Is my sulcata normal?

[Gwynbleiddvaat]

Hello guys! I've had my tortoise for close to 9 months now, 4 months from the seller since first january i already adopt it, and have been trying very hard to take good care of them. It looks like never grew in the 5 months I had him. I think he had internal organ failure like MDB or a bleeder stone, but I really don't know.

Since january until march it looks okay and he eats like usual but nowadays from april until now, he eats just a little, sniff his food and walkaway, i need to put the food on my finger to feed him. I always give him siomak organic, sometimes mazuri pellet, opuntia cactus, wild petunia, hibiscus flower but he wont eat it so i made a trick to make him eat it a little. His poop is okay and sometimes have a pee, At first i thought he has MDB not enough calcium nutrients because his carapace looks more darker than before, so i try too sprinkle the food with calcium powder low phosporus (Reptile+) but its just eat a little and i'm trying to give him everyday a little opuntia cactus which is many says it is the best calcium food.

I've always come to this forum and many others, and looked through many of the helpful posts for help in taking care of them. I feel it's time to ask several myself.

I try and soak him every day or every other day, and would make sure their substrate stayed damp. Slowly, as work got more hectic, I had less time to soak them, yesterday his down beak is fall but he looks okay and still eatting.


My questions is:
1) Is a Tortoise can have a sunburn skin? I mean because his carapace looks darker than before but not the plastron and every morning i take and move him to a plant's pad from 7-10am to sunbathing him with half place cover in shadow.
2) His shell is already starting to pyramid a bit from the breeder. Other than soaking them more regularly and keeping their substrate moist, is there something else I can do?
3) Is their size appropriate relatively to their age? Right now they're around 9 months old i think.
4) How do they look? Do they look unhealthy?
5) Is it okay to take and put him everyday to one and another place, because everymorning i take him to sunbath on a pad outside and sometimes put him on grass field but just until 12 am i already take him inside let him walk around and if he already sleep i will put him back on the container. Is it could make him stress? since he looks like okay and he still active, walk, eat..
6) What can I do to get him to eat anything? I don't know what happened that got him to eat Siomak more little than before and he's always been picky eaters.

I know I have many more questions, but these are the ones that come to mind right now.

I upload some photos that are from first i adopt (more bright carapce), the enclosure, and now

Sorry for my bad english language, I'm from asia but really thank you all so much for any help!

 

[JoesMum]

Hi

Where to start...

Your tort's enclosure needs changing to help raise humidity. You have no substrate in there. A plastic mat is not suitable.

Your tortoise needs something like Coco Coir or Orchid Bark - even clean topsoil - but not sand. You can then mix water into the substrate so it is damp and that will raise humidity.

There is a lot of information on the internet about care. Unfortunately a lot of it is wrong. Please read the following as they are correct:
Beginner Mistakes
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/beginner-mistakes.45180/
How to Raise a Healthy Sulcata
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/how-to-raise-a-healthy-sulcata-or-leopard-version-2-0.79895/

What are you using for basking heat and UVB?

Problems eating are invariably caused by temperature problems. There are four important temperatures in an indoor enclosure - warm side, cool side, directly under the basking lamp and overnight minimum. What temperatures do you have?

 

[Gwynbleiddvaat]

Hi thanks for your reply JoesMum..
Ill take a look on the information

I have Coco Coir below the plastic mat and sometimes i spray the water to it..

i have 6watt spot light for basking heat with 15cm distance on spaghnum moss side which is become warm side and the other is cool side, and sunlight every morning for UVB so i dont use UVB lamp here..

 

[JoesMum]

Hi thanks for your reply JoesMum..
Ill take a look on the information

I have Coco Coir below the plastic mat and sometimes i spray the water to it..

i have 6watt spot light for basking heat with 15cm distance on spaghnum moss side which is become warm side and the other is cool side, and sunlight every morning for UVB so i dont use UVB lamp here..

Get rid of the plastic mat. Your tort needs to walk on the bare substrate and be able to dig into it.

A 6 Watt bulb will do nothing more than light the enclosure- it will not provide a basking temperature. What temperature is it in your tortoise's home?

To get UVB, your tort must get direct sunlight - not through window glass. Does this happen?

 

[JoesMum]

To be honest, the enclosure needs a much bigger floor area. Plastic tubs are not ideal.

Use a plant saucer for water - get one big enough for him to stand in and sink it in to the substrate.

Serve food on a piece of flat rock or tile rather than the plastic box lid. This will help your tort to wear its beak down and stop it becoming overgrown.

 

[Gwynbleiddvaat]

okay i'll remove it, at first i thought to keep it clean and afraid of bug or something else that might be lives iside the coco coir..
but do u think my tortoise has a problem besides not suitable enclosure that i have?

Is he normal in developing growth?

the temperature is around 70-80C, and yes he gets direct sunlight every 7-10am..

 

[Gwynbleiddvaat]

Thanks JoesMum,
yes indeed the enclosure still needs a much bigger floor area, I'm working on it..

 

[SarahChelonoidis]

What temperature? Surely not 70-80C - that would be fatally hot.

70-80F is too cold - 80-95F is the range you want.

 

[JoesMum]

What temperature? Surely not 70-80C - that would be fatally hot.

70-80F is too cold - 80-95F is the range you want.

80-95F is 25-35C

 

[Gwynbleiddvaat]

Oh really sorry, my mistake.. so the basking lamp is 40W and the temperature is 25-30C... lol

 

[Yvonne G]

If your lamp looks like this you should stop using it:



These are the two types you should choose from (you don't need both, just one or the other):


or



And for night time heat without light you can use this:

 

[Gwynbleiddvaat]

thank u Yvonne G, i use the lamp just like powersun pic..

but im still curious, is my tortoise still in normal growth?
can u guys see the different colour before and after on the photos?
is he has a bladder stone, while he still have a normal poop and pee?
or maybe his carapace darker because the lack of calcium powder on his food, is it?

 

[spud's_mum]

They can get burnt, but if it is burnt it would look dry.
The darker are that you are looking at... Is it between the scutes? If so, that is just normal growth. I believe The new growth is dark and will eventually lighten.
What a cutie you have there.