French guy need help

Guillaume86

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hi everybody, i'm guillaume. firstly, excuse me for my bad english. i'm a french owner of 4 sulcata hatchlings and i need advices for one of them.


In france, sulcata knowledge is really poor and it's difficult to find good advices. so i hope you will agree me here.


my four babies live in a close chamber with uvb lamp and hide box.

i maintain humidity near to 80% and temperature at 33°c under the basking spot , 27 °C in the rest of the close chamber (day and night).


i'm actually building a bigger one because mine seems small for 4 hatchlings.


Here you can see them :


photo 6.jpg photo 7.jpg photo 2.jpg photo 3.jpg photo 1.jpg
 

Guillaume86

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Now i explain you the problem.

One arrived 3 weeks ago and is unable to eat alone.
as you can see on the photo hit had a hole on his jaw. now it seems to be ok but it don't eat.
when i give him food it try to cut but It's as if he could not squeeze jaws.So it has any small eyes compared to the others.

i soack him two times a day in water with carrot and i feed it with critical care in a syringe everys days. is anyone have an idea to help it? i really want to save our baby but i don't know how i could do it.

photo 5.jpg photo 4.jpg
 

Guillaume86

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i forgot, it is weighting 55 g and i don't know when did it hatched. (probably 2 or 3 months old).

thanks.
 

Tim Carlisle

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Very nice looking group you have there. What kind of substrate is that you are using? I can't tell from the pics. Is that an open sore I'm looking at? If so, I would segregate it from the rest of the group and perhaps use a little triple antibiotic on it. Be prepared to provide each of the four their own enclosure very soon. It's not good to keep them in groups like that as they will eventually fight for dominance. They do not require companionship from other tortoises to be happy.
 

Guillaume86

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I use garden soil and coco soil, approximately 10 cms .

yes it's an open sore, it closed in the next days. today it's clean but the tortoise seems unable to cut the food.

ok for the group problem.i didn't know that before coming here.Here in france people used to keep sulcatas in group...i have a big yard where i could build different enclosures.i hope they are not all boys.
 

TriciaStringer

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It looks like you are doing all you can. Did you get them from the same breeder? I would set him up in a separate closed chamber for now. You can use a large rubbermaid/storage container for now with all the correct heating and humidity.
Best of luck!
 

TechnoCheese

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Very nice looking group you have there. What kind of substrate is that you are using? I can't tell from the pics. Is that an open sore I'm looking at? If so, I would segregate it from the rest of the group and perhaps use a little triple antibiotic on it. Be prepared to provide each of the four their own enclosure very soon. It's not good to keep them in groups like that as they will eventually fight for dominance. They do not require companionship from other tortoises to be happy.

Are you sure? From what I’ve heard and seen, groups are the way to go. It spreads out the stress and allows them to establish a pecking order. I’m pretty sure it’s only pairs that are the problem.
Is there something I’m missing?
 

TechnoCheese

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Welcome to the forum!
I am not sure about the mouth sore, but I do have some helpful links for you to read :)
How To Raise A Healthy Sulcata Or Leopard, Version 2.0 https://tortoiseforum.org/index.php...ealthy-Sulcata-Or-Leopard,-Version-2.0.79895/

For Those Who Have a Young Sulcata... https://tortoiseforum.org/index.php?threads/For-Those-Who-Have-a-Young-Sulcata....76744/

Beginner Mistakes https://tortoiseforum.org/index.php?threads/Beginner-Mistakes.45180/

It sounds like you’re doing a lot of things right.
 

Boettgeri

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Hello

I know a lot of people in France that could give you good advice about sulcata (some of them have sulcata themselves). If you want I can tell you where you can find them.

For the tortoise that doesn't eat... I advice you to find a good vet it is better to be sure the tortoise is fine.
 

Guillaume86

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Hello

I know a lot of people in France that could give you good advice about sulcata (some of them have sulcata themselves). If you want I can tell you where you can find them.

For the tortoise that doesn't eat... I advice you to find a good vet it is better to be sure the tortoise is fine.

