Sleepy and weak ploughshare

[Radiated]

Well, my ploughshare baby is being week and sleepy, its hard for it to open one of its eye, its swollen. He feels really light and weak, lost 10 grams in 1 week. I guess this is related to the high mortality risk of captive bread ploughshares. Is there anything i could do?


Thanks

 

[JoesMum]

What temperatures do you have in your enclosure
1. Under the basking lamp?
2. At the 'cool end'?
3. Overnight

Are you soaking your tortoise to ensure hydration?
A 20 minute daily soak is essential in a sick tort to make sure that dehydration dosn't cause more damage than the illness.

My soaking tips are:
1. Soak first thing before your tort has warmed up properly to reduce escape attempts.
2. Use a high sided bowl or box so your tort can't see out
3. Use enough warm (not hot) water to just come over your tort's plastron (undershell). Get the temperature right and your not-warmed-up tort is more likely to lounge and absorb the heat.
4. Soak for a good 20 minutes. Don't worry if you don't see him drink; torts can absorb water through the skin. The length of soak is important.
5. Your tort may wee and/or poop in the water - it's more likely to concern you than him. You can change the water if it's truly disgusting. Don't worry if your tort eats his poop; it's said to improve gut flora!
6. Feed straight after the soak. Joe is always hungriest straight after his.

 

[Radiated]

Thanks,
The temps at night are around 33c, same during day, lowest temps are probably in the bamboo scrubs where i haven't measure but pretty cool. I soak daily already, it still doesn't eat though. Ive tried hibiscus, cactus, kale, different grasses, mazuri, grassland tortoise diet zoomed, hay, and rose petals and everything, but i would eat it.
Its already reallllllllyy weak. The legs are cold.

 

[tortadise]

What sort of food are you feeding? Need a vitamin a source if your having swollen eye issues? Did you ever find a good source of greens in china? Also when feeding do you use a vitamin supplant as well as calcium supplement?

---

Try some fruit. Bananas or strawberries maybe some yellow squash. He shouldn't be cold at 33c that's warm to not have cold legs. What's the ambient temperature in the room and not the temp in the enclosure. Is he outside?

 

[Radiated]

He is in the enclosure/terrarium, i supplement vitamin and calcium everyday as Bill Z directed. I will try fruits and veggies tmrw.

 

[l0velesly]

Thanks,
The temps at night are around 33c, same during day, lowest temps are probably in the bamboo scrubs where i haven't measure but pretty cool. I soak daily already, it still doesn't eat though. Ive tried hibiscus, cactus, kale, different grasses, mazuri, grassland tortoise diet zoomed, hay, and rose petals and everything, but i would eat it.
Its already reallllllllyy weak. The legs are cold.

If your ploughshare is feeling low on energy, it might be a good idea to use a heat light or a MVB to brighten him up.. you should aim for 38 C on the hot side. Torts are more active when its bright and warm.

 

[Yvonne G]

Yes, definitely warm the enclosure up to at least 80F degrees.

 

[Radiated]

I already have a mvb. Powersun.

 

[dmmj]

Baby food soaks
I don't keep ploughshares myself but it sounds like a common problem we see in a lot of hacthlings here on the forum. I would do the baby food soaks it more than likely won't get better on it's own, and it won't get better if it does not start getting some nutrients into it.

 

[Radiated]

It's starting to eat, food today is; kale, apple, blueberry, mulberry leaves, mazuri, strawberry and others, it looks like he loves it !!!

 

[X TORTOISE---MAD X]

I hope she be okay I've never seen a ploughshare before good luck and keep us updated won't you.xx

 

[Tom]

Thanks,
The temps at night are around 33c, same during day, lowest temps are probably in the bamboo scrubs where i haven't measure but pretty cool. I soak daily already, it still doesn't eat though. Ive tried hibiscus, cactus, kale, different grasses, mazuri, grassland tortoise diet zoomed, hay, and rose petals and everything, but i would eat it.
Its already reallllllllyy weak. The legs are cold.

33 where? There are four temps to be concerned with. Warm side, cool side, right under the basking lamp, and night time. What are your four temps and how big is the enclosure? There needs to be a thermal gradient so the tortoise can move from the warmer areas to the cooler areas, or the other way around, as needed. None of us know the particulars for this species, so I don't know what temps to tell you to shoot for, but all one temp would not be good either way. Temps are everything to a reptile. Measure and adjust them carefully. Is the tortoise getting any sunshine? I'd love to know how it behaves outside and whether or not it has appetite when outside. Make sure shade is always available.

 

[Radiated]

Day time is 32 under basking light Day time normal is around 29 Cold area is 26, thats in the bamboo

 

[Tom]

Those temps sound okay, but its not much of a gradient to choose from. I don't know what the temps should be for yours, but I keep my basking spots a little warmer. According to the presentations I saw at the TTPG this year, it is pretty hot in the part of Madagascar where these come from. I would not want to advise you incorrectly, but maybe he needs it to be just a little warmer in the basking spot. If I were you, I'd ask Bill. He is the only one who has experience with these. I have ZERO experience with them. Just guessing here in an effort to be helpful.

 

[tortoises101]

It's starting to eat, food today is; kale, apple, blueberry, mulberry leaves, mazuri, strawberry and others, it looks like he loves it !!!

That news just made my day.

 

[Laura]

did you change anything that you think made him want to eat? how is the eye?

 

[Radiated]

Add mazuri, he picks out the mazuri, then he might actually eat some other thing

---

Oh and the eye is dry and closed most of the time, but I spray it quite often so it opens.

 

[tortadise]

Did you put a humidifier in the room yet? I see this problem a lot in yellow foot that are kept a little too dry. These guys like very warm but humid.

 

[coastal]

You can very easily overdose with powders... I do not recommend using them more then two times a week. The mazuri will provide what is needed as you say it's eating this food now. More is not always better and this would be a good example of that. You're offering a varied diet which will be better then any powder in a can would provide.

 

[Radiated]

K Thanks. So not too much calcium or vitamin, just that Bill Zovickian recommended me to do so.