A little concerned.

[jagsrule100]

Hey everyone, i am just a little concerned about my sully's size and weight. I know that every tortoise has a different growth rate, but i see a lot of pictures of 5 month old sullys and they are all bigger than mine lol (Example: Tobi lol)

Here is a picture, it was taken 2 weeks ago but he really hasn't changed.
Also he is 46 grams.

 

[Fernando]

My friends sully is 1 year old, mine is 2 months old and they are almost the same size...my tort's shell is bigger. Now that's a little scary....

 

[Yvonne G]

You've probably already read it, but go back and re-read Tom's thread on how to raise healthy hatchlings. There might be something you're missing.

I know that misting the baby's shell several times a day helps. If he's eating, he should be growing.

 

[Maggie Cummings]

I feed my babies twice a day and soak them everyday. I wake them up and put them in warm water, then after about 10 minutes I put them in front of a pile of food. In the evening I wake them up and put them in front of the food. Babies do sleep a lot, but soaking and feeding is very important...

 

[Yvonne G]

The new growth lines between your baby's scutes look a little hard or dry. I don't know your tortoise keeping habits, but I'm guessing that maybe he's not getting enough moisture in his daily routine.

 

[tortoisenerd]

Another thing to realize is that a new owner can think their tort is eating a good amount, when in fact its not much at all...for example, a hungry hatchling can eat a pile of greens as big as it is. I think heat is one of the most important aspect of raising torts...make sure you have an accurate thermometer like a temp gun, and measure your temperature gradient every 1-2 days. Having hides near the food and near the basking spot will encourage your tort to engage in those behaviors. A story: When I first got my tort I thought since I had hides and I had a good temp gradient everything was good. But, he kept hiding and wasn't eating much or moving around.

Turns out I neglected to put hides near the basking spot and food, so he just stayed on the cold side in the hide there. Hatchlings will often seek shelter first, over even warmth and food, as that is their natural instinct from the wild. Maybe that will give you some insight? Can you describe how much you see your tort moving around in the day, how much it is eating, etc? Is the shell becoming more hard, the same, or more soft? What kind of UVB bulb? Pure calcium daily? Sadly, some hatchlings just don't thrive...hope you aren't dealing with that though. Has he gained any weight since you got him? You say he is 46 grams...but that doesn't tell us much. You should be more concerned with the growth rate than the actual size. Good luck!

 

[Torty Mom]

Are you trying different kinds of foods. Mine love to eat and eagerly check out what is on the menu. They get something different almost everyday. Have you tried any rose leaves, or any flowers, what about aloe vera or prickly pear, dandelion flowers? Maybe he is bored with his options. I know mine are a different species and don't get as big as your and it's comparing apples to oranges but.... Turbo Tucker weighs 65 grams and Squirt weighs 53 grams. They both are just over 2 months old. Princess Penny is 4 months old and weighs the same as Squirt. So they are all very different.

Does he have any favorite foods yet? Is he warmed up before you try to feed him?

 

[jagsrule100]

I feed my babies twice a day and soak them everyday. I wake them up and put them in warm water, then after about 10 minutes I put them in front of a pile of food. In the evening I wake them up and put them in front of the food. Babies do sleep a lot, but soaking and feeding is very important...

I do exactly that every single morning except i soak him for 20 minutes, i have the MVB bulb and a regular heat bulb, temp under is around 100 and the cool spot is around 80 and i spray the enclosure and the humidity gets to 70%.

I feed him kale, spring mix, prickly pear, hibiscus, and the sulcata seeds that i got from sulcatafood.com are starting to grow. Also i add the Zoo Med grassland tortoise food every feeding and calcium 3-4 times a week. When i feed him, i give him like 4-5 pieces of say kale and he doesn't eat all of it, he only eats like 1 or 2 pieces.

 

[lisalove]

Mine is the approximately the same weight and size. He's almost 5 months as well.

 

[cknfrmr]

I go by the hot, humid and hydrated method of Toms and have since day one. My sulcatas substrate is 75% Zoo Med Eco Earth and about 25% potting soil/playsand mix in a 90 gallon tank. I keep it MOIST I spay everything in the tank with a new pump spayer that you would use to spray weeds. I spray it every day. There are several different layers in the tank so the tortoise can get closer to the heat source or go in its cave depending on if it likes to be warmer or cooler. Also I put a top on it to keep the moister in but is a small open space to let the air circulate in fresh air. I feed clover sprouts, rose petals, and spring mix and some others. About 3-4 times a week I use the TNT from carolina pet supply. Also there is a cuttle bone left in the tank if the tortoise wants to chew on it. Two pot saucers with water in them for saokin purposes or two drink out of which I try to change several times a day with fresh water. Lighting is UVB bulb and a uv heat light which are on about !4 hours a day and a night heat light/viewing bulb the rest of the time so I can make sure all is well when i get up at night for my snacks. Heat wise its about 100-105 during the day and 75-80 at night. Tortoise is as smooth as can be and moves around throughout the whole tank. That is what I have done for the 5 months I have had mine. It may not be correct but so far so good. I read about keeping sulcates non stop for about a year before I got mine and try to check out this site at least twice a week to learn more. I have not found ANY site with the dedication and knoweledge of this one and the people on it. Hope this helps and good luck.