Thank you. If you can Give me contacts it would be great.

Tortoises come from the pet store. I bought three. They gave me the fourth when i reported the problem.

My vet don't find the problem...
 

Tim Carlisle

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Are you sure? From what I’ve heard and seen, groups are the way to go. It spreads out the stress and allows them to establish a pecking order. I’m pretty sure it’s only pairs that are the problem.
Is there something I’m missing?
Everything I've ever read on the subject suggests otherwise. Perhaps in large open spaces they might do better, but I'd be very cautious about confined spaces.
 

Sumo's_keeper

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Just signed up to TF when I saw this thread. There is an excellent monograph on Sulcatas by Bernard Devaux in a journal entitled Chelonii. It is Volume 1, published in June/Juin 2000. [I don't know if there are any more monographs in the series]. It is written in French and in English, in adjacent columns on every page--there are minor discrepancies between the two versions. The title is: La tortue qui pleure (The Crying Tortoise). It was published by SOPTOM; B. P. 24, 83590 Gonfaron - France.
I purchased my copy directly from M. Devaux about 5 years ago. As I recall, he said that it was one of the last copies in print, so probably will not be available directly from SOPTOM any more. I should be available at many scientific/technical libraries in France, especially if you live near Paris or any of les grand ecoles scientifiques. If you can find a copy, it will give you nearly all the information on sulcatas that you want.
 

Guillaume86

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I don't know if it is the same thing but this reminds me of this thread: https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/hole-in-jaw.165788/

I agree, he should be separated from the others.


Thanks for the link. it looks like my tortoise have the same problem. it presents the same symptoms as this poor tortoise : hole in jaw, pieces of skin wich come off the bottom jaw , sleep all day...

I will finish to built the new enclosure tomorow , so i'm going to separate them.

i read tom's links about how to care a tortoise. Those learn me a lot of things and i try to do the better for our babies.
 
N

no one

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Hello Guillaume, thought I look for your opening post after commenting on your Stars. Welcome to the forum!!
I hope you stay longer then others and learn all you can here on this forum. Even though it is in English, there is a lot to learn from the people here.

Good luck with your Sulcata's...
 

Tom

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Everything I've ever read on the subject suggests otherwise. Perhaps in large open spaces they might do better, but I'd be very cautious about confined spaces.
I don't know what you've been reading, but my experience suggests otherwise. I've had no problem with groups of 3 or more juveniles. When they begin to get closer to maturity, the faster maturing males sometimes need to be separated from the slower maturing females to give the girls a break from the constant harassment, but until then, things are usually fine. With rare exception, females usually all get along just fine together at any age or size. When raising groups, the dilemma is usually what to do if you end up with multiple males. In most cases, males cannot live with other males. I have seen large tortoises yards with dozens of sulcatas, and in most cases fighting is kept to a minimum, but even in this circumstance one or more males will frequently have to be separated out from the group. Male temperament can vary greatly. I've had some that are super males and want to breed and fight all day, and I've had other males that were much more laid back and mild mannered. How well multiple males will get along in a large group in a giant pen will depend upon these individual personalities and also on how well kept they are. Keeping them at less than optimal temperatures seems to really settle them down. I don't advise this, but I've seen it with outdoor housed adults in warmer climate areas.
 

Guillaume86

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i forgot to update this post... unfortunately this poor tortoise died few days ago.

I tried to feed her with syringe (critical care) during all the days i had her but there has been no improvement. Near the end we started an antibiotic treatment because of her jaw but no results.

Today i still have the three other babies wich share the same enclosure. it size: 79 x20

the three tortoises are around 60 grs. I have them since 4 months and they don't grow , the weight is the same since i have them.i dewormed last month ( ( (pinworms find for two tortoise ) and the three eat well each day. Should i be concerned ?
 

EllieMay

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When you say “around”, are you weighing them on a regular basis? It can be hard to judge their weight gain at this age because it could be minimal...but in your case, any small amount is significant.. just a couple grams a week is important.. no weight gain at all is not good..
 
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