Hatchling sully

[Marycole82]

When do hatchlings become active? Got a new baby about a month ago but she doesn't seem to move around or eat much at all. I have older sullys but have never had a hatchling. Is it normal for her to behave this way?

 

[Tom]

If you get a correctly started one, and house it correctly, they should be active from day one. The problem is that hardly anyone starts them correctly, and the care advice that is usually given for them is wrong. We've been doing it wrong for three decades, and most people still haven't figured this out.

So if your baby is not active, it means something is wrong. It could be that your baby was started in the typical dry wrong way, or it could be that your environment is not correct. Do you have night heat? A closed chamber? High humidity? Are you using a cfl type UV bulb? What are your four temps? Warm side, cool side, basking area, overnight low?

Give us some more info and we will help you get it figured out. Pictures of the enclosure and baby will hep too.

Where in the world is ROACH?

Here is the correct care info:

Beginner Mistakes

To comment on Tom's article, go here: http://www.tortoiseforum.org/Thread-split-Beginner-Mistakes#axzz1tG8s05M5 Over the years many of us, myself included, have made many of these mistakes, and we have certainly seen them made many times by others. With springtime upon us and many new...

tortoiseforum.org

How To Raise A Healthy Sulcata Or Leopard, Version 2.0

It's been three years since the original care sheet, http://www.tortoiseforum.org/thread-63788.html , and I think its time for a review and an update. A lot of new info has come to light over the last three years and new insight has been gained through numerous experiences. What follows is my...

tortoiseforum.org

For Those Who Have a Young Sulcata...

Over and over I type up and answer diet questions and try to get people feeding the right stuff, but I find that the "norm" is grocery store food. Grocery store food is expensive, a hassle to obtain, and very low on the list of what is best for sulcatas. These tortoises are GRASS eaters. From...

tortoiseforum.org

 

[Marycole82]

She's been inactive from the beginning. Her enclosure is fairly large with temps ranging from 75ish in the cool areas to 105 in the warmest area, multiple moist hiding logs & uv lighting. Feed lots of grasses, supplement with mazuri and vitamins. My older sullys are thriving and in great health. Not a newbie but my older sullys were yearlings when I got them so no idea how a hatchling should behave. Would add pics but our internet is taking forever to upload them.

 

[Marycole82]

Btw, Roach is a tiny town in Missouri and not the strangest named one either... lol

 

[Tom]

She's been inactive from the beginning. Her enclosure is fairly large with temps ranging from 75ish in the cool areas to 105 in the warmest area, multiple moist hiding logs & uv lighting. Feed lots of grasses, supplement with mazuri and vitamins. My older sullys are thriving and in great health. Not a newbie but my older sullys were yearlings when I got them so no idea how a hatchling should behave. Would add pics but our internet is taking forever to upload them.

Four main possibilities:

1. 75 is too cool. What are you using for night heat?
2. Half logs don't hold in enough humidity. If you have an open topped enclosure with half logs for hides, your enclosure is too dry and so is the baby. Are you soaking daily?
3. What type of UV bulb? Some of them are eye burners and the tortoise will hide because it hurts their eyes.
4. If you bought this baby from the typical breeder who starts them too dry, it could be suffering from "Breeder Failure Syndrome". More explanation here: https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/hatchling-failure-syndrome.23493/

 

[Tom]

Btw, Roach is a tiny town in Missouri and not the strangest named one either... lol

That's awesome. Now I know where I should move to set up my roach breeding business.

 

[Marycole82]

That's awesome. Now I know where I should move to set up my roach breeding business.

Go for it. Pretty sure population fo

Four main possibilities:

1. 75 is too cool. What are you using for night heat?
2. Half logs don't hold in enough humidity. If you have an open topped enclosure with half logs for hides, your enclosure is too dry and so is the baby. Are you soaking daily?
3. What type of UV bulb? Some of them are eye burners and the tortoise will hide because it hurts their eyes.
4. If you bought this baby from the typical breeder who starts them too dry, it could be suffering from "Breeder Failure Syndrome". More explanation here: https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/hatchling-failure-syndrome.23493/

Night heat- heaters turn on if room drops below 75. This can be turned up for their room. Also the enclosure has a heated bottom.
All my turtles get soaks everyday and humidity in the room fluctuates from 75 to 85%. I questioned if that was to high but haven't changed it. Not sure the type of UV bulbs off the top of my head, maybe zoo meds?? Never considered the type of bulb. She was sent next day delivery from a breeder in Missouri. Never purchased one that had to be delivered and worried about adopting a baby. I was very unhappy with how cold she was when she arrived.

 

[Tom]

Go for it. Pretty sure population fo

Night heat- heaters turn on if room drops below 75. This can be turned up for their room. Also the enclosure has a heated bottom.
All my turtles get soaks everyday and humidity in the room fluctuates from 75 to 85%. I questioned if that was to high but haven't changed it. Not sure the type of UV bulbs off the top of my head, maybe zoo meds?? Never considered the type of bulb. She was sent next day delivery from a breeder in Missouri. Never purchased one that had to be delivered and worried about adopting a baby. I was very unhappy with how cold she was when she arrived.

I think 75 is too cold. They should never drop below 80 as babies. Cold night temps can cause lethargy, lack of appetite, and sometimes sickness.

Are the UV bulbs coil type screw in bulbs, or long florescent tubes?

I know of know breeders in Missouri starting babies correctly. Can you contact them and ask what substrate the baby was on, if it spent a week in a brooder box, what incubation media, and how often it was soaked? Answers to any of these questions will give us insight into your problem.