Baby sulcata isn't eating!!!!

ChrisO

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My wife and I purchased this little guy a few months back! When we bought him he had his eyes open, was eating, and very active! At first we had him in the same tank as our baby red footed tortoise, but switched him to his own tank since then! I have the light housing that has the uvb and heat source together!his basking spot is around 80 85 degrees, he has a hut for cooling off! He has a water dish also! He has stopped eating,barely moves around and eyes are shut! We took him to vet recently, and was concerned that his shell was extremely soft, so he gave us liquid calcium, and soak him in v8 juice 3 times a day!! Please help, I don't want to lose the little guy!!
 

ChrisO

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So should try to up the temperature? No I haven't checked, I'll check it out now.
 

cmacusa3

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Check out he caresheet and post a picture of the enclosure and you will get plenty of help and suggestions
 

dmmj

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you said you're concerned about the shell. Do you suspect it's getting softer?
 

ChrisO

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No im not using a coil bulb, I'll take a few pics of the enclosure and lighting source tomorrow
 

ChrisO

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I don't think it's getting softer, but it feels like tupper container lid kinda feeling
 

dmmj

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When they're born their shell feels like leather very pliable otherwise they would not fit into the egg with sunshine and calcium it will get harder it just takes time
 

ChrisO

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I got the little guy in his morning soak at the movement, haven't really seen him really active, last night I took him out and put him on the desk and he let out a bunch of clear liquid!
 

Maro2Bear

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Hi chris, just a few quick observations. The light you have in that first pix, is not recommended. There's lots of info here on the forum about not using such coiled lights. Your substrate looks too dry as well. Lastly, what are you using for a warm basking light and then what are you using for overall ambient temps?

You can use a regular 40w type bulb to provide light instead of the coiled bulb which hurts babies eyes.
 

ChrisO

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Are talking about the light housing or just the bulb? What would you recommend to dampen the enclosure? I'm kinda new to this whole thing, I'm going on what the people at the pet place recommended!
 

cmacusa3

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You need to figure out a way to close up the tank to hold the heat and humidity. That screen let's it all out plus it filters the UV needed for the tort.

The bulb is bad for his eyes and don't trust the pet store people. Get all the info on this site.
 

Maro2Bear

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Hey Chris,

Lighting: the bulb you have is the kind NOT recommended. A regular 40w incandescent bulb provides adequate light and adds some heat as well during the day. You will need a separate UVA/UVB

Humidity: you want to add water to your substrate and have it all nice and moist. Definitely need to put a lid on the enclosure to trap moisture in.

Ambient Heat: the best thing to use to keep your enclosure warm is to get Ceramic Heating Element (CHE) and have thst controlled by a thermostat and sensor. CHE hangs above, the sensor is down at tort level.

@Tom has all of these issues covered under the Sulcata How To section.


image.png
This is the lamp that you have and is thought to NOT be good.
 
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Yvonne G

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You can choose either one of these:

mercury vapor bulb.jpg T-5 fluorescent bulb.jpg

They both provide UVB, which every tortoise needs in order to make their bones and shells healthy. If you go with the one on the left, you get heat and UVB in one fixture. If you go with the tube-type fluorescent bulb, you only get UVB, so you also have to provide another fixture with some sort of heat in it.

You can't have the light sitting on the screen, as screen material filters out the good UVB rays.

Pour water over the substrate and mix it up with your hand to get it evenly wet.
 

Yvonne G

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It may seem like we're not answering your concerns, but lighting is essential. And once you have the correct lighting and heat, other problems just seem to clear up.
 

Markw84

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Chris

I agree with all the comments above

The first thing to correct is heat. Your little tortoise is too cold and cannot get warm enough. The coolest part of the enclosure has to stay at least 80f all day and all night. So you need the Ceramic Heat Emitter as mentioned above and that needs to be on a thermostat set to 80f or 81f. That will maintain a constant minimum temperature for the enclosure if you place the sensor for the thermostat at the cooler part of the enclosure. You need to have a basking spot where the tortoise can heat up and raise his body temperature. The basking spot needs to be 95f - 100f right at the basking spot. You can use a regular incandescent bulb for that. I use a standard flood type bulb. A 50 - 65 watt bulb should be plenty for the small aquarium you are using, Adjust the height to get the temperature you need. To maintain this heat, you will need to cover the tank to keep the heat from escaping. That will also help with your next issue - humidity.

Despite all the sources still referring to sulcatas as "desert" or "dry habitat" species, I think it is far more accurate to call them "Monsoon Tortoises" when talking about them. These tortoises manage to survive the harsher seasons, going dormant, and barely growing. The are waiting for the monsoons to come. That is when it is hot and humid and rains come. Vegetation grows, puddles form, bushes and grass they push through are wet. This is when they thrive and grow. This is what you want to create.

SO... the substrate you have is good. I use that bark as well. But I dump water into it and mix it up with my hands until uniformly dark and moist. The top layer will dry out a bit, but it will keep the tank nice and humid if you cover it as suggested.

If you do these things, you will see your tortoise start acting normally, become much more active and eating again.

Next, the calcium/softer shell issue. Hatchlings do have softer shells the first month or so that will give with pressure. Should not be paper thin feeling, but like the side of a plastic Tupperware container. To ensure proper growth and bone growth to allow the shell to harden, they need calcium in the diet PLUS UVB so their bodies can make vitamin D3 so they can utilize the calcium. That is what we need the special UVB bulbs or sunshine for. If the tortoise get natural, unfiltered sunlight at least a few times a week, for at least 2 hours, that would suffice. But for indoors we need to add the UVB. The long tube bulb Yvonne posted a picture of above is probably perfect for an aquarium. BUT - it must be inside the aquarium over the tortoise with nothing in between to filter the UVB rays. In addition, you may be wise in sprinkling a bit of vitamin with calcium and D3 on top of the food twice a week. Be sure you are giving the tortoise good foods. Read @Tom 's thread on how to raise a healthy sulcate for all the ideas on these things.

If you do this it will solve you problem short term as long as your tortoise has not already started to develop an illness from being cold.

Very quickly you will find your tank is way too small for him. With the care you will learn here, he will be 5-6" and over a pound within a year - and that tank will not work. But for now, get the heat and light going and get him thriving again!

Keep us posted.
 
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