Hey guys, been a little while since we have been on here, both our girls (Ellie the redfoot tortoise and Izzy the special needs three-toed boxie) are doing great and growing fast!
So, the other day we were given a very small three-toed box turtle (~the size of a 50 cent piece) by a friend who had gotten two babies through LLL Reptiles (FYI not one of my favorite places but I didn't pick where he got them from lol). The other baby he has is doing great, eating, digging, exploring and doing all the things you would expect from a baby three-toe. However, the other little guy was not doing very well at all and our friend gave him to us to try and see if we can get him going again.
When we first got him he seemed to be fairly dehydrated, was still moving around and exploring but was unable (or unwilling) to open his eyes and had not been observed eating for a couple of weeks.
IMG_2488 by aja99, on Flickr
Since we got him home we have him set up in a 15qt tub with a peat/sphagnum/loose topsoil substrate misted regularly to keep up high humidity. The enclosure has a shallow water dish, feeding rocks and a cork bark hide that covers approximately 1/3rd of the tub so he has lots of covered space to hide out in. We have been giving him a warm water soak every day for at least 15 minutes. He gets UVB from an overhead lamp with a Zilla 25 UVB CFL (not the best I know and he will be switched over to a tub with a tube lamp soon) for about 10 hours a day. Ambient temperature in the room is around 80 during the day (heated snake room), with a moderate hot spot under the lamp of about 85, and does not go below 70 at night.
IMG_2492 by aja99, on Flickr
Since we got him home he has started opening both eyes, and is definitely exploring his enclosure regularly but still seems to be very listless. So far we have tried feeding him some finely chopped greens with every meal, which he has not shown much interest in, and have tried cantaloupe, shrimp (very small pieces), a couple of pinhead crickets, chopped nightcrawler (too large I know, getting some smaller worms and mealies tonight) and a mush made from mango crested gecko diet and blended nightcrawler. He always checks out the food but we still have not seen him eating.
So, I'm just looking for any and all tips that we could use to try and help this little guy out! We'd love to see him grow and thrive
IMG_2486 by aja99, on Flickr
This is one of him today with his eyes open! He still looks a little "squinty" though, like he's not fully opening his eyes for some reason.
IMG_2491 by aja99, on Flickr
So, the other day we were given a very small three-toed box turtle (~the size of a 50 cent piece) by a friend who had gotten two babies through LLL Reptiles (FYI not one of my favorite places but I didn't pick where he got them from lol). The other baby he has is doing great, eating, digging, exploring and doing all the things you would expect from a baby three-toe. However, the other little guy was not doing very well at all and our friend gave him to us to try and see if we can get him going again.
When we first got him he seemed to be fairly dehydrated, was still moving around and exploring but was unable (or unwilling) to open his eyes and had not been observed eating for a couple of weeks.
IMG_2488 by aja99, on Flickr
Since we got him home we have him set up in a 15qt tub with a peat/sphagnum/loose topsoil substrate misted regularly to keep up high humidity. The enclosure has a shallow water dish, feeding rocks and a cork bark hide that covers approximately 1/3rd of the tub so he has lots of covered space to hide out in. We have been giving him a warm water soak every day for at least 15 minutes. He gets UVB from an overhead lamp with a Zilla 25 UVB CFL (not the best I know and he will be switched over to a tub with a tube lamp soon) for about 10 hours a day. Ambient temperature in the room is around 80 during the day (heated snake room), with a moderate hot spot under the lamp of about 85, and does not go below 70 at night.
IMG_2492 by aja99, on Flickr
Since we got him home he has started opening both eyes, and is definitely exploring his enclosure regularly but still seems to be very listless. So far we have tried feeding him some finely chopped greens with every meal, which he has not shown much interest in, and have tried cantaloupe, shrimp (very small pieces), a couple of pinhead crickets, chopped nightcrawler (too large I know, getting some smaller worms and mealies tonight) and a mush made from mango crested gecko diet and blended nightcrawler. He always checks out the food but we still have not seen him eating.
So, I'm just looking for any and all tips that we could use to try and help this little guy out! We'd love to see him grow and thrive
IMG_2486 by aja99, on Flickr
This is one of him today with his eyes open! He still looks a little "squinty" though, like he's not fully opening his eyes for some reason.
IMG_2491 by aja99, on Flickr