Baby Sulcata Tortoise eating issues.

[akcoff]

Hello! I'm a new owner to a baby sulcata tortoise. He is about 3 to 4 inches and is a very adventurous lil dude. I recieved him via overnight mail from lllreptile.com.
I have a 40 gallon tub with coconut shaving substrate, a proper hide with sphagnum moss for humidity, a shallow water dish, and a terracotta food plate for beak trimming.
The environment has a 75-95°F gradient and an average humidity level of 60%. I have a zoo med super sun uvb/basking lamp and a ceramic heat lamp for night time.
I have soaked him once a day for 2 days since I got him to ensure hydration since he was in a box for 24 hours before he arrived.
He has defecated twice, both solid and healthy.
The issue I'm having is getting him to eat. I dont know how often baby sulcatas should eat, and the food I've put out for him has not been touched. It's a blend of chopped up pieces of romaine and collard greens (this is what lllreptile recommended for feeding, so I assume that's what was fed to him before). I changed it 3 times for freshness, but he doesnt seem interested. Since it's been about 3 days since his last meal, it has me worried.
Any thoughts on what I may be doing wrong, or tips to get him to eat if he should be eating by now?
**Note: he is very active, so I'm not entirely sure if it's stress-related. He has been handled only for soakings.**

 

[VegasJeff]

It sounds like he doesn't like his food. My tortoise can be a very picky eater and simply won't eat if he doesn't like something. You should try picking up some kale and/or spring mix. And you don't need to chop it up.

 

[Tom]

Hello! I'm a new owner to a baby sulcata tortoise. He is about 3 to 4 inches and is a very adventurous lil dude. I recieved him via overnight mail from lllreptile.com.
I have a 40 gallon tub with coconut shaving substrate, a proper hide with sphagnum moss for humidity, a shallow water dish, and a terracotta food plate for beak trimming.
The environment has a 75-95°F gradient and an average humidity level of 60%. I have a zoo med super sun uvb/basking lamp and a ceramic heat lamp for night time.
I have soaked him once a day for 2 days since I got him to ensure hydration since he was in a box for 24 hours before he arrived.
He has defecated twice, both solid and healthy.
The issue I'm having is getting him to eat. I dont know how often baby sulcatas should eat, and the food I've put out for him has not been touched. It's a blend of chopped up pieces of romaine and collard greens (this is what lllreptile recommended for feeding, so I assume that's what was fed to him before). I changed it 3 times for freshness, but he doesnt seem interested. Since it's been about 3 days since his last meal, it has me worried.
Any thoughts on what I may be doing wrong, or tips to get him to eat if he should be eating by now?
**Note: he is very active, so I'm not entirely sure if it's stress-related. He has been handled only for soakings.**

Most of the care info given for this species is wrong. You got the wrong info.

• A 40 is almost too small.
• Coco coir is too messy. Orchid bark works best.
• 60% humidity is much too low and you won't be able to get it right in an open topped enclosure.
• 75 degrees is too cool. Don't let any part of the enclosure drop below 80 day or night.
• They will eat the moss and get impacted. You should remove it ASAP.
• MVBs (your heat lamp) will cause pyramiding and should not be used.
• Romaine is a terrible tortoise food, and collard greens are only okay once in a while.

Read these for the correct care info and come back with all your questions:

Beginner Mistakes

To comment on Tom's article, go here: http://www.tortoiseforum.org/Thread-split-Beginner-Mistakes#axzz1tG8s05M5 Over the years many of us, myself included, have made many of these mistakes, and we have certainly seen them made many times by others. With springtime upon us and many new...

tortoiseforum.org

How To Raise A Healthy Sulcata Or Leopard, Version 2.0

It's been three years since the original care sheet, http://www.tortoiseforum.org/thread-63788.html , and I think its time for a review and an update. A lot of new info has come to light over the last three years and new insight has been gained through numerous experiences. What follows is my...

tortoiseforum.org

For Those Who Have a Young Sulcata...

Over and over I type up and answer diet questions and try to get people feeding the right stuff, but I find that the "norm" is grocery store food. Grocery store food is expensive, a hassle to obtain, and very low on the list of what is best for sulcatas. These tortoises are GRASS eaters. From...

tortoiseforum.org

 

[akcoff]

@Tom I'm just curious why would this wrong information be so commonly said from many unrelated sources and for the most part, be the same between them all? The lot of them being fairly reputable from what I can see. I've read the articles, and they seem pretty legit. I've seen in your article that you reccomend coconut coir and say sphagnum moss is fine. Why the contradictions?

 

[Yvonne G]

When a new-to-you tortoise is "very active" it quite often means he's scared and scurrying around trying to find a safe place to hide.

The most common cause for a tortoise to not eat is because he's not warm enough. Please read the threads that have been linked above for you. They will explain how to be caring for your new baby.

Also, Tom as said he does NOT like to use sphagnum moss because it may cause impaction if they eat it, and that coco coir is messy. He recommends, as do I, small grade fir bark.

 

[akcoff]

When a new-to-you tortoise is "very active" it quite often means he's scared and scurrying around trying to find a safe place to hide.

The most common cause for a tortoise to not eat is because he's not warm enough. Please read the threads that have been linked above for you. They will explain how to be caring for your new baby.

Also, Tom as said he does NOT like to use sphagnum moss because it may cause impaction if they eat it, and that coco coir is messy. He recommends, as do I, small grade fir bark.

He should be warm enough. His basking spot gets up to 100°F with the rest of the environment staying at an average 80°F. (I've made some adjustments to keep heat and humidity (avg. 70-80%) in since my initial post).

And thank you for clearing that up. Sphagnum moss is gone and I'm now just keeping the substrate moist underneath the hide. He has 2 different dark, warm, and moist hide locations and deep enough substrate to burrow into. Maybe he just hasn't figured it out yet that he can utilize them.

 

[akcoff]

When a new-to-you tortoise is "very active" it quite often means he's scared and scurrying around trying to find a safe place to hide.

The most common cause for a tortoise to not eat is because he's not warm enough. Please read the threads that have been linked above for you. They will explain how to be caring for your new baby.

Also, Tom as said he does NOT like to use sphagnum moss because it may cause impaction if they eat it, and that coco coir is messy. He recommends, as do I, small grade fir bark.

I've also gotten clover, rose leaves, tortoise grassland diet pellets (moistened and mashed for easy consumption), and dandelion buds and leaves.

My strategy for now is this: if he gets hungry enough, he will eat. He has proper nutrition now according to the articles provided by Tom, and so I'll just keep them fresh, and the temperatures regulated. Is this a good plan?

 

[wellington]

He should be fed a pile at least as big as him and enough that he can't eat it all at once so he can go back a graze later. You can add grocery greens too just the better onces like mustard greens, endive, radicchio, even spring mix without spinach. A varied diet of as many safe to feed items as possible.