Hi need help

Beauitfulqueta

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I received my sulfate tortoise a few days ago And she is not eating the food any all should I be concerned ?
 

KarenSoCal

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Hi, and welcome to the forum!

We really can't tell you if you should worry unless we have lots more info.

How big/old is your sulcata? Where did you get him? Name of pet store, breeder etc. What are you trying to feed him?

How are you housing him? Pictures of your setup and the baby would be great! Have you noticed any yellow spots or bumps on his legs or neck?

If you will answer these questions, we'll be happy to help you.

Here is a copy of our care sheet for sulcata in case you haven't read it yet.

 

Beauitfulqueta

New Member
Joined
Sep 18, 2020
Messages
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Location (City and/or State)
MARYLAND
Hi, and welcome to the forum!

We really can't tell you if you should worry unless we have lots more info.

How big/old is your sulcata? Where did you get him? Name of pet store, breeder etc. What are you trying to feed him?

How are you housing him? Pictures of your setup and the baby would be great! Have you noticed any yellow spots or bumps on his legs or neck?

If you will answer these questions, we'll be happy to help you.

Here is a copy of our care sheet for sulcata in case you haven't read it yet.


Hi thank you for replying I got my sulcata tortoise from tortoise town its a cb hatchling not sure how old that is ! I’m feeding her the mazuri tortoise sleep diet this is my first Time owning One
 

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Hamiltondood

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Richmond, Texas
Hi thank you for replying I got my sulcata tortoise from tortoise town its a cb hatchling not sure how old that is ! I’m feeding her the mazuri tortoise sleep diet this is my first Time owning One
daily soaks, closed enclosure, and a bigger/different water bowl.terracotta saucers are great because its "textured" which allows the tortoises to get in and out without flipping over, its also cheap. what else are you feeding her. outdoors or indoors? uvb bulb type? CB reptiles/tortoise town don't take care of tortoises correctly and always raise them dry. ill leave some helpful links for you https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/the-best-way-to-raise-a-sulcata-leopard-or-star-tortoise.181497/ https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/closed-chambers.32333/ https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/hatchling-failure-syndrome.23493/1600476731902.png
 

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Beauitfulqueta

New Member
Joined
Sep 18, 2020
Messages
14
Location (City and/or State)
MARYLAND
daily soaks, closed enclosure, and a bigger/different water bowl.terracotta saucers are great because its "textured" which allows the tortoises to get in and out without flipping over, its also cheap. what else are you feeding her. outdoors or indoors? uvb bulb type? CB reptiles/tortoise town don't take care of tortoises correctly and always raise them dry. ill leave some helpful links for you https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/the-best-way-to-raise-a-sulcata-leopard-or-star-tortoise.181497/ https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/closed-chambers.32333/ https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/hatchling-failure-syndrome.23493/View attachment 306652

Thank you for replying
I have her inside and I’m using a uvb light 10.0
I’m not feeding her anything else
 

KarenSoCal

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Hi thank you for replying I got my sulcata tortoise from tortoise town its a cb hatchling not sure how old that is ! I’m feeding her the mazuri tortoise sleep diet this is my first Time owning One

OK, thanks for answering.

Please read that care sheet ASAP. It is extremely important that you get that baby into a closed chamber enclosure right away.

Tortoise Town gets very bad reviews here because of the way he cares for hatchlings right after they hatch. He keeps them dry, and that sometimes causes kidney damage. I'm not trying to scare you! I'm trying to help you understand that what you do now will give him the best chance of beating the odds and surviving. If too much damage has been done, you can't fix it. But you can give him ideal conditions now to support him.

I suggest you first, soak him in warm, not hot, water for 30 minutes minimum daily. You want him very well hydrated all the time.

Read the care sheet, and come back with questions. We can help you with a closed chamber. Keep him warm according to the temps in the care sheet. And keep the humidity in his enclosure. For now, aluminum foil over the entire top of his enclosure will help.

I'm sorry I've had to tell you this. You can't fix him if he gets sick. Just love him and care for him the best you can do. Whatever happens, you will have done all you could do.

His not eating is probably just because he's in a new place. But he needs a wide variety of greens in addition to the Mazuri.

If you see any yellow spots or bumps on his legs or neck, please take some pictures. Then post under Tortoise Health and put"yellow bumps" in the title of the post. We'll be very appreciative.
 

Beauitfulqueta

New Member
Joined
Sep 18, 2020
Messages
14
Location (City and/or State)
MARYLAND
OK, thanks for answering.

Please read that care sheet ASAP. It is extremely important that you get that baby into a closed chamber enclosure right away.

Tortoise Town gets very bad reviews here because of the way he cares for hatchlings right after they hatch. He keeps them dry, and that sometimes causes kidney damage. I'm not trying to scare you! I'm trying to help you understand that what you do now will give him the best chance of beating the odds and surviving. If too much damage has been done, you can't fix it. But you can give him ideal conditions now to support him.

