Sulcata doesn't eat, very lethargic

ZenHerper

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Thank you so much!!!!
Any advice or tips on foods??

There are several good lists and discussions about diet for Sulcata in this subforum:


That was a heck of a urate...which means her body is trying to conserve/hold/recycle water. I'd look for fresh (not dried) cactus pads. They are yummy, and have a good fiber and water content. If she's eating the Mazuri, keep up with that for the time being. It can be soaked in water if you don't see her drinking on her own.
 

Chefdenoel10

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Yes ok I will look for fresh cactus pads tonight online. (Not many cactus in nj). Lol ? thanks for the advice sooooo much!!!
I thought it was good to poop urates? Isn’t that the calcium build up ?? True... it was a big one... but.. she has been on meds (baytril and pain meds) for a shot of vitamin A in her back leg... so when she stopped eating I thought it was because of the pain???
do you have any suggestions on how to get the swelling in her leg down? I would very much appreciate it. Everything seems to be goin back to normal... but that leg (even though somewhat smaller) is still swollen??
 

ZenHerper

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Yes ok I will look for fresh cactus pads tonight online. (Not many cactus in nj). Lol ? thanks for the advice sooooo much!!!
I thought it was good to poop urates? Isn’t that the calcium build up ?? True... it was a big one... but.. she has been on meds (baytril and pain meds) for a shot of vitamin A in her back leg... so when she stopped eating I thought it was because of the pain???
do you have any suggestions on how to get the swelling in her leg down? I would very much appreciate it. Everything seems to be goin back to normal... but that leg (even though somewhat smaller) is still swollen??

Keep up warm soaks to encourage circulation, and access to drinking water. Optimize her temperatures. And if she'll walk.

Urates form when the kidneys don't have enough water to produce liquid urine while maintaining functional blood volume. This helps torts live in water-poor climates and to survive brumation, but it is not the optimal condition long term.

You may look for a Mexican grocery in your area for cactus pads. Otherwise they are pretty easy to find through online sellers.
 

Maggie3fan

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Funny you said that . I just got my husband to get Mazuri tonight as a matter of fact.
She doesn’t just eat lettuce she also gets grass from outside and veggies (squash,carrots,asparagus and topped with pure pumpkin. I am so sorry I am failing her.
Thanks for your advice!! She is under her heat lamp 100 watts right now as we speak and I will follow your advice to the tee!
do you really think that vitamin a shot is going to make her die???? I don’t know why they did that in the back of her???
They also said they had to use a larger gage needle because it was thick!?
Omg!!! I am gonna die!!!
No you are not going to die!!! You are here now where you will get the best advice available. No, the injury is not from the size of the needle, it is caused by the Vitamin A and the poking with any size needle...and please...no body is yelling at you...we simply need you to understand that if you do not get that tortoise set up correctly he will die for sure...You say 'heat lamp'...if there's a 100 watt heat bulb in the habitat you can turn down your radiant heat...Your tortoise does not need a higher ambient heat, he needs a direct heat light over a basking spot...how is he today?
 

Chefdenoel10

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She is much better!
She ate two bowls of food last night! And was walking around and peeing and made a small dootie! I can’t believe the change ?
If I didn’t see it I would not have believed it myself. Night and day everybody... night and day.... I will send pics soon as I want to keep my eye on her under her heat lamp and feed her now..
 

Chefdenoel10

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Thank you all for your advice .
I am paying close attention to ALL of it!!
trust me. AMD thanks for that post about urates Very interesting!! I was told different?
So glad I found all of you to teach me the true stories!!! Soooo many books read and so little was right ..? Wow.. again thanks so much guys for helping me through this..
 

Chefdenoel10

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Keep up warm soaks to encourage circulation, and access to drinking water. Optimize her temperatures. And if she'll walk.

Urates form when the kidneys don't have enough water to produce liquid urine while maintaining functional blood volume. This helps torts live in water-poor climates and to survive brumation, but it is not the optimal condition long term.

You may look for a Mexican grocery in your area for cactus pads. Otherwise they are pretty easy to find through online sellers.
Yes she walks all over the place. That’s why I have to chase her around with her heat lamp . Lol.. her attitude is so much better today. But I can’t get her to stay in her enclosure? She bangs around to let her out . If I do let her out she comes over and sits by me???? Why I have no clue??
No treats or anything ... she just sits next to me on the floor (I sit on the floor a lot) and I rub her back....
Could that mean something ?? I also bought her another heat lamp so I can keep it on her if she is going to be my me all of the time...
 

ZenHerper

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Yes she walks all over the place. That’s why I have to chase her around with her heat lamp . Lol.. her attitude is so much better today. But I can’t get her to stay in her enclosure? She bangs around to let her out . If I do let her out she comes over and sits by me???? Why I have no clue??
No treats or anything ... she just sits next to me on the floor (I sit on the floor a lot) and I rub her back....
Could that mean something ?? I also bought her another heat lamp so I can keep it on her if she is going to be my me all of the time...

Well, tortoises in captivity are entirely dependent. There are a lot of brains in those heads, and they learn who is going to feed, water, and provide for them.

She should be allowed to freely move toward and away from the basking spot...thermo-regulation is not an all-or-nothing situation. Prolonged overheating is as dangerous as prolonged cold.

Would you want to be confined to a small room in the house all the time? lol Tortoises have evolved to wander large territories daily in search of food, water, heat, shade, mates, etc.. We're talking miles of territory. If her enclosure is too hot, and your chair is "just right", then she will want to sit nearest the "just right" spot for a time. She needs a range of temperatures and enough space to move between those zones in order to maintain physiological balance.
 
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