Underside of shell soft?

newgirl53

New Member
Joined
Jan 21, 2016
Messages
23
Hi everyone. Not sure if I should be worried or not but I thought I would post...

I have a hatchling Hermanns that's only a few months old. I just noticed that the underside of his shell is soft. It's not horrible but it's noticeable when picking him up. Here's the specs...

50 gallon rubbermaid
100w MVB
Coconut coir/cypress mulch/topsoil blend as substrate

Numbers seem okay to me? Basking spot of 92-95. Ambient of 80. Humidity hovers right around 70%. I keep the substrate nice and moist (not overly) and I bathe him once a day for 20-30 mins. I mist the entire enclosure once or twice a day.

He eats like a pig. Seems pretty active but he does sleep a lot. I looked up a few threads on here and saw that that's pretty normal for babies...

Is it calcium that's causing this? I haven't used any calcium supplements. I keep a cuttle bone in the enclosure but there's no evidence that he's ever used it. Should I get some calcium powder for him and see if it helps??
 

keepergale

Well-Known Member
5 Year Member
Joined
Aug 17, 2013
Messages
761
Location (City and/or State)
san diego
A calcium supplement is a good idea. Along with proper lighting.
On the other hand it is normal for a couple month old to still have a lot of flex in its plastron.
 

newgirl53

New Member
Joined
Jan 21, 2016
Messages
23
I'll start giving him a little bit of calcium. He seems pretty healthy otherwise.

I'm switching to a 7 foot cage as soon as I can afford all the parts. I'll have an actual long tube style light in it instead of the mvb. It's built. I just need to buy the lights and get more substrate to fill it.
 
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