Why do my tortoises keep dying?

Question

About 4 years ago, I bought a Leopard Tortoise. We fed it special pellets and lettuce and we even gave him some water. He began to become weak and soon he barely opened his eyes. Me and my father decided to give him to a pet store and in return, get another tortoise. We decided to get a Sulcata. After about a week, he suddenly died, after feeding him special kinds of lettuce. After we brought the first one back, we thouroghly cleaned out the cage to make sure the new one would not catch anything if the tortoise suffered from something spreadable. I just found out that the first one died. For both tortoises, I gave them around 12 hours of UV light. I don't know if they died because they were not strong or because we did something wrong, but it is pretty dissapointing for such an easy animal. I'm not sure if I should get a new one or find a new animal.

Answer 1

dont give up on your pets some will have to die for you to eventually git it keep trying and eventually you might have so many your whole place will smell like them keep learning more about them and eventually you will git it it breaks my heart to lose pets but you cant give up  so keep trying

Answer 2

i am sorry you have had such bad luck with your tortoises honey, but leopard and sulcatas are tortoises that grow huge and come from dry arid places, they do not eat pellets and lettuce, they need a high fiber , dry diet, this will include lots of grasses and weeds, and some fruit, you also do not mention, anything about heating for these tortoises, or the type of housing, these tortoises can not be kept in tanks and need a high temp in the enclosure it needs to be high 70's, these tortoises are not really good for beginners as they do require lots of care, a twicw weekly bath is more than enough to keep a tortoise hydrated, these african tortoises do not like to be soaked too much, i think before you decide to get another tortoise you need to look at the different types to see how to care for them, here are some sites that might help you in the future   http://www.tortoisetrust.org/    http://www.chelonia.org/care.htm   http://www.totallytortoise.com/pet-torto... http://tortoiseyard.com/   there are some who have given you really bad advise, the two tortoises could have been sick when you got them but too be quite honest no one can really tell you why these tortoises died as we did not see them, but i do think you need to you need to research tortoises before you get another one and get it checked over by a vet as soon as you get it, best of luck in the future

Answer 3

d**n those things should live like 100 years. Get a pet alligator or something.

Answer 4

You are getting very, very bad advice about the tortoises.

1. Tortoises ARE NOT easy animals.

2. Leopards and Sulcatas are HUGE tortoises that take a LOT of room (think in terms of a back yard 50'x50' being a bit too small for a Leopard, and way too small for a Sulcata.

3. Neither of those species do well on lettuce- it is too wet for them. They need a drier, more fiberous diet. Pellets are also terrible for most tortoises (high in grains, etc. that tortoises do not need.)

4. UV light can injure an tortoises eyes if it is on too long or is too bright, and they need some UVB light during the day- but most UV lamps only put out the useless UVA rays.

5. You do not describe the temps, humidity, or other habitat details.

Before you get your next tortoise, try a good info site like http://www.tortoisetrust.org

Answer 5

maybe tortoises arent 4 u try snakes or lizards there cool

Answer 6

They were probably both sick before you brought them home.  Tortoises have very slow metabolisms (hence they live to be about 150 years old) and if they have any kind of viruses or bacterial infections it may take some time for them to manifest themselves.  Try a different pet store or breeder, maybe you'll have better luck because it sounds like you're doing all the right things.  Food, clean cages etc.  I bet it's not anything you're doing.

Answer 7

Tortoises require a great deal of maintenance and good husbandry.  You may have bought two that were in deed in bad health which I have found a lot in the pet trade/industry.  However, you MUST be sure you are feeding them the proper balanced diet and supplementing with vitamins and calcium.  I had a resque last year that weighed 45 pounds and she died after 8 months and I know it was nothing that I did.  I think she had an undetected illness when I rescued her although she seems very healthy and happy.  If you have any questions about the different types of turtles or tortoises you are interested in I would be happy to answer them for you.

Answer 8

dont get another!!!!!!!!! Just get a fish they are easy to keep alive or a dog. I have all of those and a hermit crab, but hermit crabs are hard to keep alive.

Answer 9

Well, what kind of lettuce were you giving it? Sometimes, special pellets aren't always the best to give your tortoise because you don't always know what they put in their stuff. Besides, the good stuff sometimes wears off after being stored for a while. Tortoises should be fed a variety of dark leafy greens, like collard greens and even romaine lettuce every once in a while. You should always give your tortoise a good hay or grass, like Bermuda grass. NEVER feed iceburg lettuce to your tortoise! You should also give your tort vitamins and calcium along with their food. They'll need less of it as they grow, but while they are still young, you need to give them some for every meal.

Tortoises need to always have water to keep them hydrated. You should keep a bowl somewhere in its home. Also, you should soak your tortoise everyday for about 5 minutes if its a baby. The soaking times will vary depending on age, since older tortoises don't need them as much as babies. What you do is you basically put them in some warm water that reaches the bottom of their shell. You don't want them drowning in it. The fact that your tortoise grew weak and could not open its eyes is a sign that is severely dehydrated.

Answer 10

You said that you gave them UV light, but what about heat. Sulcatas like it hot and Leopards are right up there too. Also, what kind of UV light did you use, if it was not a reptile or plant bulb chances are it was not working well. Without the proper UV, they can not absorb the calcium needed.

Also, lettuce is not a good food for any herp. They need good leafy greens. But, that being said, Sulcatas and Leopard are grassland torts. They eat a variety of hay type grasses and some fruit. They also need supplements, T-Rex Superfoods makes a tortoise dust that is great or you could just get the calcium with d3.

Tortoises are not beginner herps. And the two that you chose are some of the largest, I believe Sulcatas fall at number 3 and leos are number 4. I have a few Sulcatas, but I have an acre and they have an enormous pen. You may want to try a greek or russian, they eat more veggies and do not get as big, under a foot for both species. Read up on them and find out what will work best for you. And please, stick to a no pellet diet, at least till they are older.

Answer 11

Just checking u know this but UV tubes only have a life of 6 - 8 months (it'll say on the packet) did u change the strip in not even tho visible light can be seen UV will not be produced. also the light should be about 6 inches (15cm) from the tort otherwise it isnt as affective

As above iceberg lettuce shouldn't be used

leopard need alot of room lots of heat

here's a caresheet with all the info needed  http://www.wnyherp.org/care-sheets/turtl...

hope this helps