Help question????

[Sweetness_bug]

Ok. So we emptied all my sulcata cheweys subtrate since he was showing of his "goodies" for a while and didnt want anything to get stuck while he retracted it back in. Its been a few weeks since we have seen "the one eyed monster" so we put put his subtrate back in. We are now using Cypress mulch per everyones suggestions. However he is eating it. Is this normal? What should I do empty it again? Please help...Thank you

 

[Maggie Cummings]

Ok. So we emptied all my sulcata cheweys subtrate since he was showing of his "goodies" for a while and didnt want anything to get stuck while he retracted it back in. Its been a few weeks since we have seen "the one eyed monster" so we put put his subtrate back in. We are now using Cypress mulch per everyones suggestions. However he is eating it. Is this normal? What should I do empty it again? Please help...Thank you

No he shouldn't be eating it, so if it were me I'd add some food because it sounds to me like he's too hungry. So add some food and see if that changes anything.

 

[Sweetness_bug]

Ok. So we emptied all my sulcata cheweys subtrate since he was showing of his "goodies" for a while and didnt want anything to get stuck while he retracted it back in. Its been a few weeks since we have seen "the one eyed monster" so we put put his subtrate back in. We are now using Cypress mulch per everyones suggestions. However he is eating it. Is this normal? What should I do empty it again? Please help...Thank you

No he shouldn't be eating it, so if it were me I'd add some food because it sounds to me like he's too hungry. So add some food and see if that changes anything.

thank you for the reply...I did add food. He has eaten twice today, But he eats everything lol...he still trying to eat the subtrate...what do you recomend?

 

[livingenzyme]

thank you for the reply...I did add food. He has eaten twice today, But he eats everything lol...he still trying to eat the subtrate...what do you recomend?

While I have seen many people reporting that their tortoises would eat this and that, I've actually never observed mine do such thing. Remember that sulcatas are grazing animals. They're like cows. You can't treat them like your dogs where you put food down twice a day or something. They eat constantly throughout the day. So, food should be readily available throughout the day, not just when you can put some in for them.

What I do is I plant grass and weeds in a mixture of soil and peat moss in tanks and let mine wander around in there. I move him around from tank to tank to give the plants time to regrow.

Or you can put in enough greens each day. The point is with a grazing animal you can't train them to eat at certain time of the day.

 

[Sweetness_bug]

thank you for the reply...I did add food. He has eaten twice today, But he eats everything lol...he still trying to eat the subtrate...what do you recomend?

While I have seen many people reporting that their tortoises would eat this and that, I've actually never observed mine do such thing. Remember that sulcatas are grazing animals. They're like cows. You can't treat them like your dogs where you put food down twice a day or something. They eat constantly throughout the day. So, food should be readily available throughout the day, not just when you can put some in for them.

What I do is I plant grass and weeds in a mixture of soil and peat moss in tanks and let mine wander around in there. I move him around from tank to tank to give the plants time to regrow.

Or you can put in enough greens each day. The point is with a grazing animal you can't train them to eat at certain time of the day.

Ok i will try to do that. I was told i could overfeed him by making food readily avialble throughout the day which would cause him to pyramid. So i usually feed him in the monring before i go to work and after i get home from work at night. Do you think i should remove the subtrate and switch to something like soil and peat moss? So he doesnt eat the wood shavings?

 

[livingenzyme]

Ok i will try to do that. I was told i could overfeed him by making food readily avialble throughout the day which would cause him to pyramid. So i usually feed him in the monring before i go to work and after i get home from work at night. Do you think i should remove the subtrate and switch to something like soil and peat moss? So he doesnt eat the wood shavings?

Don't get me wrong. You CAN overfeed him and cause pyramiding by feeding him stuff you got from the petstore.

Commercialized products usually have more nutrients packed in them then grass. And remember that they still have the instinct to eat all day long. So, provide them with enough greens to eat all day long, not the commercial stuff you got from the store.

This is the reason why so many immigrants from poorer countries become overweight and obese once they came to the united states. They didn't have a lot of meat where they came from, so to compensate they had to eat a lot of rice and vegetable, which expanded their stomach more than people here. When they came over here, they started to eat a lot of meat because eating the lesser portions will cause them to go hungry. Their bodies were simply used to eating a lot more. But now that they are here, their foods have a lot more nutrients and calories, so they become over weight.

That's what's happening with our sulcatas. They still have the instinct to eat all day because where they came from they only got grass to graze. If you give them commercial products in replacement of grass, of course they will start to have health problems.

But by not providing food all day, you're tormenting your tort because he's still got the instinct to be hungry all day. I've been dirt poor and hungry in my life before. It's an unpleasant experience. Trust me on this.

As far as the substrate goes, you can do whatever you want.

