Baby Sulcata Not eating...

[Kristine B]

My little Sulcata is only 4.125 inches and think approx 3-4 months old. We have had her for just over a month. She will not eat hay, (even really nice green hay) or any of the plant grasses that we grow. She typically eats one large romaine lettuce leaf per day. She has not eaten since Monday night. She lives her nights in a 20 gallon tank that we vary between 15-30% humidity temp on hot end is about 90 and cool end about 75. She has a rock cave that she loves to sleep in and a little rock "lagoon" that she walks through and two other watering holes. During the day she is out in a grass enclosure, or if we have a lot of kids over she has a large sand box that is filled with the cocoa fiber stuff just like her tank rather than sand. I did notice that one of her little packages was trailing her by a thin stingy substance. Maybe part of the cocoa fiber? I cut it off, and continue trying to get her to eat. She is moving and active.

 

[Grandpa Turtle 144]

Hello Kristine welcome to the TFO from AZ . Children don't like Vegys either . So cut the food up in sml parts and cut the hay in sml parts . And a lot of baby's ( torts ) don't like hay or grass , but if you sneak little bits in it will learn to eat what you give it just like children . But have a great tort day !

 

[pam]

Welcome

 

[russian/sulcata/tortoise]

welcome to the forum! bump up the humidity in the cage to 80%, the substate must be moist. 20 gallon is way to small, think big something around the size of 4ft by 8ft might last you a year or two. the cage temps should not go below 80. baby sulcatas are not hay eaters they need fresh weeds and grasses in there diet. whats the sulcatas diet? can you post enclosure pics? what lights are you using? how often do you soak him?

 

[Arizona Sulcata]

I've never had a tortoise eat hay till it was at least 6". I prefer to offer them a fresh diet until that time. Instead of Romaine offer different types of lettuces to mix the diet up. I would also suggest getting a larger enclosure and increasing the humidity levels substantially. 75 degrees is right on the edge of the danger zone for a baby Sulcata so I would also suggest bumping the temp slightly up. Welcome to the Forum!

 

[Kristine B]

I have offered her all types of grasses (over the last month) - and fresh fruits and veggies - all kinds of lettuce - she will only touch the romain and she goes to town on it. (usually ) just the last day she is not touching it, or anything else. Tried pumpkin - cukes, strawberries, wheat grass, timothy grass... etc I did just move her mostly to the larger enclosure- a big sand box that I take indoors and out. It has been in the mid to upper 70's here during the day so she has been spending most days from 11 am to 3-4 pm outside in the grassy area for the sun. Occasionally one of the guinea pigs climbs over into her area and they kind of cuddle. Should i work harder to keep them separated? They really seem to like each other.
I am confused a little too as the breeder I bought her from said she should be around 25% humidity. but one area of the tank kept damp. So that is what we have been doing. I will warm up the other side a little more. Should i be worried about the stringy "thing" ? Should I move her back to the tank where she was eating well?

 

[Tim/Robin]

Warm the basking area to around 100F, and the ambient temp to around 80-85F. Soak her daily and don't move her around so much. Keep her in one enclosure all the time for a while. Let her settle. She is too stressed.

 

[russian/sulcata/tortoise]

I have offered her all types of grasses (over the last month) - and fresh fruits and veggies - all kinds of lettuce - she will only touch the romain and she goes to town on it. (usually ) just the last day she is not touching it, or anything else. Tried pumpkin - cukes, strawberries, wheat grass, timothy grass... etc I did just move her mostly to the larger enclosure- a big sand box that I take indoors and out. It has been in the mid to upper 70's here during the day so she has been spending most days from 11 am to 3-4 pm outside in the grassy area for the sun. Occasionally one of the guinea pigs climbs over into her area and they kind of cuddle. Should i work harder to keep them separated? They really seem to like each other.
I am confused a little too as the breeder I bought her from said she should be around 25% humidity. but one area of the tank kept damp. So that is what we have been doing. I will warm up the other side a little more. Should i be worried about the stringy "thing" ? Should I move her back to the tank where she was eating well?

commonly breeders give out terrible advice. yes the baby should be kept at high humidity. if they are kept dry they could get hatchling failure syndrome this is when the kidneys stop working properly. this is NOT a desert species its a grass land species on the edge of forests. 3 to 4 months of the year where they are from its rainy, humid and theres puddles everywhere. this species burrows and when they are deep underground the soil is moist, they spend most of there time in burrows. keep the guinea pig and the sulcata separated to stop the spread of disease. fruit should not be part of the diet, to much can really harm her. please read this entire care sheet. http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/how-to-raise-a-healthy-sulcata-or-leopard-version-2-0.79895/

 

[russian/sulcata/tortoise]

low temperatures can cause a respiratory infection.

