newbies saying hello

[alexandemma]

Hi there,

We have two male Hermans tortoises which were born in Slovakia in 2004.
They are named Ant and Dec, and we are currently having a bit of trouble with Ant who seems to have caught a chill.

We have sought expert advice and it doesn't look like runy nose syndrome, but we have him quarantined and basking under a heat lamp and UV lamp until he gets his strength up.

We are slightly concerned that the tip of his shell all around seems to be translucent and are going to search the forums for advice.

Dec however is in rude health. He eats very well, is extremely quick, and when we very first got him managed to dig himself out, cross a driveway and hide behind a neighbours recycling bin prompting a two day search and lots of panic. The garden is now 100 per cent Dec-proof (we hope).

That's it for now

Alex and Emma xxx

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi Alex and Emma: Welcome to the forum. I hope Ant perks up and gets better soon.

Yvonne

 

[Jentortmom]

Hello and welcome to TFO!! I hope ant is feeling better soon..

 

[jlyoncc1]

Welcome to the forum! We love pictures!!!!!

 

[oswego tort lover]

i would think by your discription that your seeing growth of the shell .ive observed this on turtles and tortoises before.........ed

 

[Isa]

Welcome to the forum.

I hope Ant is going to feel better soon

 

[micki]

hi and welcome. my 2 come from the same area.

 

[alexandemma]

Well thanks for all your kind messages and introductions.

We've sad news to report as unfortunately Ant didn't survive the night. We nursed him on Friday and it seemed on Saturday he was getting better. He had a bath and had a poo and seemed to be generally picking up. He didn't eat anything but we were not overly concerned as he managed to move around and had some water and seemed content under his heat lamp and UV light.

This morning however, when we checked him and turned on his UV light there was no sign of life. We took him back to where we got him from and they confirmed he was dead.

The whole family is very sad and now wish we had taken him straight to the reptile vet on Friday, however, as we said, we did get expert advice and all the signs were that he'd got a cold and was picking up.

We had only had the pair of them about 10 weeks, and we really tried to follow all the advice from care sheets but can't help feel we've failed. In retrospect, Ant rarely did little more than try and hide, and sleep, even on the sunniest and hottest days. He was not like his brother at all who fed well, climbed and dug, and was very speedy and active.

Sad day for us here, we've buried him in the front garden which his brother has no access to.

Alex xxx

 

[purpod]

Greetings, Welcome & my sincere condolences for your loss ~

You know, they say that by the time you can see symptoms, it is often too late; but know that you tried & that you are doing a fine job with Dec, so I would guess that Ant was ill perhaps even before you got him.. Keep up the good work with Dec and you can take solace in him ~

Again, Welcome!
Purpod

 

[Yvonne G]

I'm so sorry that Ant didn't make it. More than likely, he was ill when you bought him. They sometimes don't show symptoms until they are VERY ill. I'm sure you did the best you could for him. And his last days were spent in peace.

Yvonne

 

[Isa]

I am so sorry about your loss.

I am sure you did all you could do to save him but like the others say, sometimes when they show symptoms, it is too late.

Keep on the good work with Dec.

 

[alexandemma]

Thanks for the support everyone.

Dec now has free roam of a large grass area garden with some areas for climbing and hiding. We also have an area closed off with some special tortoise varieties of plants and dandelions we bought from ebay, but he seems to prefer grass and weeds.

After looking on this forum at the tips for enclosures we are going to make dec's area even better, and although he has some soil we are going to mix it with sand so he can dig and hide, can anyone advise which sand is best (kids' play sand, or normal builders sand etc)?

I think we'll get some slate as well to keep his claws trimmed.

I have added a picture of the two of them when we first got them, the pictures are not very good, all the best ones are on my phone and I can't upload them. Ant is on the right.

We didn't pay for our tortoises, we got them from a friend who has an exotic pet shop and had rescued them from a previous owner. If you notice, they have quite flat shells at the top (I think a sign of lack of UV) and we hoped to have them rounded by the end of summer.

 

[alexandemma]

sorry, seems to be a problem with photos

Thanks for the support everyone.

Dec now has free roam of a large grass area garden with some areas for climbing and hiding. We also have an area closed off with some special tortoise varieties of plants and dandelions we bought from ebay, but he seems to prefer grass and weeds.

After looking on this forum at the tips for enclosures we are going to make dec's area even better, and although he has some soil we are going to mix it with sand so he can dig and hide, can anyone advise which sand is best (kids' play sand, or normal builders sand etc)?

I think we'll get some slate as well to keep his claws trimmed.

I have added a picture of the two of them when we first got them, the pictures are not very good, all the best ones are on my phone and I can't upload them. Ant is on the right.

We didn't pay for our tortoises, we got them from a friend who has an exotic pet shop and had rescued them from a previous owner. If you notice, they have quite flat shells at the top (I think a sign of lack of UV) and we hoped to have them rounded by the end of summer.

 

[Crazy1]

Alex, sorry to hear of your loss of Ant. Sounds like you are working well with Dec hopefully he will thrive and give you lots of love and entertainment as you watch him wander the enclosure.
Welcome to the forum.

 

[purpod]

Hiya again Alex!

Glad to hear that you are improving Dec's enclosure! It sure is fun to create a cool place for your buddy to live in ~ I got some great advice about sand on this thread --->http://tortoiseforum.org/indoor-juvenile-desert-tortoise-enclosure-t-2859.html Hopefully that will help; I have not tried it yet, but certainoly plan on it once I have some more time & funds available.

Anyways, keep up the great work with Dec ~ very glad to know that he is doing well! Enjoy ~
Purpod

 

[Granolagal]

I am so sorry for your loss. It has been sad times for our friends these past days.

Best of luck with Dec and warmest welcomes to this wonderful forum.

Carley