I've been keeping small animals in tanks for years now, including whole cricket colonies. The thing that people complain the most in long term animal keeping is the smell caused by the animal relieving themselves. I've tried every substrate you can think of. Soil + peat moss seems to be the most sanitary, since the soil will absorb the pee and poop and allow for natural decomposition. And if you have soil and peat moss, might as well plant stuff in there.

Yes, it takes some maintainance, but that's nothing compared to the long term cleaning of not having a place for the pee to be absorbed.

 

[Tom]

Sweetness, Occasionally, a tortoise will come along that wants to eat stuff its not supposed to. Sometimes its substrate, sometimes its rocks..., I've seen x-rays of all sorts of stuff in tortoise bellies. Coins, large rocks, sand, toys, etc... My Scooter ate an entire mylar Doritos bag that somehow blew into the enclosure without me knowing. As Maggie and Livingenzyme have told you, I think you should up the food too. Sulcatas are usually little eating machines and never get full. At least not for very long. I give my babies a pile of food the same size as they are twice a day, plus they graze when they are outside. I would also try changing the substrate to something else. Maybe, he won't try to eat it then.

Now Sweetness, I'm a little disappointed in you. You've been on the forum long enough to know that pyramiding doesn't come from the quantity or type of food. That myth has been perpetuated for decades. It has been repeatedly been proven otherwise. That myth is the reason my pyramided adults are only 43 and 49 pounds at 12 years old. Livingenzyme gets a pass since he/she is kind of new. This myth needs to die. It needs to be killed with malice. Pyramiding is caused by growth in the absence of sufficient humidity, hydration and moisture. I'm starting to lean toward insufficient calcium or inability to use enough calcium as a further cause or complicating factor too. But its not the food either way.

 

[stevie t]

my baby sulcatas arent easting alot the now, do you know the reasons for this, i bath them everyday spray them 3+4 times a day, have a basking temp of 30-34*c and a cool side of 18*c, i keep a moonlight bulb in at night which keeps the temp at 15*c i have only had fred and willma a week and i am starting to worry, i feed them dark leaf greens and peppers and grass but they are not showing a great appetite?

 

[JourneyTort]

Don't get me wrong. You CAN overfeed him and cause pyramiding by feeding him stuff you got from the petstore.

This is the reason why so many immigrants from poorer countries become overweight and obese once they came to the united states. They didn't have a lot of meat where they came from, so to compensate they had to eat a lot of rice and vegetable, which expanded their stomach more than people here. When they came over here, they started to eat a lot of meat because eating the lesser portions will cause them to go hungry. Their bodies were simply used to eating a lot more. But now that they are here, their foods have a lot more nutrients and calories, so they become over weight.

WHAT?? Never heard this before and quite frankly doesn't make sense, I am sure because of computers your statement has come off not the way you intended as it is a bit insulting to immigrants!!

Sweetness_bug: I just recently switched to Cypress mulch and my torts are trying to eat it also. It is not from lack of food as they have fresh food in front of them and they chose to eat the cypress mulch instead. Mazuri and cactus fruit usually they will turn inside out over and they chose the cypress mulch. I think this could be them investigating the mulch and curiousity as they were very interested in it, sniffing etc.. I have left it for a couple of days to see their behaviour once they have been on it for a bit.

 

[Sweetness_bug]

Don't get me wrong. You CAN overfeed him and cause pyramiding by feeding him stuff you got from the petstore.

This is the reason why so many immigrants from poorer countries become overweight and obese once they came to the united states. They didn't have a lot of meat where they came from, so to compensate they had to eat a lot of rice and vegetable, which expanded their stomach more than people here. When they came over here, they started to eat a lot of meat because eating the lesser portions will cause them to go hungry. Their bodies were simply used to eating a lot more. But now that they are here, their foods have a lot more nutrients and calories, so they become over weight.

WHAT?? Never heard this before and quite frankly doesn't make sense, I am sure because of computers your statement has come off not the way you intended as it is a bit insulting to immigrants!!

Sweetness_bug: I just recently switched to Cypress mulch and my torts are trying to eat it also. It is not from lack of food as they have fresh food in front of them and they chose to eat the cypress mulch instead. Mazuri and cactus fruit usually they will turn inside out over and they chose the cypress mulch. I think this could be them investigating the mulch and curiousity as they were very interested in it, sniffing etc.. I have left it for a couple of days to see their behaviour once they have been on it for a bit.

Thank you, I am going to leave it in for a few days and see how he does. this morning he dugg himself a hole and was napping so we will see. I will also up his food amount.

---

Sweetness, Occasionally, a tortoise will come along that wants to eat stuff its not supposed to. Sometimes its substrate, sometimes its rocks..., I've seen x-rays of all sorts of stuff in tortoise bellies. Coins, large rocks, sand, toys, etc... My Scooter ate an entire mylar Doritos bag that somehow blew into the enclosure without me knowing. As Maggie and Livingenzyme have told you, I think you should up the food too. Sulcatas are usually little eating machines and never get full. At least not for very long. I give my babies a pile of food the same size as they are twice a day, plus they graze when they are outside. I would also try changing the substrate to something else. Maybe, he won't try to eat it then.

