Weight fluctuating?

[Avuwyy]

After weighing every other day when I first got Herbie, I left it for some time before weighing him again.



Im Not sure whether I should be worried or not? His weight has dropped dramatically since I got him? His care hasn’t changed much since I first got him, but from the pet shop I got him from he was only being soaked twice a week with no access to water, so I’m not sure whether this drop in weight is from being more hydrated?

Any clues? He’s really active, and if anything I over feed rather than under feed.

Thanks

(Picture of my baby below)

 

[Tom]

That weight drop indicates a big problem. Still soaking daily?

 

[Avuwyy]

I skipped a day or two because I was incredibly sick and was scared of either passing out whilst my tortoise was in his soak, or managing to make my tortoise sick too (Not sure if it’s possible but it was worrying at the time). For a few days soaks were on and off every other day.

I’ve also started trying to feed him a natural diet of weeds and grasses, he’s been eating them but only by hand (He will gladly eat produce from his bowl now, just not weeds). But then again me offering weeds is every other day also, he eats produce most of the time still and I encourage him to eat as much as he can in one sitting whilst I’m hand feeding before allowing him to eat from his bowl for the rest of the day.

 

[Avuwyy]

Bump.

 

[lilly_sand99]

So have you tried weighing her/him again? My baby was growing really well, one day she was 185, two days later 189, two days later 196, then two days later 114. I picked her up and did my best judging if she lost 80grams in 2 days and what one earth I did wrong for her to lose that much weight. I then weighed her the next day and everything was back to normal, she was 198.

So back to my main question, habe you weighed her again? Sometimes scales mess up.

 

[Avuwyy]

I weighed him again yesterday, was still saying 22g. I think it’s perhaps because I was hand feeding him when I first got him and was making sure he was eating proper portions. He doesn’t seem to eat much from his bowl and prefers eating from hand (As it means he doesn’t struggle getting bites).

 

[SweetGreekTorts]

I weighed him again yesterday, was still saying 22g. I think it’s perhaps because I was hand feeding him when I first got him and was making sure he was eating proper portions. He doesn’t seem to eat much from his bowl and prefers eating from hand (As it means he doesn’t struggle getting bites).

Have you tried feeding Mazuri? It's got lots of nutrients and is great for helping to put on weight. I feed it to my babies twice a week (once is plain, the other is mixed with chopped greens).

If your tort eats from your hand, I would continue doing so, but also leave some fresh food in a dish for it to graze throughout the day.

 

[Avuwyy]

Have you tried feeding Mazuri? It's got lots of nutrients and is great for helping to put on weight. I feed it to my babies twice a week (once is plain, the other is mixed with chopped greens).

If your tort eats from your hand, I would continue doing so, but also leave some fresh food in a dish for it to graze throughout the day.

I’ve tried looking for some cheap mazuri but all I can find are packets which equate to £40, I’m still living with parents so that amount of money is unheard of [emoji28]

Im starting to again, he seems to prefer it that way, and plus I can get him moving around his enclosure teasing with some frisée haha.

 

[Avuwyy]

After some additional discussions on Facebook about what it is, many people have said parasites. Going to go to the vets as soon as they open in the morning to see if they can wedge us an appointment. Hopefully it’s nothing incredibly serious...

Any tips if it is parasites? Will I have to change the substrate to something disposable for the next few weeks, and disinfect everything? Change what I feed him?

 

[SweetGreekTorts]

After some additional discussions on Facebook about what it is, many people have said parasites. Going to go to the vets as soon as they open in the morning to see if they can wedge us an appointment. Hopefully it’s nothing incredibly serious...

Any tips if it is parasites? Will I have to change the substrate to something disposable for the next few weeks, and disinfect everything? Change what I feed him?

The vet will take a stool sample and test it. If there's a high volume of parasites and eggs, they will have you treat with dewormer (either a powder or a paste).

