URGENT my baby star doesnt seem to be eating and is making high pitched squeaking
 

Hi, i have a 8 month old indian star who currently weighs 34grams, since iv had her she hasnt eaten very much and sticks to dandelion leaves, no matter what i put down she will dig out the dandelion and if there isnt any she tends to leave it. i recently bought a bag of dried dandelion and mixed wild grass from my local reptile shop which she has walked around and over but not really eaten any of it. im worried she isnt eating enough and hasnt put on much weight as when i got her she was around 28grams.

she also seems to have her eyes closed for the vast majority of the time, even when walking around! along with the closed eyes she makes a high pitched squeaking noise from time to time which concerns me as i didnt think she should be squeaking! there is no gunk around her eyes when they are open and no mucus or bubbles around her nose so im not sure what the problem is (if any). oh and shes breathing with her mouth closed which iv read is a sign that it isnt a respiratory problem.

she also isnt pooing as much as she used to and hasnt passed any urates for quite a while either.

i keep her in a table with the tempereatures under the basking light during the day at 32-35 degrees and a cooler area at about 25-28 degrees, at night it also gets down to around 19-20 degrees which i have been told is about right.

any help will be greatly appreciated! thanks guys!!

What lighting/uv are you using? is it a new bulb?

Hi,
More info on your setup might help,
What: substrate, table or Viv, heat source, light source, humidity levels, worming history, bathing frequency?
How long has ur star been like this & have you consulted a tortoise specialist vet?
I keep my stars a little warmer, hot spot around 38-40oC daytime and a ceramic heater keeps things stable and above 25oC constantly.
Hope your little one is better soon x

Hi and welcome to the forum :) I always have CHE (cheramic heat emitter bulb) on all the time, the stay in the warm spot in the nights, and turn on the MVB (Mercury vapor UVB lamp) in the morning. They did not bask until they were a bit older. Stayed all the time under the dark hot spot.
This is my first setup I use it up until now, only few little changes but the position of Light abd heat lamp are the same
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-P...6/DSC_0726.JPG

This is what I have for my second setup also there are few changes I removed the plastic hamster house and put a cheramic half- pot and a log house. The big reflector thing is where I have my cheramic lamp turned on for all the time.

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-E...2/DSC_0871.JPG
Made it myself, because I was looking for a larger lamp shade to project heat wider over the table for two babies.
http://youtu.be/v26VeWCn-E0

Also check out this thread one super setup for Star hatchlings!
http://www.shelledwarriors.co.uk/for...t=51386&page=3

Try some Mazuri/ Nutrazu food, and give a warm bath to your star in the morning before putting the food on the table. They have better appetite after the bath time. Mine always do.

more info would be useful, stars do better in vivs as they are easier to control. with a table your tort could be getting a drought from somewhere and night the temps in the room fluctuate especially in the winter months. your night time temps could be higher, are you using digital temp reader?

try feeding courgette skin with a little white flesh left on.

I had a similar problem when i first started keeping stars. I use a 50/50 soil and sand substrate which is 8 inches deep. I found that when it dried out a bit the stars became very lazy and didnt eat much. I now spray my torts and the entire enclosure with water daily and the results have been brilliant. As soon as i start spraying they all come running over and seem to love it. Since i started doing this they eat 3 times more than they did and have gained weight nicely.
You said that she keeps closing her eyes...... are they blood shot? could be a sign of dusty conditions

I have a friend with Stars and she has a humid hide which the tortoises love , also seem to love being sprayed too every day.

Personally I think stars are one of those species that just feel more secure in viv's for some reason and do a lot better. Especially when young.
When I got mine he was on a table, was really non-active and ate little to nothing. Set up a viv and over night he became much more out going. It was amazing to see.

I find my male really enjoys a good spray in his viv and zooms around as the humidity climbs. He also loves Mazuri/Nutrazu pellets as a supplement.