Is my Sulcata Underweight?

SiaraEA

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I have a sulcata that is about 9-10 weeks old. She is very active and eats a lot. This is my first time weighing her and she is 52 grams. I was reading other posts on here of people's 1 month old weighing that much. So is 52 grams too light for a 2, almost 3 month old??
 

Bee62

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Hello and a very warm welcome to this wonderful forum. Glad you found us.
I have not been here for so long, but I feel very well here. There is much knowlegde about all tortoises.

I don`t think that 52 Grams is too light for your sulcata baby.
When I got my sulcata babies they weight 68 grams at the age of 3 months.
The most important is that your baby is active and eats well every day. That is normal for these tortoise babies. But they all grow and develop different.
I don`t see any problems.
May you show us the enclosure of your tort ? Pictures are interesting every time.
Good luck with your baby.

Sabine
 

Tom

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I have a sulcata that is about 9-10 weeks old. She is very active and eats a lot. This is my first time weighing her and she is 52 grams. I was reading other posts on here of people's 1 month old weighing that much. So is 52 grams too light for a 2, almost 3 month old??

Hello and welcome.

That weight is not bad, but whether your tortoise is healthy or not, really depends more on how it was started as a baby and how you are caring for it now. Most breeders start them far too dry. Do you know how your baby was started? Wet or dry routine?

Have you seen these yet:
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/how-to-raise-a-healthy-sulcata-or-leopard-version-2-0.79895/
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/beginner-mistakes.45180/
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/for-those-who-have-a-young-sulcata.76744/
 

SiaraEA

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5 Year Member
Joined
Dec 7, 2016
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Location (City and/or State)
Kansas
Hello and a very warm
welcome to this wonderful forum. Glad you found us.
I have not been here for so long, but I feel very well here. There is much knowlegde about all tortoises.

I don`t think that 52 Grams is too light for your sulcata baby.
When I got my sulcata babies they weight 68 grams at the age of 3 months.
The most important is that your baby is active and eats well every day. That is normal for these tortoise babies. But they all grow and develop different.
I don`t see any problems.
May you show us the enclosure of your tort ? Pictures are interesting every time.
Good luck with your baby.

Sabine
IMG_2059.JPG
This is Bonnie's enclosure. The plastic you see is a shower curtain liner to try and keep in the humidity on that side. I'm currently trying to find another way to keep it humid all over instead of just that one side (which is the cool side) I live in Kansas so it gets pretty humid in the warmer months. I plan to keep her outside when it warms up in March or April.
 

SiaraEA

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Location (City and/or State)
Kansas
Hello and welcome.

That weight is not bad, but whether your tortoise is healthy or not, really depends more on how it was started as a baby and how you are caring for it now. Most breeders start them far too dry. Do you know how your baby was started? Wet or dry routine?

Have you seen these yet:
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/how-to-raise-a-healthy-sulcata-or-leopard-version-2-0.79895/
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/beginner-mistakes.45180/
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/for-those-who-have-a-young-sulcata.76744/
I'm not sure how she was started. I got her from Arizona Tortoise Compound.
 

Bee62

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How high is the humidity in the enclosure ? It looks very dry.
Do you soak Bonnie every day ?
And what do you feed her ?
Keeping her outside in the warm months is always good.
 

Bee62

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In a closed chamber / terrarium it is less difficult to keep the humidity high.
 

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SiaraEA

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In a closed chamber / terrarium it is less difficult to keep the humidity high.
The cool side usually stays about 60% humidity, and the warms side is usually about 40-50% (which I know is low.) I soak her about 20 minutes everyday. Since it's cold, I've been feeding her collard greens, mustard greens, and turnip greens blended in the food processer, with grass on top. I have tried to give her Mazuri, but she won't eat it. I'm currently looking for a cheap tank that's big enough for her to keep the humidity in.
 

cmacusa3

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What's the temps of the "cool side"? The reason Ask is because with an open top it probably get room temp at night and if the humidity gets too high you will get a sick tort.
 

Bee62

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The humidity should be 70 - 80 % in the whole enclosure. But I know that is difficult in an open enclosure. But if you increase the humidity it must be warm in the whole enclosure or the tort will get sick.
How high is the temperature ?
Your diet is good. My babies love chicoree and lamb`s lettuce. But I feed them whole leaves uncutted.

edit: cmac3 was faster than me with the answer/ question.
 

SiaraEA

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The humidity should be 70 - 80 % in the whole enclosure. But I know that is difficult in an open enclosure. But if you increase the humidity it must be warm in the whole enclosure or the tort will get sick.
How high is the temperature ?
Your diet is good. My babies love chicoree and lamb`s lettuce. But I feed them whole leaves uncutted.

edit: cmac3 was faster than me with the answer/ question.
The cool side temp is between 72-76
The warm side is between 82-89
Basking spot is 99-111
Every night she decides to sleep in a corner on the warm side.
 

Bee62

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The cool side temp is between 72-76
The warm side is between 82-89
Basking spot is 99-111
Every night she decides to sleep in a corner on the warm side.

That sounds good. The night temperature should never drop under 76 for a sulcata baby. Do you use a heat edmitter for the night ?
Sorry for these much questions. I don`t think that you do anything wrong.
Your tort shows you, that she is doing well.
 
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SiaraEA

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That sounds good. The night temperature should never drop under 76 for a sulcata baby. Do you use a heat edmitter for the night ?
Sorry for these much questions. I don`t think that you do anything wrong.
Yout tort shows you, that she is doing well.
I have a CHE that is on 24/7.
 

SarahChelonoidis

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The cool side temp is between 72-76
The warm side is between 82-89
Basking spot is 99-111
Every night she decides to sleep in a corner on the warm side.

Your low temperatures are too cold. Most people here recommend a low of 80F day and night. I second the recommendation to read the links you were given. They'll help.
 

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