If that's the case, I recommend setting up a plastic bin and use newspaper instead of substrate. You will want to replace the newspaper daily and the plastic container is easier to disinfect (wipe it down and apply fresh newspaper while tortoise is soaking). Provide the same basking light, water dish, food, and temps/humidity, warm place to sleep, etc. Keep food and water dishes as clean as possible. It's only temporary to prevent the parasites and eggs from laying around to re-infect. Don't feed any fruit, it's high in sugars and can cause parasites to bloom.

After a follow-up fecal test comes back clear, you can return the tortoise to its original enclosure (but clean it out, disinfect, and replace all the substrate first).

That's what I did when my tort had parasites - though she was a sub-adult Russian, not a hatchling. Her treatment was a few weeks and I've had no issues since. I've never had to treat a hatchling for parasites, so I would suggest seeing what other advice members may have from their experience.

Keep in mind your tortoise is very small and still very fragile, so seeing the Vet and possibly being treated with medication, and the temporary housing arrangement may stress it out. It may not have much of an appetite, etc. But I hope everything works out and tort gets better.

 

[Avuwyy]

The vet will take a stool sample and test it. If there's a high volume of parasites and eggs, they will have you treat with dewormer (either a powder or a paste).

If that's the case, I recommend setting up a plastic bin and use newspaper instead of substrate. You will want to replace the newspaper daily and the plastic container is easier to disinfect (wipe it down and apply fresh newspaper while tortoise is soaking). Provide the same basking light, water dish, food, and temps/humidity, warm place to sleep, etc. Keep food and water dishes as clean as possible. It's only temporary to prevent the parasites and eggs from laying around to re-infect. Don't feed any fruit, it's high in sugars and can cause parasites to bloom.

After a follow-up fecal test comes back clear, you can return the tortoise to its original enclosure (but clean it out, disinfect, and replace all the substrate first).

That's what I did when my tort had parasites - though she was a sub-adult Russian, not a hatchling. Her treatment was a few weeks and I've had no issues since. I've never had to treat a hatchling for parasites, so I would suggest seeing what other advice members may have from their experience.

Keep in mind your tortoise is very small and still very fragile, so seeing the Vet and possibly being treated with medication, and the temporary housing arrangement may stress it out. It may not have much of an appetite, etc. But I hope everything works out and tort gets better.

I’ve just been told that my normal vet may not be able to treat parasites. What would I have to do if they don’t have the medications he needs? Or they don’t know how to administer? I’m not registered to an exotic vet and I’m unsure of where the nearest one is?

I have literally no plastic containers [emoji28] Would it be worth just taking everything out of his normal enclosure and cloaking it in newspaper after disinfecting? My uv lighting and heat elements are stuck to the structure you see. Also I don’t have immediate access to any sort of plastic containers which are able to house him-

 

[SweetGreekTorts]

I’ve just been told that my normal vet may not be able to treat parasites. What would I have to do if they don’t have the medications he needs? Or they don’t know how to administer? I’m not registered to an exotic vet and I’m unsure of where the nearest one is?

I have literally no plastic containers [emoji28] Would it be worth just taking everything out of his normal enclosure and cloaking it in newspaper after disinfecting? My uv lighting and heat elements are stuck to the structure you see. Also I don’t have immediate access to any sort of plastic containers which are able to house him-

I can't advise on self treatment for parasites. My vet is a reptile specialist, so based on the amount of worms and eggs present, and my tort's size and weight, she calculated the dose of deworming medication needed. Perhaps your vet knows a reptile specialist they can call for guidance.

As for the enclosure, the goal is to keep it as clean as possible so worms and eggs don't linger around. If you're able to do that with it's regular enclosure, then go for it. I just used a plastic tub because it was easier (my tortoise enclosures are homemade tortoise tables made of wood).

 

[Avuwyy]

Got a vet appointment tomorrow, not a specialist appointment but you don’t need to be a specialist to check for parasites as far as I know?