 

[Kristine B]

she does not even eat the fruit, just gave it when we could not find things she would eat. She is normally only hooked on romain, and a little bit of fresh grass and passes on everything else. Now not even eating the Romain. She does hang out in her "wading pool." I will bump up the humidity a lot! Thank you!

 

[Kristine B]

Warm the basking area to around 100F, and the ambient temp to around 80-85F. Soak her daily and don't move her around so much. Keep her in one enclosure all the time for a while. Let her settle. She is too stressed.

So do you think I should move her back to the smaller tank from the larger sandbox?

 

[russian/sulcata/tortoise]

So do you think I should move her back to the smaller tank from the larger sandbox?

get a larger tank but more lighting. what type of lights are you using? are you using a coil bulb?

 

[russian/sulcata/tortoise]

tortoises are reptiles and if they are kept in low temps they can't function properly because they are cold blooded. sulcatas can't properly digest food if the temps are below 85. get her off the lettuces, nontoxic weeds and grasses hold be most of her diet.

 

[Tim/Robin]

So do you think I should move her back to the smaller tank from the larger sandbox?

If it were me, I would set her up with a non transparent enclosure, 2X3 ft or so. Don't go huge for a little one not eating well. When we have one that isn't behaving quite right we put them in a 2X2 enclosure. It is easier to regulate temperatures that way. Keep her warm, not hot. I really think the problem is too much stress and not quite warm enough. I would not worry about sunlight at this point. Get her back healthy and thriving, then you can start thinking about getting her some sunlight. In the mean time, supplement with calcium that contains Vit D3.

 

[Kristine B]

If it were me, I would set her up with a non transparent enclosure, 2X3 ft or so. Don't go huge for a little one not eating well. When we have one that isn't behaving quite right we put them in a 2X2 enclosure. It is easier to regulate temperatures that way. Keep her warm, not hot. I really think the problem is too much stress and not quite warm enough. I would not worry about sunlight at this point. Get her back healthy and thriving, then you can start thinking about getting her some sunlight. In the mean time, supplement with calcium that contains Vit D3.

Moved her back to her smaller tank... increased humidity a lot, she has some fresh grass and lettuce in with her and lowered her light so temp is rising slowly. aiming for 95ish? as it was at 90. She came out - looked around a bit, and is back in her cave. How do I give her the calcium supplement if she is not eating?
And no - we do not have the coil lights.

 

[Dizisdalife]

I agree with Tim/Robin that this may be a stress issue. When I first started taking my baby sulcata outside it did none of the things I expected it to. It went straight for the nearest bush and hide. It didn't bask in the wonderful sun, or graze on all the fresh weeds and grass, or even enjoy the freedom of being outside. Then when I took it back to it's indoor enclosure it went straight for the hide and stayed there for hours. Babies just don't adjust well to new surroundings. It could just be the guinea pig, but I think it is a little more.

 

[russian/sulcata/tortoise]

Moved her back to her smaller tank... increased humidity a lot, she has some fresh grass and lettuce in with her and lowered her light so temp is rising slowly. aiming for 95ish? as it was at 90. She came out - looked around a bit, and is back in her cave. How do I give her the calcium supplement if she is not eating?

provide a cuttlebone in here enclosure. tortoises have a sense when they need more calcium. how often do you soak the baby?

 

[Dizisdalife]

Moved her back to her smaller tank... increased humidity a lot, she has some fresh grass and lettuce in with her and lowered her light so temp is rising slowly. aiming for 95ish? as it was at 90. She came out - looked around a bit, and is back in her cave. How do I give her the calcium supplement if she is not eating?
And no - we do not have the coil lights.

Give her some time to settle in. Instead of lettuce try to feed her endive or escarole. Then you can start working in some weeds and grasses. Sometime you have to be a little firm with them and not give in. A healthy sulcata, that is warm enough and secure in the environment will eat.

 

[Tim/Robin]

Don't worry about the supplementing until she eats. Once eating, sprinkle it on her food. The biggest thing right now is to provide a safe warm stable environment. Tortoises do not do well with change! They like routines.

 

[Tom]

You are making a whole host of very common and totally understandable mistakes. There is so much conflicting info out there and a lot of old outdated incorrect info too. The problem for you is that babies have a very small margin of error. They can't tolerate much of the wrong conditions. Things might have gone differently if you had found us first, followed our advice, and had the right sort of enclosure all set up and running correctly before you brought the baby home.

I have two questions:
1. Where are you?
2. Who did you get the tortoise from?

All the info you need is contained in these care sheets. Babies don't do well when kept outside for hours a day. That is great for older ones, not so good for babies. Its all in here:
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/how-to-raise-a-healthy-sulcata-or-leopard-version-2-0.78361/
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/closed-chambers.32333/
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/beginner-mistakes.45180/