Growth stunted sulcata :(

Yvonne G

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Here's what we mean by coil shaped bulb, or compact fluorescent bulb:

CFL.jpg


The ceramic heat emitter you have is fine, that's not what we're talking about.
 

JoesMum

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They are not the long tubes so I guess compact. The ceramic ones are coil.
The ceramic heater only provides heat. It is to provide supplementary heat at night. You shouldn't need it by day. It doesn't provide enough heat of the right type for basking.

For daytime, you ate trying to mimic the sun. Your tort needs UVB and also a Basking Light. Basking is essential for your tort to digest food.

You can buy a Mercury Vapor Bulb which provides basking heat and UVB from one lamp.

Otherwise, you must buy both a tube UVB and a separate basking light.
 

JoesMum

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I repeat the instructions to get the lighting correct and the temperatures measured accurately. Without this, your tortoise will not thrive
 

Kayla06

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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.
She said he was severely stunted. She gave me some rep cal calcium and is putting calcium in with the fluids. She said it was most likely from how we were caring for him. I feel so bad I didn't realize he wasn't getting what he needed. But it could also be a genetic thing. We are trying to fix what we are doing wrong and see if he starts getting healthier.
 
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Kayla06

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The ceramic heater only provides heat. It is to provide supplementary heat at night. You shouldn't need it by day. It doesn't provide enough heat of the right type for basking.

For daytime, you ate trying to mimic the sun. Your tort needs UVB and also a Basking Light. Basking is essential for your tort to digest food.

You can buy a Mercury Vapor Bulb which provides basking heat and UVB from one lamp.

Otherwise, you must buy both a tube UVB and a separate basking light.
Ya we are using a powersun mercury vapor bulb as well as the ceramic
 

Kayla06

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The ceramic heater only provides heat. It is to provide supplementary heat at night. You shouldn't need it by day. It doesn't provide enough heat of the right type for basking.

For daytime, you ate trying to mimic the sun. Your tort needs UVB and also a Basking Light. Basking is essential for your tort to digest food.

You can buy a Mercury Vapor Bulb which provides basking heat and UVB from one lamp.

Otherwise, you must buy both a tube UVB and a separate basking light.
Does a basking light provide the uvb they need too?
 

Rue

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The mercury vapour bulbs provide both UVB and basking temperature. The ZooMed PowerSun brand will provide both.
 

Kayla06

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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.
Ok I will start moistening it. How often should I do the baby food soak? I think he needs them.
 

JoesMum

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Ya we are using a powersun mercury vapor bulb as well as the ceramic
Brilliant- no compact coil UVB then :)

Does a basking light provide the uvb they need too?

The MVB is your basking light as well as UVB. You have both.

It needs to be 95F directly under that lamp. If it's too cool, you need to lower the lamp so it's a little closer to the substrate.

You should get a temperature gun thermometer so you can measure temperatures accurately. They are inexpensive from Amazon
 

Rue

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You had me curious as to how small your guy is compared to another 2 year old...

I just found mention of a 2 year old that weighs 15 pounds.

Have you adjusted the humidity in your enclosure?
 

Rue

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Is that the right link? That seems to be a dispute between a pet owner and the breeder. I have no idea who...or if anyone...was at fault.
 

Tom

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BekahBear

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could you post some close up pictures of your tortoise? it's hard to see him/her in the picture with the enclosure and a couple pictures of the tortoise itself will help to assess his/her health and possible issues. i would think a 2 year old sulcata would be much bigger than that even with improper husbandry so im wondering if he/she is actually 2 years old and is actually a sulcata.
 

Speedy-1

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I just think there is some confusion somewhere . I find it hard to believe that he survived for 2 years , and only attained a weight of 49 grams ! :confused: Speedy is just over a year and a half and is just over 2 Lb,s ! :)
 

BrianWI

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My two cents. Yes I am new here, but not to herps.

I would get probiotics. This will ensure his gut has the proper bacteria in it to maximize his health. http://www.carolinapetsupply.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=180 and choose with probiotics.

Next, stabilizing your temps will help.

At this point, I would feed him whatever he will eat, even using clover and other higher protein items. Basically, feed high percentage of things normally marked as "sparingly". Once he starts getting heavier, reevaluate his diet. Also, what has his diet been? How much/ how often does he eat?

Make sure your light cycle is on 14 hours or so, then DARK. Make sure he sleeps in is hide and it is humid. If temps are low because you turn off the lights, put a heat mat under the hide area, aiming for the low 80's. Keep it moist under there. Soak him everyday, 30 minutes. Keep his substrate moist as well.
 

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