Is my tortoise poorly??

[Small_Lebowski]

Hi everyone, I'm new to the forum and I need some help! I've had a sulcata tortoise for 6 months now, he was around 2-3 months old when I got him. He managed to get well through the winter and seemed in a perfectly good condition. Only in last few days I have noticed some dramatic changes though and I'm wondering whether he is unwell?? He seems to have lost scales on his legs, his head is dark and (maybe not connected) his shell is much darker. I haven't changed the diet, soaking or temperature conditions. The only thing that may have changed is the humidity as I live in the south east Asia and it's getting rather humid here. There are no soft spots on his shell and he is eating and pooping as normal. He moves about and seems at his usual self. I'm uploading pics for reference- left one from 6 months ago, right one taken today. Please help!

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi, and welcome to the Forum!

They do change as they grow and age. I don't see anything wrong in the pictures.

 

[Tom]

Have you been weighing the tortoise? How much has it grown in the time you've had it?

What substrate are you using?

From the looks of his new growth, his enclosure is too dry. How are you housing, heating and lighting this tortoise? What are your four temperatures? Warm side, cool side, basking area and overnight low?

How often do you soak him?

 

[ZEROPILOT]

That looks like pictures from recent posts about "Sunburn" from incorrect lighting.
Can you post a photo of your lighting setup including the type of bulbs?

 

[Small_Lebowski]

Have you been weighing the tortoise? How much has it grown in the time you've had it?

What substrate are you using?

From the looks of his new growth, his enclosure is too dry. How are you housing, heating and lighting this tortoise? What are your four temperatures? Warm side, cool side, basking area and overnight low?

How often do you soak him?

Hi Tom,
I'm new to the tortoise world and although I'm doing my best to take a good care of my little friend, I'm sure I've made some mistakes along the way... So I have coconut bark in a terrarium style enclosure, I open side door regularly to air it. The bark is dry (I was worried it would mould?) but as I live in a humid country the reader tells me it's around 80%. There is a water dish for the tortoise and I know he uses it as I find his droppings and bits of dry plants which I put in his hide. I change water daily. The temperatures in the various places of the enclosure are between 80-100F, I use a heating lamp. During the day he has the UV lamp on. He likes to sleep in the empty log like hide, which has coconut bark and that dry plant I got from a reptile shop. He also likes to burrow. It is difficult to get weeds and hay where I live so I have been feeding him with romaine lettuce (which I sprinkle with RepCal every second day) and 3 different kinds of quality tortoise food recommended by the reptile shop. He only likes one of them but I keep on trying. I'm going to try and grow some grass in the house so he can have a better variety, I know I should have done that from the start and I soak him as often as I can, mostly every second day, but reading this forum I realise I didn't do it for long enough, more like 10-15 mins. I'll extend that time from now on. Can't think of anything else... Oh yes, I used to let him walk around for exercise but the guy from my local reptile shop told me that it was a mistake as the temperature in my house is much lower than in the enclosure and it would cause a rapid body temperature drop? What are your thoughts on that?
I constantly worry that I'm doing something wrong, I really want to keep my tortoise healthy and happy but it's my first time ever with a reptile and it's hard for reliable advice where I live, people seem to have limited knowledge and there is a language barrier. Please let me know your thoughts, any advice is welcome. Thanks in advance!

 

[Small_Lebowski]

Oh yes, no I haven't been weighing him, didn't think of it but he is defiantly heavier, it's easily noticeable. In size he doesn't seem to be much bigger but then again- I didn't measure him. He still fits in the palm of my hand, so couldn't have grown that much.

 

[Small_Lebowski]

That looks like pictures from recent posts about "Sunburn" from incorrect lighting.
Can you post a photo of your lighting setup including the type of bulbs?

Oh, I never thought of that! I recently had to buy a new UV bulb and this one is longer, so it is closer to the bottom of the enclosure (about 15cm above). I have a stand to regulate the night of the lamp, I will lift it next time I put it on.

