Baby Sulcata tortoises JAW FELL OFF PLEASE HELP

Kyle Gedrose

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Sep 8, 2017
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I was reading through the web and noticed I said I had to give her a shot every day. I meant to say once a week lol oops. Every day would suck because I know the shots hurt [emoji22]. That’s long over and though she’s even off the medication for about a month and a half.
 

Jay Bagley

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I got her from my turtle store. I don’t know if tortoise town is better or worse :(. I feel like there is always a risk factor from ordering them from breeders that ship them out.
When we ordered our Sulcata, we went through a private breeder we had found. She was very vigilant about how and when she wanted to ship him. She had actually cancelled the arrival date three times because she feared the weather was not 100% optimal. It is just my opinion, but I I think in a lot of cases the smaller at home operations are able to provide superior care and get their babies well started. But I would not order from anybody without knowing their credentials first.
 

LeaCrystal

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This story was heart wrenching and such an amazing story. Going thru a baby tort trauma is seriously devastating and heart wrenching. Seeing this cute baby come out from such a trauma is spectacular and amazing! Congrats on the little sulcata. Absolutely beautiful.
 

artthug

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Oct 30, 2017
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Red heat lights are notorious for promoting health issues and accelerating pyramiding. You could look into some cheap LED cob spotlights and neutral white 5600k, they actually have quite significant UVB output as well.
 

TechnoCheese

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Those red lights should never be used. Your tortoise can see both the color and the light. You need a ceramic heat emitter and a flood light/normal daylight basking bulb.

Those water bowls are a huge drowning hazard. I would use a terra cotta saucer.

Is the enclosure a closed chamber?
 

Kyle Gedrose

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Those red lights should never be used. Your tortoise can see both the color and the light. You need a ceramic heat emitter and a flood light/normal daylight basking bulb.

Those water bowls are a huge drowning hazard. I would use a terra cotta saucer.

Is the enclosure a closed chamber?

So I went to the store and bought a 100w ceramic heat emitter and I left it on for the whole day and when I came home I felt inside the tank and felt the soil and it was all very cold still. The CHE was on and working and was very very hot but it was doing a Terrible job at keeping the tank even remotely worm so I’m going back to the red bulb in the meantime. Now I have a dilemma because I don’t really want the white backing bulb because I’ve heard that that causes your tortoise stress when left on 24 hours and I don’t want to turn it off at night because it will get too cold especially in the winter.
 

TechnoCheese

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So I went to the store and bought a 100w ceramic heat emitter and I left it on for the whole day and when I came home I felt inside the tank and felt the soil and it was all very cold still. The CHE was on and working and was very very hot but it was doing a Terrible job at keeping the tank even remotely worm so I’m going back to the red bulb in the meantime. Now I have a dilemma because I don’t really want the white backing bulb because I’ve heard that that causes your tortoise stress when left on 24 hours and I don’t want to turn it off at night because it will get too cold especially in the winter.

Do you not have a thermometer?
Your red light does the exact same thing as a white light when left on all night, because your tortoise can see both the light and the color, which makes them eat their substrate and messes with their heads. Lights, colored or not, should not be on at night.

I would recommend getting a thermostat for the CHE to keep the ambient above 80 at all times.
 
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If u want I made another thread of her growth that you can check out if you go to my profile. She’s doing great !
I just read the whole way through and if its the website Im thinking of their torts in the pictures dont look the best. Some had pyramiding in the pictures, I believe it was the juvenile sulcata tortoise picture you can see pyramiding that they are covering with a hand but looks like they are using hands to show size. So your tort may have unknowningly to you been sick when you got him/her. Im no expert by any means (beginner actually) but I was just telling my grandmother yesterday about that site and said I wouldnt order a tort from there. Glad all is well now!Screenshot_20180820-133425.jpeg
 
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