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Black Mountain Tortoise

22 16:14:49

Question
I picked up a hatchling Black Mountain Tortoise a couple of days ago but am having a bit of trouble finding much info About them on the internet. If you can reccommend any good websites that would be great!

Also, I haven't seen him eat much, if anything and was wondering what I can do to fix this? (I have tried endive, romaine, red leaf lettuce, and carrot tops, which I was told what he was eating)

I have also noticed that his eyes seem stuck shut when I check on him. They open when I mist him, but was wondering what I can do to prevent this/help this? He has no nasal discharge, eye discharge, or wheezing that I have seen or heard.

I had him in a 2' X 2' terrarium, but moved him to a 15 gallon today, as I thought that the other one might be too large for right now. (He's about 6 weeks old). He is on moistened bark chips, and has two hides (One at each end) a water dish, and a veggie dish. The hot end of the tank is around 85 (I read that they don't like it too hot, but can't seem to find what too hot is) and the cool end is around 70. He has a UV light as well. I spray him a couple of times a day, and have been soaking him once a day for about 10 minutes.

I also noticed that he still has his egg tooth...is this a problem, or is he younger than I was told?

Any help or advise on any of the above would be greatly appreciated!

I know he is new and stressed out, but want to make sure I am doing everything right! I may just be a paranoid new tortoise mommy, but want to make sure it's nothing more!

Thanks


Answer
Egg tooth- usually indicates a very, very young animal- as in days old in most cases.

Not eating- main issue is probably sheer stress from the change. Usually, big changes put tortoises off their food for about a week.

Eyes: These guys like high humidity, and slightly cool temps compared to other forest species based on what little I can find about them. Mild dehydration or too dry of a habitat seems to cause much 'sticky eye'. It is hard to get bark chips really humid- you might try a layer of something like long-fibered sphagnum moss, eased apart and well-dampened instead.

Cares: I would recommend finding an experienced keeper at http://www.tortoiseforum.org cuz you ain't gonna find much on-line. I have already looked.

Good luck!