Mondo Garden
New Member
Hello!
I've got two baby sulcatas - about a year old. They live in a large, covered tortoise table with appropriate lights, temps and plenty of access to food.
One of the torts, Morla, is a full on beast. He/she eats great, is growing steady and regulates temps by utilizing different parts of the enclosure.
I've been sifting through this site for the last year and have learned a lot. They're kept under the conditions I found in Tom's "How to Raise a healthy Sulcata" post - except for the enclosure part - I've been able to keep high humidity and temps in the space I've built.
The problem I'm having is the second tort, Chomps - He is about half the size of his roommate and barely ever eats. For a while, he stopped opening his eyes, so I started the vitamin A soaks and that seemed to wake him up and then he started to eat again but only very little. He likes to find a spot in the cooler area of the enclosure (70 degrees) and then he'll sleep until I wake him up for a soak.
After the soak, he'll do some walking around with eyes open but when he goes to take a bite, he often misses the food. I've started handing feeding him, which seems to get his attention for a little bit, but then he just loses interest and goes back to sleep again.
I'd like to think it was the enclosure but Morla is so robust and happy and healthy in there, that I'm thinking there might be something I'm missing with Chomps. I know the temperature is almost always cause of the problem but I've got multiple meters and if anything, it's too hot. (but it's not)
Also, Morla and Chomps never interact with each other. There is no bullying and they have multiple feeding locations.
When we first got the tortoises and dialed the enclosure in, they were both super healthy eaters, poopers and very active. This downturn was rather sudden and didn't coincide with any major changes.
We live on a large garden property with a lot of grasses, weeds etc, so they have a natural diet of all that stuff, plus we beef that up with organic mixed greens. No iceberg lettuce or pellets. Just the good stuff like dandelion greens, grasses, mallow etc - with a sprinkle of calcium.
They both have hard shells, top and bottom, no pyramiding and they get time in the real sun.
I'm flummoxed and frustrated and hoping you guys & gals got some answers for me!
oh yeah! also, one more clue to this mystery is that when i hand feed him, he does best when the food to be held above his head, so he has to reach for it. Food down at eye level, right in front of his face, doesn't interest him.
Thanks for any advice you can give and all the help you've given me already, tortoiseforum!
and one more thing - I live in a rural area and we don't have a vet that'll see a tortoise anywhere near us. I'll drive this dude to the moon if i have to but hoping to avoid that.
I've got two baby sulcatas - about a year old. They live in a large, covered tortoise table with appropriate lights, temps and plenty of access to food.
One of the torts, Morla, is a full on beast. He/she eats great, is growing steady and regulates temps by utilizing different parts of the enclosure.
I've been sifting through this site for the last year and have learned a lot. They're kept under the conditions I found in Tom's "How to Raise a healthy Sulcata" post - except for the enclosure part - I've been able to keep high humidity and temps in the space I've built.
The problem I'm having is the second tort, Chomps - He is about half the size of his roommate and barely ever eats. For a while, he stopped opening his eyes, so I started the vitamin A soaks and that seemed to wake him up and then he started to eat again but only very little. He likes to find a spot in the cooler area of the enclosure (70 degrees) and then he'll sleep until I wake him up for a soak.
After the soak, he'll do some walking around with eyes open but when he goes to take a bite, he often misses the food. I've started handing feeding him, which seems to get his attention for a little bit, but then he just loses interest and goes back to sleep again.
I'd like to think it was the enclosure but Morla is so robust and happy and healthy in there, that I'm thinking there might be something I'm missing with Chomps. I know the temperature is almost always cause of the problem but I've got multiple meters and if anything, it's too hot. (but it's not)
Also, Morla and Chomps never interact with each other. There is no bullying and they have multiple feeding locations.
When we first got the tortoises and dialed the enclosure in, they were both super healthy eaters, poopers and very active. This downturn was rather sudden and didn't coincide with any major changes.
We live on a large garden property with a lot of grasses, weeds etc, so they have a natural diet of all that stuff, plus we beef that up with organic mixed greens. No iceberg lettuce or pellets. Just the good stuff like dandelion greens, grasses, mallow etc - with a sprinkle of calcium.
They both have hard shells, top and bottom, no pyramiding and they get time in the real sun.
I'm flummoxed and frustrated and hoping you guys & gals got some answers for me!
oh yeah! also, one more clue to this mystery is that when i hand feed him, he does best when the food to be held above his head, so he has to reach for it. Food down at eye level, right in front of his face, doesn't interest him.
Thanks for any advice you can give and all the help you've given me already, tortoiseforum!
and one more thing - I live in a rural area and we don't have a vet that'll see a tortoise anywhere near us. I'll drive this dude to the moon if i have to but hoping to avoid that.