Hey everyone, i am just a little concerned about my sully's size and weight. I know that every tortoise has a different growth rate, but i see a lot of pictures of 5 month old sullys and they are all bigger than mine lol (Example: Tobi lol)

Here is a picture, it was taken 2 weeks ago but he really hasn't changed.
Also he is 46 grams.

 

[Missy]

I think slow growth is better. Tank has always been on the small side but since I added mazuri once a week to his diet he has taken a growth spurt, not sure if it is the mazuri but seems that way to me. As long as your tort is eating healthy I would not worry about size just yet.

 

[jagsrule100]

I got a couple questions...

The past 3-4 days he hasn't been eating much at all(a couple bites a day) and before that he was fine and eating a lot.
What's happening? lol

Also his poop is normal but there is like a piece of hair in him that is attached to his poop and it wont come off, i give him a soak but nothing happens. What do i do?

 

[Laura]

Hatchlings are heartbreakers..
hair? did you allow him to crawl around on the floor where he could have eaten hair?
Was he eating the substrate on one point?
Babyfood soak, nice and warm and long.. liquid calcium wouldnt hurt either...

 

[jagsrule100]

Hatchlings are heartbreakers..
hair? did you allow him to crawl around on the floor where he could have eaten hair?
Was he eating the substrate on one point?
Babyfood soak, nice and warm and long.. liquid calcium wouldnt hurt either...

No i never let him on the floor, i got 3 dogs. He could of ate the substrate accidently, maybe he dragged a piece of food into the substrate.

Can i use the Zoo Med Repti Calcium in his soak?

 

[Tom]

Hair can be a bad deal for them. I've never had it happen, but I've heard that it can get tangled around inside the lower GI tract and cause major problems. Does it look like a human hair or does it look like part of the coco coir?

Have you tried gently pulling it after a long warm soak? Don't pull hard since if its wrapped up in the intestine that could do some damage. This would explain a lack of appetite.

For your lack of growth; how old was he when you got him and how did the breeder house him? Substrate? Water bowl? Soaks? Humid hide?

For reference, my hatchlings from last May were 45-46 grams at 3 weeks old. By five months they were 151-174. This would be on the very fast end of the growth spectrum. Something is definitely wrong if yours is only 46 grams at 5 months old. My guess is that it happened BEFORE you got him.

 

[jagsrule100]

Hair can be a bad deal for them. I've never had it happen, but I've heard that it can get tangled around inside the lower GI tract and cause major problems. Does it look like a human hair or does it look like part of the coco coir?

Have you tried gently pulling it after a long warm soak? Don't pull hard since if its wrapped up in the intestine that could do some damage. This would explain a lack of appetite.

For your lack of growth; how old was he when you got him and how did the breeder house him? Substrate? Water bowl? Soaks? Humid hide?

For reference, my hatchlings from last May were 45-46 grams at 3 weeks old. By five months they were 151-174. This would be on the very fast end of the growth spectrum. Something is definitely wrong if yours is only 46 grams at 5 months old. My guess is that it happened BEFORE you got him.

I haven't tried pulling it cause i thought it would do damage, but i will try to very slowly. The reptile store said he was a month old when i got him and the substrate was the coco. There was no water bowl but they said that they soaked him like 3 times a week and no hides at all.

Just weighed him again and he's still at 46 grams, i think im gonna have to bring him to a vet.

 

[Tom]

I certainly have no way of knowing for sure, but he is probably one of the many that suffer from chronic dehydration and the damage it does when they are tiny hatchlings. ALMOST everyone keeps them too dry when they are first hatched. So many people backyard breed sulcatas and so few people know to keep them well hydrated as tiny hatchlings. They think they are desert animals and will get their water from the food they eat. WRONG! I have also found that if people say they get soaked two or three times a week, it is often significantly less that that.

 

[jagsrule100]

I certainly have no way of knowing for sure, but he is probably one of the many that suffer from chronic dehydration and the damage it does when they are tiny hatchlings. ALMOST everyone keeps them too dry when they are first hatched. So many people backyard breed sulcatas and so few people know to keep them well hydrated as tiny hatchlings. They think they are desert animals and will get their water from the food they eat. WRONG! I have also found that if people say they get soaked two or three times a week, it is often significantly less that that.

So you think he got chronic dehydration before i got him? Is there any cure for that? I soak him everyday and keep the enclosure moist, but is it too late?

 

[jagsrule100]

Update: I'm gonna find a great vet tomorrow and hope that they are open tomorrow so i can make an appointment for Monday. I work all day tomorrow and sunday so during my break i will call and make an appointment.

I really hope they can do something and make him better, if they want to give him a shot of anything should i allow them to?

 

[Tom]

There is no way to know. Some of them will make it and some won't. I feel awful just laying it out like that, but I'm just terrible at tact and sugar coating things. This is why I'm always ranting about where people buy the tort from. Most people will look around and buy the cheaper one. After all, they figure, a sulcata is a sulcata.

All you can do is keep him well hydrated, humid and fed the right diet. Do your best with his enclosure, get him out in the sun, etc... These things will give him the best chance at survival.

I don't know of any "shot" that will help him at this point. Just know that if it doesn't work out, it probably wasn't your fault.