Urgent! Sick baby sulcata

[ilovemytortoiselarry]

I took my one year old tortoise to the vet and he was diagnosed with calcium deficiency and an upper respiratory infection. I have been giving him calcium soaks twice a day, however he barely eats anything at all. Is there any way I could force feed him?

 

[Ray--Opo]

You can get carrot puree baby food and mix it in your water 50/50 that you soak him in. Make sure the water stays warm not hot.
What did the vet do for your tort?
Could you send us pics of your enclosure. Maybe we can figure out why he caught a URI.

 

[ilovemytortoiselarry]

You can get carrot puree baby food and mix it in your water 50/50 that you soak him in. Make sure the water stays warm not hot.
What did the vet do for your tort?
Could you send us pics of your enclosure. Maybe we can figure out why he caught a URI.

Thank you! I will try this.

 

[Yvonne G]

You may not realize, but without UVB either from the sun or from a GOOD light, the calcium just gets excreted out with the urine and doesn't help the bones and shell harden. Also, soaking in calcium water doesn't do anything. The tortoise has to actually eat it (or drink it).

May we please see pictures of the enclosure including the tortoise, lights and all?

 

[ilovemytortoiselarry]

You may not realize, but without UVB either from the sun or from a GOOD light, the calcium just gets excreted out with the urine and doesn't help the bones and shell harden. Also, soaking in calcium water doesn't do anything. The tortoise has to actually eat it (or drink it).

May we please see pictures of the enclosure including the tortoise, lights and all?

Here is a photo of him and his enclosure. Thank you for the advice!

 

[Tom]

I took my one year old tortoise to the vet and he was diagnosed with calcium deficiency and an upper respiratory infection. I have been giving him calcium soaks twice a day, however he barely eats anything at all. Is there any way I could force feed him?

RI is caused by cold temperatures. What are your four temps? Warm side, cool side, basking area, and overnight low.

Colored bulbs are not good for tortoises. It messes up their circadian rhythms, and puts them out of sorts. Replace that with a CHE on a thermostat.

That type of cfl UV bulb is ineffective, and sometimes they burn tortoise eyes. You need to remove that and replace it with a UV source that works. The ZooMed HO 10.0 UV tubes work well. Does this tortoise ever get outside for access to sunshine? That would be even better than the UV tube.

What are you feeding this tortoise? Calcium should come from the food ideally.

Force feeding is not the answer. That would be a futile attempt to treat the symptoms while ignoring the CAUSES of this problem.

What is the size of that enclosure?

 

[ilovemytortoiselarry]

RI is caused by cold temperatures. What are your four temps? Warm side, cool side, basking area, and overnight low.

Colored bulbs are not good for tortoises. It messes up their circadian rhythms, and puts them out of sorts. Replace that with a CHE on a thermostat.

That type of cfl UV bulb is ineffective, and sometimes they burn tortoise eyes. You need to remove that and replace it with a UV source that works. The ZooMed HO 10.0 UV tubes work well. Does this tortoise ever get outside for access to sunshine? That would be even better than the UV tube.

What are you feeding this tortoise? Calcium should come from the food ideally.

Force feeding is not the answer. That would be a futile attempt to treat the symptoms while ignoring the CAUSES of this problem.

What is the size of that enclosure?

Thank you for the reply. I will look into it and reply soon.