Soft Plastron on Greek hatchling

[Bixby's Mom]

Hello, My name is Melissa. I have a Greek hatchling named Bixby, who is about 2 1/2 months old. I am concerned about his plastron being soft. I aquired "him" in October. A few days after I got him, he stopped eating and ended up being full of parasites. He was successfully treated and has been doing well since. He does have a slight "tilt" to the right. I do not know if it is a neurological issue or injury prior to me getting him. It doesn't slow him down one bit.

His current set up is a 20 long tank with an undertank heater and a 100W Power Sun mvb. His tank temperage average is 82-84F on the warm side with a hot spot of 90-92F. The cool side of his tank is 72-74F. He has full access to a water dish which he likes to drink from . I mist half his cage once daily and I soak him evey few days.

I currently feed him a spring mix lettuce and alternated adding dark greens, cactus, or zoo med grassland pellets. I sprinkle Repashy Super Veggie on his food daily. I plan on growing vegitation for him when the weather is warmer (in California).

Any suggestions on his plastron? Below is pics of him and his enclosure

 

[lvstorts]

Hi, welcome to the forum.

Your little greek looks good. When they are that young the carapace and plastron are VERY soft. Remember, their shells don't harden until a few years after hatching. Handle with extreme caution as they can be dammaged easily when young.

Does he have access to cuttle bone? Or a calcium supplment? A vitamin supplment may be warrented as well. Search the health or greek section of the site, I'm sure you'll find a ton of info to help you decide.

I dont' know what Super Veggie is...

 

[Bixby's Mom]

Hi, welcome to the forum.

Your little greek looks good. When they are that young the carapace and plastron are VERY soft. Remember, their shells don't harden until a few years after hatching. Handle with extreme caution as they can be dammaged easily when young.

Does he have access to cuttle bone? Or a calcium supplment? A vitamin supplment may be warrented as well. Search the health or greek section of the site, I'm sure you'll find a ton of info to help you decide.

I dont' know what Super Veggie is...

HI, Thank you for the reply. You put my mind at ease about his shell. Yes, I do have a piece of cuttle bone in his enclosure. He doesn't seem to chew on it, but it is available if he needs it.

The Super Veggie is an "all-in-one" herbivore supplement that LLL recommended. The label says it provides all essential vitamines and minerals with Retinol and Caroteniods as sources of vitamin A. It is designed to feed daily. Any opinions on this would be appreciated.