Growth stunted sulcata :(

Kayla06

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My sulcata is 2 years old now. He was given to me as a gift and I really wasn't too sure about how to care for him. I did some research on the Internet when I first got him. And I thought he's been doing good. But I was wrong. I took him to the vet today. He has bruising on his plastron and it's not caused from dropping him. She said he is way stunted :(. She gave me some ideas on what I could be doing better. But if any of you have ideas too I would love to hear. I love him so much and I want him to be as healthy as possible.
 

Yvonne G

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Hi, and welcome to the Forum!

Ideas? Do we have ideas? Well, Kayla, you've come to the right place. Here's some reading to start with:

http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/for-those-who-have-a-young-sulcata.76744/
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/how-to-raise-a-healthy-sulcata-or-leopard-version-2-0.79895/
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/sulcata-diet-sheet.64290/

Can we please see pictures of your tortoise's enclosure, and pictures of the tortoise? It's much easier to spot problems if we can see the area he's kept in.
 

Razan

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Welcome to the tortoise forum ! You sure found the right place to ask about how to care for your sulcata. Hope you enjoy the journey of watching him grow up happy!
 

wellington

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Hello and Welcome. Pictures will help us a lot to help you. If you could also weigh him and measure his bottom shell from front to back, that too will help us to know if he is really small for his age.
 

Kayla06

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He got weighed at the vet today. I believe she said 43 grams. And I measures him at 2 1/4". He's definitely small. He's barely grown. I thought since they lived so long that's why he was growing really slow. But after reading up on lots of things today, I realized that's not the case
 

Lyn W

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Hi and welcome - you have come to the best place for advice from very experienced keepers worldwide. There's lots to learn so read and ask as many questions as you like someone will get back to you in good time.
 

Yvonne G

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That's a real nice enclosure (and I love the alligator (?) skull!).

Do you have a UVB light? And what is the temperature, measured in several different spots all over the floor of the whole enclosure? Do you moisten the substrate? What kind of light/heat do you provide. It looks like you are depending upon the clamp feature of the fixture to hold the lights??? This is sort of dangerous because those clamps have been known to fail and cause fire. It's better to hang the light.

I would change out that waterer and instead use a plant saucer sunk down into the substrate. I think a 10" might be suitable.

All in all, that's a very nice-looking spot for a little sulcata to live. You might liven it up a bit with plants, either fake or real.
 

Kayla06

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My sulcata isn't eating. I've read about the carrot soaks helping. I did one this morning. And he was drinking it. Yay. My question is how often should I do the soaks. And what other besides carrot should I use?
 

ZEROPILOT

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The idea is to get some nutrition into him. It's not for the long term. He may still need a vet.
I've used sweet potato also. You can also use regular Pedialite.
An otherwise healthy and heavy tortoise can go quite a long time without eating. (not a baby)
 

Kayla06

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The idea is to get some nutrition into him. It's not for the long term. He may still need a vet.
I've used sweet potato also. You can also use regular Pedialite.
An otherwise healthy and heavy tortoise can go quite a long time without eating. (not a baby)
I took him to the vet yesterday. She said he isn't healthy and dehydrated. He is 2 but extremely small for his age. She gave him some fluids and I am supposed to take him back every 48-72 hours for more fluids.
 

JoesMum

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Have you answered Yvonne's questions in your other thread? We really need to know more about your enclosure so we can help your little one
 

Kayla06

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That's a real nice enclosure (and I love the alligator (?) skull!).

Do you have a UVB light? And what is the temperature, measured in several different spots all over the floor of the whole enclosure? Do you moisten the substrate? What kind of light/heat do you provide. It looks like you are depending upon the clamp feature of the fixture to hold the lights??? This is sort of dangerous because those clamps have been known to fail and cause fire. It's better to hang the light.

I would change out that waterer and instead use a plant saucer sunk down into the substrate. I think a 10" might be suitable.

All in all, that's a very nice-looking spot for a little sulcata to live. You might liven it up a bit with plants, either fake or real.
Yes we have a uvb light. We only had a thermometer on the hot side and it was 100 but when I measures the cold side it was cold. So I added another bulb and it seems to be keeping the temp in the cold side at 80 now. We are using the zoomed uvb and ceramic bulb. I don't moisten the substrate. Should I be???
 

JoesMum

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Please can you post a picture of the enclosure and lighting; it will help.

You need to measure temperatures accurately. A thermometer stuck to the side does not do this.

You should have 95F (32C) directly under the basking lamp.

You need to know what temperature it is on the warm side of your enclosure away from the lamp and the cool side furthest away from your lamp.

Is your Zoomed UVB a compact (coil) type? Or is it a long tube?
 

Yvonne G

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Yes. Baby tortoises need a humid environment and moistening the substrate helps with that.

The reason for the carrot baby food is because it has the highest vitamin A content.
 

Yvonne G

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Please can you post a picture of the enclosure and lighting; it will help.

You need to measure temperatures accurately. A thermometer stuck to the side does not do this.

You should have 95F (32C) directly under the basking lamp.

You need to know what temperature it is on the warm side of your enclosure away from the lamp and the cool side furthest away from your lamp.

Is your Zoomed UVB a compact (coil) type? Or is it a long tube?

I've merged the two threads, and there's now a picture of the enclosure in this thread.
 

Kayla06

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Please can you post a picture of the enclosure and lighting; it will help.

You need to measure temperatures accurately. A thermometer stuck to the side does not do this.

You should have 95F (32C) directly under the basking lamp.

You need to know what temperature it is on the warm side of your enclosure away from the lamp and the cool side furthest away from your lamp.

Is your Zoomed UVB a compact (coil) type? Or is it a long tube?
They are not the long tubes so I guess compact. The ceramic ones are coil.
 

Rue

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Did the vet say anything else about his health?

I'd think that a 2 year old Sulcata at 43 g is tiny. My 4 month old Hermann's is 59 g.
 

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