I suggest you first, soak him in warm, not hot, water for 30 minutes minimum daily. You want him very well hydrated all the time.

Read the care sheet, and come back with questions. We can help you with a closed chamber. Keep him warm according to the temps in the care sheet. And keep the humidity in his enclosure. For now, aluminum foil over the entire top of his enclosure will help.

I'm sorry I've had to tell you this. You can't fix him if he gets sick. Just love him and care for him the best you can do. Whatever happens, you will have done all you could do.

His not eating is probably just because he's in a new place. But he needs a wide variety of greens in addition to the Mazuri.

If you see any yellow spots or bumps on his legs or neck, please take some pictures. Then post under Tortoise Health and put"yellow bumps" in the title of the post. We'll be very appreciative.

Ok thank you for the advice I will do that now I will buy some greens to feed her
So if they don’t want you to buy them from a grocery store where can you get them
 

Hamiltondood

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Messages
248
Location (City and/or State)
Richmond, Texas
Ok thank you for the advice I will do that now I will buy some greens to feed her
So if they don’t want you to buy them from a grocery store where can you get them
the list of weeds are in the caresheet, you should be able to pick them if they arent sprayed with pesticides. you can also buy wheat grass at the grocery store which is okay for tortoises. growing or finding weeds are your best option. grocery store lettuces like arugula and kale should be a small fraction of the diet.
 

KarenSoCal

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If you need to rely on grocery store items, get lots of endive/escarole and radicchio as the staple.

Baby's might not eat a lot of grass right away, but you can snip some off and cut it fine and add it to his greens.

Here is a very long list of foods for sullies.

Compiled by Tom:
Good foods for tortoises are "chicories," types of lettuce that are likely to be on the far side of the more common floppy green heads of lettuce most people buy. Anything labeled as simply "chicory" is good, as are radiccio, frisee, escarole, and endive; you might even find something labeled as dandelions. You may find a bag of "Spring" or "Spicy" mix that is good, just check the label to be sure it has some of the chicories I just mentioned. The leaves (just the leaves) of turnips and radishes are also good, as are carrot tops. Collards, mustard greens, bok choy, and other dark, leafy greens are okay as well. If you have any kind of Mexican/hispanic market near you, they will sell cactus, labeled "nopales." Cactus is a great food to rotate in the diet, as it is high in calcium.



You don't need to feed all of these at one time, just make sure your tortoise is getting access to different types of food. As you get more experienced, you can find the better types of food listed on the care sheets.


Here are a whole bunch of non-grocery store suggestions.


Mulberry leaves
Grape vine leaves
Hibiscus leaves
African hibiscus leaves
Blue hibiscus leaves
Rose of Sharon leaves
Rose leaves
Geraniums
Gazanias
Nasturtium
Lavatera
Pansies
Petunias
Hostas
Honeysuckle
Cape honeysuckle
Leaves and blooms from any squash plant, like pumpkin, cucumber, summer squash, etc...
Young spineless opuntia cactus pads


Weeds:


There are soooooooo many...
Dandelion
Mallow
Filaree
Smooth Sow thistle
Prickly Sow thistle
Milk thistle
Goat head weed
Cats ear
Nettles
Trefoil
Wild onion
Wild mustard
Wild Garlic
Clovers
Broadleaf plantain
Narrow leaf plantain
Chick weed
Hawksbit
Hensbit
Hawksbeard


Other good stuff:




"Testudo Seed Mix" from http://www.tortoisesupply.com/SeedMixes


Pasture mixes or other seeds from http://www.groworganic.com/seeds.html


Homegrown alfalfa


Mazuri Tortoise Chow


ZooMed Grassland Tortoise Food


Ones that you can buy in every store:
Arugula
Lambs lettuce
Chicory
Kale
Mustard greens
Organic kohlrabi leafs
Organic carrot leafs
Organic radish leafs
Dandelions
Radiccio


Their main diet should be broad leaf weeds, succulents and grasses. Store bought foods are okay, but not the best. Collards and dandelions are a good food, but neither should be used every day. Check out the plant ID section for lots of ideas on weeds to feed. You can get spineless opuntia cactus pads from most Mexican grocery stores, or grow them yourself. You can also easily grow grape leaves, african hibiscus, regular hibiscus (if it will survive in your area), and mulberry leaves. You can try red apple, ice plant, and jade plant too. Also look into Gazania, pansies, nasturtiums, carnations, geraniums and many others. At the grocery store, favor endive and escarole, but also use cilantro, carrot tops, mustard and turnip greens, bok choy, radiccio, swiss chard, watercress, parsley, all the lettuces, etc. Lots of variety is best. There are also tortoise "weed" seed mixes that you can grow. I like the "Testudo Mix" from Tortoisesupply.com.
Buckwheat; cactus; vetch; Mohave aster; creosote bush; desert four o’clock; tacoma stans; bladderpod; globe mallow; goldenhead; burro weed; so many things!
 
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