these problems happen with their shell it can make it hard for them to move? This is my 4 year old's sons pet and if anything happens to it he will be very upset. Please, I need help fixing our baby tortoise!! anyone have any advice??? any help is much appreciated!

 

[chester tortoiseson]

I can't help with the leopard care, but I know you should always have water available.

 

[blafiriravt]

Let's start with the ground up. Leopards are one of the species that grows pretty big. Make sure the enclosure follows suite. If she absolutely has to be indoors, you have to get things dialed in quick. Substrates highly recommended are cypress mulch, coir, and top soil. You can mix all three, but most prefer the cypress/ topsoil mix, like myself. This helps with proper humidity retention. The hide areas should have a bit of moistened sphagnum moss in them. Your light arsenal should include some sort of uvB source, like a zoomed powersun 100w. I like to use a CHE above one hide, to keep temps up and humidity dialed nicely. Your diet recommendation is sooo far off. Shoot for "spring mix", you can buy it in the grocery store. Pull the spinach out, and add some edible weeds like dandelion and clover and grasses to the mix. I use Mazuri on scheduled days as well, to fill in any nutritional voids in the diet. Calcium every other feeding works well. If she gets outside time or you have a UVb light, get the kind with no D3. It is, by the way, highly recommended you get her outside as much as possible. Also, make sure you soak her daily for 15-30 mins in lukewarm wAter. Access to water throughout the day is highly recommended. There are some really knowledgable people in the leopard field who can better guide you than myself.

 

[wellington]

Hello and WELCOME. The bumps(pyramiding) is not reversible, but can be helped by proper housing and care, the new growth will grow in smooth. Have water available 24/7 in a shallow dish she can get in and out on her own. The temps and humidity, read the threads at the bottom of my post. They will help to explain. They are all great for raising a leopard and a sulcata. Sorry you got bad info. Most of us have. Good luck and if you stay with this forum, you will get all good info. Thetortoisetable.org and the tortoise library are also helpful sites. Also, the lines you are seeing are probably new growth lines which is normal. Post a pic when possible and tell us everything about the enclosure and we can help to tweak it better.

 

[Tom]

Hello and welcome.

There is no single right way to do this, but there are definitely a few wrong ways. There is a lot of conflicting info out there and it can be difficult for a new person to wade through. Knowledge has advanced a lot in the last few years, and most people outside this forum have not kept up. We are doing things here, and producing smooth, healthy tortoises in quantities that are simply unprecedented. I have had so many people doing it the old way argue and argue with me about theory, and what they think happens in the wild, and what we "should" be doing in captivity...., then I show them my leopards and sulcatas... Simply let them look upon them or even just pictures of them. Eyes get big, once they get past the initial disbelief and shock, THEN the learning begins... It goes from arguing, to genuine questions about how on earth did I do that. The basic premise is that, for babies at least, we should be simulating the African warm humid wet rainy season, when the babies hatch in the wild, instead of the African dry season where babies stay hidden in low damp places all the time, and never experience the dry desiccating above ground conditions.

There are a lot of details to cover, but each situation is different. You've got some reading to do, and then come back with specific questions. The links in my signature are full of info that pertains to both sulcatas and leopards. Also, if you go into your UserCP and click edit profile, you can put in a little bit about where you are in a general sense. It help people to give you better tips if they know whether you are in Phoenix or Seattle.

Here are a few things to start with:
1. Soak your baby in a tall sided opaque tub of some sort. Use warm water and only come half way up the shell, or a little less. Do this for 20-30 minutes every day for a few weeks to get your baby good and hydrated and help him pass any impurities that have built up from chronic dehydration. After that you can start cutting it back to 2 or 3 times a week as your baby gains size.
2. Always have drinking water available. I like to use terra cotta plant saucers for this. Most pet store bowls are not suitable for tortoises and some are death traps.
3. Your baby needs humidity, shell spraying several times a day, and a humid hide to stop pyramiding in progress. BUT, you can NEVER let him get cool with all this moisture. They need it a minimum of 80 everywhere in the enclosure. You can accomplish this many ways, but the simplest is with a Ceramic Heating Element set on a thermostat.
4. Diet. For leopards grass is not a big part of their natural diet. Some is okay, but they tend to prefer leafy green weeds and leaves. They sell Testudo or Russian tortoise seed mixes all over the place and these are great for leopards too. Also look for mulberry and grape leaves. Hibiscus leaves and flowers. Spineless opuntia cactus pads. Mazuri tortoise chow is great when soaked and offered a couple of times per week. At the grocery store look for endive, escarole, cilantro, chicory, dandelion greens, radicchio, various lettuces, carrot tops, chard, bok choy, etc... Lots of variety is key, but natural weeds that grow outside in your yard are best. Learn how to ID them and which ones to feed. We will help.

You have found a great community of helpful people here, and we'll do our best to get you right on track.

 

[ALDABRAMAN]

Welcome!

 

[Yvonne G]

Welcome, Shellygirl.

 

[DesertGrandma]

When the diet changes, so should the poo. Leopard torts get spots that constantly change as they grow, so the tan spots are probably not a problem. you can post a pic for comments. Pyramiding, while not desirable, does not always indicate a dire problem if you start following healthy habits now. Is she eating well? Keep us informed and ask all the questions you need to. You have come to the right place!! Welcome.

 

[pam]

Welcome

 

[tortadise]

Welcome, great advise given, as well as search the site, lots of great info here.

 

[Laura]

pictures!!!!