Now Sweetness, I'm a little disappointed in you. You've been on the forum long enough to know that pyramiding doesn't come from the quantity or type of food. That myth has been perpetuated for decades. It has been repeatedly been proven otherwise. That myth is the reason my pyramided adults are only 43 and 49 pounds at 12 years old. Livingenzyme gets a pass since he/she is kind of new. This myth needs to die. It needs to be killed with malice. Pyramiding is caused by growth in the absence of sufficient humidity, hydration and moisture. I'm starting to lean toward insufficient calcium or inability to use enough calcium as a further cause or complicating factor too. But its not the food either way.

I am sorry to disappoint you Tom. I have not even been on the forum a month. And i learn new things everyday. Everyone has been wonderful with there advise and its nice to have someone to turn to when i have a question or concern. I am trying to learn as much as i can. Cause no matter what i do i can always learn new things and improve. I have managed to do well by chewy since I have had him. I was misinformed when i got him about the overeating thing. Trust me he does not starve. LOL..Hes an eating machine. I can not keep plants in his enclosure inside they are gone within a day. His outdoor enclosure is a little different but the nights here are getting in to the low 40s and in the day is in fifties and sixties. So i dont leave him outside as much as what i did in the summer. He does go outside when its warm enough. I appreciate your avise and you expertise and hope to continue to recieve it. Thank you.

 

[Tom]

my baby sulcatas arent easting alot the now, do you know the reasons for this, i bath them everyday spray them 3+4 times a day, have a basking temp of 30-34*c and a cool side of 18*c, i keep a moonlight bulb in at night which keeps the temp at 15*c i have only had fred and willma a week and i am starting to worry, i feed them dark leaf greens and peppers and grass but they are not showing a great appetite?

Stevie t, your tmps are way too cool. You need to bump them up right away. For babies, I never let the temp get below 27c anywhere in the enclosure at any time, including night time. The basking spot should be around 43c.

Here's a care sheet to help you out with all the details:
http://tortoiseforum.org/Thread-How-To-Raise-Sulcata-Hatchlings-and-Babies

 

[stevie t]

the person who i bought the from has given me the wrong information i will get to it straight away, i have lowered the lamp to create more heat, and have gone to pets at home and got another infa red bulb for nighttime to raise the temp!!! thanks tom

 

[Tom]

the person who i bought the from has given me the wrong information i will get to it straight away, i have lowered the lamp to create more heat, and have gone to pets at home and got another infa red bulb for nighttime to raise the temp!!! thanks tom

Don't feel bad Stevie. You are not alone. There is a lot of mis-information, as well as just difference of opinion, on how to raise them. I'm just sharing MY way of doing it. I hope it helps you.

 

[Shelly]

"goodies"....."the one eyed monster"

Penis is a word. It's in the dictionary.

 

[Yvonne G]

Yes, but some of us are "old school," and have an aversion to speaking those unmentionable words out loud. Its very hard to break the silence!!

 

[livingenzyme]

WHAT?? Never heard this before and quite frankly doesn't make sense, I am sure because of computers your statement has come off not the way you intended as it is a bit insulting to immigrants!!

The reason you haven't heard of this is because we live in a politically correct society where pretty much everything is taken as an insult. Speaking as an immigrant who was born in a house with a dirt floor and spent the first years of my life not knowing what the hell meat was, trust me on this.

Let me try to explain this a little clearer. It is a fact that vegetable simply does not have the same concentration of calories as meat. In order to optain enough calories for growth, children in poorer areas have to eat more. It's simple common sense, really. Anyway, those children grow up being used to eating more just to optain enough calories to live. Their bodies are used to eating such and such amounts of food. But once they come over here where foods are plentiful, technically they don't need to eat as much to attain the same amounts of calories. But since they are already used to eating such and such amounts, they continue to eat such and such amounts. But since they are now eating foods with a lot more concentration of calories, they begin to gain weight.

And no, I ain't insulting immigrants. Why is it that everything is taken as an offense here? By being too sensitive about an issue, you're in fact marginalizing those people. You're unintentionally saying there's something wrong with it so you're afraid to mention it.

Anyway, back to sulcatas. They're grazing animals. It's instinctual for them to graze the whole day like cows. It must be torturous for them have to only be able to eat once or twice a day.

 

[Sweetness_bug]

"goodies"....."the one eyed monster"

Penis is a word. It's in the dictionary.

i just try to keep it clean and not offend anyone

---

Yes, but some of us are "old school," and have an aversion to speaking those unmentionable words out loud. Its very hard to break the silence!!

Thanks Yvonne