Tiny Hatchling...Will not grow!!

[scapula]

We have four hatchlings, about 9 months old, three of which weigh about 70-80g ...the 4th is only 18-20g and has been for the last two months.

She (I say she but no way of knowing sex!!) is active and eats ..but does not put on weight..

Could she have worms? They are on a table with soil from the garden.. If I should worm her then how can I do this as she is so tiny? I have some panacur

Is there anything else I can do to help her? She seems to like Komodo Pellets ..which I think is sustaining her at the moment ..should I seperate her from the others?

She gets baths and nutrabol etc...

[burnt toast]

Hi I had a Herman exactly the same about 3 years ago now. She was 15 grams for nearly two years! Seemed healthy, like yours. What I did to help her was:
bath several times per day - as many as you can manage! I only seperated mine for feeds, which I offered after everybath - if you have another set up, fine. Go & get some abidec they sell it at sainsburys or chemists, one in orange box, its a vitamin liquid for human babies to help them grow & it worked wonders for my little tortYou need to add about half an inch in the dispenser to only one bath per day, keep her in it for 10 mins if poss. Mine has grown slowly approx 6 grams per month! but consistently & lovely & smooth.

The reason I was told for mine most likely noot growing is she got dehydrated at some point in her life & once this occurs it makes it very difficult for them to absorb the nutrients from the food they are eating, dont know if yours is the same reason but this is definately worth a try - good luck

[pagan queen]

Originally Posted by scapula

We have four hatchlings, about 9 months old, three of which weigh about 70-80g ...the 4th is only 18-20g and has been for the last two months.

She (I say she but no way of knowing sex!!) is active and eats ..but does not put on weight..

Could she have worms? They are on a table with soil from the garden.. If I should worm her then how can I do this as she is so tiny? I have some panacur

Is there anything else I can do to help her? She seems to like Komodo Pellets ..which I think is sustaining her at the moment ..should I seperate her from the others? She gets baths and nutrabol etc...

I'm no expert but I've read other people say separate them so they get a good share of food. Maybe you could just feed her separately so you can monitor her eating. Also some people put something in the water when bathing, unfortunately my memory is playing tricks and I can't remember the name, someone will help soon though.
I'm no help really am I?

[Watermelon]

When I got my youngest two they were approx 27g and that is at 15/16 months old! They are putting on weight slowly about 2/3g a month so far.

When I got Daisy she didnt put on weight for 3/4 months....she lost weight... but eventually started gaining weight. Sometimes they are slow to put on weight sometimes.

Sorry I'm probs not much help either! You could maybe introduce pellets once a week, this could help her put on some weight. Thats what I did with Daisy!

[Bindi]

There's a chance it could be worms if you're using soil from the garden, maybe get her tested.

I'd also separate her for a while to see if it makes any difference, she may just not be eating enough...

[EJ]

What are the environmental conditions... temperature?

I was going to suggest pellets until I finished reading and then thought... wow.

Temperatures... I'd bet money it is too cool.

Do seperate the tortoise... at least at feeding. Some tortoises have a stronger personality than others. It might be loosing out at feeding time.

Originally Posted by scapula

We have four hatchlings, about 9 months old, three of which weigh about 70-80g ...the 4th is only 18-20g and has been for the last two months.

She (I say she but no way of knowing sex!!) is active and eats ..but does not put on weight..

Could she have worms? They are on a table with soil from the garden.. If I should worm her then how can I do this as she is so tiny? I have some panacur

Is there anything else I can do to help her? She seems to like Komodo Pellets ..which I think is sustaining her at the moment ..should I seperate her from the others?

She gets baths and nutrabol etc...

[Easter Bunny]

When I got my newest tort Victor, he is 2 years old and weighed 38g. I done what Lynn said and bathed in ABIDEC, and he is putting on weight now

Other people have used ABIDEC with good results too xx

[Watermelon]

Ooops sorry missed the part where you said you feed komodo pellets. x

[scapula]

Hi
Thanks for your replies..in answer to EJ the temp at basking spot is 35.5 and the table is indoors in the living room.
The torts are all from the same clutch so it is odd that just one is small ...
I will try the Abidec as suggested, one of her back legs seems a bit lazy and she holds it at an angle when you pick her up....although she seems to get around ok,
Has anyone wormed one with Panacur this small before?

[Pussygalore]

if the tiny one has a good relationship with the bigger ones ie sleeps with them etc I'd only offer food separate, I know when we had a tiny hatchling the very process of putting it from the incubater in with the others seemed to perk it up. It seemed to get encouragement to eat etc from the other's and was never alone, sadly it died after a few months but during that time the others seemed to know it wasn't 'right' and were carefull around it. I'd have hated for it to have had a short life by itself even when it died the other's were around it, soppy I know. One thing we did was to put weeds etc through a blender which helped with such a tiny mouth and I did add a few soaked pellets to the mix just to try to help. I hope you have more luck than I and it starts to pick up, I can't think its worms if the other's are all thriving. ps Critical Care is also a good product to have that can be added to the bath water.