growing slow

[krissy2288]

ok so i really dont think my tortoise is growing right. she is just way to small to be 3yrs old...i got her a year ago and they siad she was 2 then but im starting not to beleive it.
i just feel like she haven't grown in the past year.

here is a pic of her size now

heres the only picture I have of her from a year ago its not that good for comparison but its all i'v got.

 

[MarysTort]

Krissy, I was having similar concerns with my sulcata. We got him in May as a hatchling and it didn't seem like he was growing much. We decided to get a 50 watt red light bulb for at night because we were concerned that it might be getting too cold for him and soon after that we noticed new growth. Started measuring him to make sure he was growing and in one month he grew 1/4 inch so I think we are on the right track now. I've read somewhere that if temperatures aren't right then they can't digest their food properly which of course helps them grow! So make sure the day and night temps are good.......

 

[Maggie Cummings]

If they aren't kept with the temps up they can't digest their food properly. Under the basking light should be 90-95 or 100 degrees. The cool side shouldn't go less than 75 degrees. But also and probably more important is that if you haven't had a fecal done and you are concerned about size your animal *might* have parasites and that would inhibit growth. I just had my sister re-home Tony who was 3 yrs old and 14 pounds. Debbie here on the forum has Ralph who is 4 year and over 12 pounds. So that should give you an idea on size. Slow growth is best always with Sulcata...but growth should be obvious also...

 

[Crazy1]

Krissy the best way to find out if your tort is growing is a scale. Weigh her/him on a schedule like once a month. Pick a day like the first Sat. of the month at 4pm and weigh it on the same day same time each month. this lets you know if your tort is gaining weight and can often alert you to problems long before you can see them. Good luck. Oh yes I use a digital scale that weighs in grams. they do carry some inexpensive ones at Wal-mart. Or you can use a postal scale.

 

[jobeanator]

does your tortoise have alot of room to move around? the bigger the better, and dont waste your time with aquariums since tortoises stress when they can see out and such. make sure your tort is getting alot of excerise,good lighting and its warm in its enclosure. food too is also a big thing too since as previously said dark leafy greens are good and escarole and endive are great for them too. eventually you want to try to get them to eat grasses mostly

 

[krissy2288]

the cold part of her enclosure gets near 70 to 75 and under the lamp its in the 90's so that couldn't be it. she just started eating hay about a week ago before that i was feeding her spring mix and she has a cuttle bone for calcium, i soak her every other day and i mix her food with grass from outside so i would say her diet is pretty good.
her enclosure is 1 1/2 by 4 1/2ft...is that big enough?
since its winter her exercise haven't been that good in the past 2monthsbut before that i let her graze out side for a few hours a day.

it could be parasites maybe..i hope not, is there any way to tell without going to the vet?, and what do they get parasites from?

 

[dcoolguy68]

Do the lights need to be on all day long?

 

[Maggie Cummings]

Basking lights or UVB lights mimic the sun, so yes, they need to be on all day. If you have a tortoise that would normally hibernate and you don't want it to hibernate then you'd leave the lights on for 14 hours. If you have Sulcata or other animals that don't normally hibernate then you'd leave the lights on for 12 hours...I have a black light bulb I use for heat and that stays on 24/7...

 

[Yvonne G]

Do the lights need to be on all day long?

If you don't want to keep the UV light on all day, then you need to have a regular incandescent bulb that you can keep on all day. Its ok to only use the UV light for a few hours in the middle of the day, but they need to have their "sun" come up at dawn and go down at dusk.

Yvonne

 

[Maggie Cummings]

I want to make a correction, they do need some sort of light all day. I only have my UVB lights on for about 4 hours a day, then the rest of the day I use a 100 watt incandescent bulb.

 

[dcoolguy68]

Well I take my tortoise out in the sun everyday for at least 30min, but the basking light is on from like 7 or 8a.m until about 6 or 7p.m.

 

[MarysTort]

Krissy, you said daytime under the light is in the 90's? It should be upper 90's. So be sure and check. And night time temps matter too, especially in younger torts. My house was getting down to 65 at night but now with the red light in there at night it's staying about 75 under the light and he sleeps directly under it. This has made all the difference for us. He has just shot up the last couple months!

Oh and we have also started measuring and weighing our little guy once a month (like someone else mentioned) because I was really worried. We bought a digital postal scale at Staples that works great!

Hopefully it's not a parasite. You would probably need to take him to a vet to rule that out.

 

[krissy2288]

ya i had a heat light that was in there and it was getting to cold but i changed it about 2 weeks ago to one of the red bulbs so its better now, she have been sleeping right under the light too and sence i changed the bulb she haven't gone into her hide, i guess its just not warm enough in there.

 

[Crazy1]

Krissy, do you have a white light on for her most of the day? Torts don't see the red light and if you don't have a white light on she may think it is night. Do you have a thermometer to take the temps in her hide under the red light she is basking under and just different places in her enclosure both during the day and at night. this will give you the correct temps in the enclosure and let you better assess what you need to do to get temps up in there for her. If you take the temps and post them we can try and help you better.

 

[krissy2288]

ya she has a uvb light on 12hours a day & i posted the temperatures a few posts up.

 

[SFCMARK]

Hi Krissy,
I have 8 sulcatas and heat is just as imoportant as UVB. The UVB is the main source of vitamins for the sulcata tortoises shell to grow properly.

I hope she grows!

Mark

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi Krissy,
I have 8 sulcatas and heat is just as imoportant as UVB. The UVB is the main source of vitamins for the sulcata tortoises shell to grow properly.

I hope she grows!

Mark

I have to make a little correction here: The UVB either from the sun or from a light bulb, is required to help with vitamin D3 synthesis and calcium absorption. They still need other sources (food or supplements) for vitamins.

Yvonne

 

[krissy2288]

im pretty sure the light i have is is a uva and uvb i can't quite remember but it was $65 so i think its both.

 

[Maggie Cummings]

Krissy...they are now showing that the light from UVB lights are somewhat damaging to the eyes. I have started having the UVB light on for 4 hours and just a regular 100 watt incandescent bulb on the rest of the time. Since I started that my tortoises are much more active. So you might try switching the lights around just making sure she is warm enough...

 

[krissy2288]

ya i have a red heat lamp in there so shes warm enough, ever sence i put it in there she have been alot more active because i used to have a white heat bulb and it just wasn't enough.