Im worried about whether treatment would affect him negatively, he’s only 5cm and underweight at the moment. What should I expect to happen during treatment?

 

[SweetGreekTorts]

Got a vet appointment tomorrow, not a specialist appointment but you don’t need to be a specialist to check for parasites as far as I know?

Im worried about whether treatment would affect him negatively, he’s only 5cm and underweight at the moment. What should I expect to happen during treatment?

A regular vet won't be very helpful. Reptile vets spend extra time and money learning to care for and treat reptiles (think of a regular family doctor vs. a heart surgeon). Your vet can look at a fecal sample under a microscope and determine if there are parasites. But what if that's not the problem? They won't know what to check next. They will most likely be calling a specialist to get their opinions and insight.

I would worry about the tiny size of your baby. It's going to be stressed with all this and any treatment is a risk. That's why I gave you the heads up in my previous comment of what could happen. Hatchlings are very fragile and a vet can end up doing more harm than good, especially a vet who doesn't fully understand reptiles.

 

[Avuwyy]

According to my normal vet, they have links to specialist vets, and whilst the head vet at the centre isn’t specialised, he does have a great deal of experience with exotics, so I’ve been referred to him (Been a vet for over 20 years).

If need be I’ll ask to be referred onto a local exotics vet. I can’t drive or move outside my local area, so finding someone specialised is incredibly difficult unfortunately I’ve done research on particular drugs which are not meant to be used, I’ll discuss these with my vet if they get brought up. For now I’ll have to see if it is definitely parasites however, if it’s just him being fussy and refusing to eat unless it’s out of my hand I’ll just have to baby him. Plus, I’m buying mazuri soon (Incredibly £££) so that might bulk him up a bit.

 

[SweetGreekTorts]

According to my normal vet, they have links to specialist vets, and whilst the head vet at the centre isn’t specialised, he does have a great deal of experience with exotics, so I’ve been referred to him (Been a vet for over 20 years).

If need be I’ll ask to be referred onto a local exotics vet. I can’t drive or move outside my local area, so finding someone specialised is incredibly difficult unfortunately I’ve done research on particular drugs which are not meant to be used, I’ll discuss these with my vet if they get brought up. For now I’ll have to see if it is definitely parasites however, if it’s just him being fussy and refusing to eat unless it’s out of my hand I’ll just have to baby him. Plus, I’m buying mazuri soon (Incredibly £££) so that might bulk him up a bit.

It would be great if they have the resources. I am hopeful they are able to help you out and provide some answers. You're doing the best you can!

 

[Avuwyy]

Found he had managed to gain 6g overnight (I did spend a good hour or two hand feeding him). If it weren’t for the runny feces I’d have thought he was just being fussy.

I got told he may be subject to Hatchling Failure Syndrome? He doesn’t have many of the symptoms but this has began to worry me also as he was brought up in very bad conditions.

 

[SweetGreekTorts]

I just wanted to check in and see how your little baby is doing. I hope the Vet visit and treatment went well and that the little one is thriving and gaining weight again!

 

[Chasen]

What's the status on your little one? Doing well again? Have you tried the carrot soaks? It was the miracle turn around for my hatchling that wasn't doing well. He's now thriving.

 

[Avuwyy]

Sorry for the lacking of responses

Due to an inability to go and medicate a second time, we’re stuck on on a single medication atm. Though thankfully his weight has doubled since then and he’s currently sitting at 43g. Weight is notably higher, he’s a lot brighter (due to the nicer weather I spend one or two hours monitored yard time daily), and watching his growth lines. They have widened quite a bit!!!

April 2019


May 2019


Quite proud of the growth considering the stunt. He is now happily on a grasses and weeds diet, with the occasional cucumber or iceberg to bump up his water intake, and calcium powder daily. Nudged three times a day to get him to take a small walk around his enclosure for exercise as he’s still quite lazy being a hatchling.

Seeming a whole world better though. Feces is still runny however, so whenever available I’ll definitely take him to have a second dose.