 

[Dizisdalife]

Lamps used in the tortoise enclosure for heat and UV have a drying effect on the shell. Keeping the humidity as high as possible in the enclosure is a way to mitigate the harmful effects of these two devices. Keeping the substrate damp is a means to raising the humidity at the tortoise level. Making a humid hide for the tortoise to retreat into will also help to counter act the drying effect that the heat and UV lamps have on the shell. Creating a closed chamber by covering the top of the enclosure is a way to hold that moisture and heat in the enclosure. Also, when a closed chamber is used the heat lamp doesn't need to stay on all the time to keep an adequate ambient temp for the tortoise. This lessens the drying effect caused by the heat lamp. A simple on-off type thermostat can be used to control the heat lamp so that the enclosure doesn't get too hot or too cold.

A young tortoise, especially one that is approaching a year old, needs exercise. Unfortunately they are very timid creatures that do not like to be moved out of their habitat. When you take them out and put them on the floor of your house they are stressed and will move around looking for a place to hide. As they become more familiar with the floor of your house and begin to explore they will find things that you don't want them to have. Many tortoise injuries have been documented from allowing a tortoise to roam the floor of a house. If you can set up an outdoor enclosure for the tortoise's use it would be much better for him. Taking him out to the same habitat each time lowers it's stress and helps with the eventual transition to becoming an outdoor tortoise. The outdoor enclosure should be as safe for the tortoise as it's indoor enclosure, but provides natural sun and shade, hiding spots and hopefully natural foods for it to forage on. You can start by taking him out for short periods of time and then increase it's outdoor time as it gets larger and used to the outdoor surroundings. If the weather is not suitable for an outdoor enclosure then a much bigger indoor habitat will be necessary.

A steady diet of Romain is not good for your tortoise. If weeds and grasses are not available then shop the grocery store for other types of greens. I feed endive and escarole quite a bit and slowly added other foods including weeds and succulents. You can grow a lot of foods in small planters and use that to broaden your tortoise's diet. I bought seeds online for this. I found that often my tortoise would not eat a food the first time it was offered. With repeated offerings ( and some "tough love") he would eventually eat the new food. This has been an ongoing process for the 4 years that I have kept a sulcata.

 

[Tom]

Hi Tom,
I'm new to the tortoise world and although I'm doing my best to take a good care of my little friend, I'm sure I've made some mistakes along the way... So I have coconut bark in a terrarium style enclosure, I open side door regularly to air it. The bark is dry (I was worried it would mould?) but as I live in a humid country the reader tells me it's around 80%. There is a water dish for the tortoise and I know he uses it as I find his droppings and bits of dry plants which I put in his hide. I change water daily. The temperatures in the various places of the enclosure are between 80-100F, I use a heating lamp. During the day he has the UV lamp on. He likes to sleep in the empty log like hide, which has coconut bark and that dry plant I got from a reptile shop. He also likes to burrow. It is difficult to get weeds and hay where I live so I have been feeding him with romaine lettuce (which I sprinkle with RepCal every second day) and 3 different kinds of quality tortoise food recommended by the reptile shop. He only likes one of them but I keep on trying. I'm going to try and grow some grass in the house so he can have a better variety, I know I should have done that from the start and I soak him as often as I can, mostly every second day, but reading this forum I realise I didn't do it for long enough, more like 10-15 mins. I'll extend that time from now on. Can't think of anything else... Oh yes, I used to let him walk around for exercise but the guy from my local reptile shop told me that it was a mistake as the temperature in my house is much lower than in the enclosure and it would cause a rapid body temperature drop? What are your thoughts on that?
I constantly worry that I'm doing something wrong, I really want to keep my tortoise healthy and happy but it's my first time ever with a reptile and it's hard for reliable advice where I live, people seem to have limited knowledge and there is a language barrier. Please let me know your thoughts, any advice is welcome. Thanks in advance!

There are a few things I would do differently. If you read through these, I think you will see them:
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/how-to-raise-a-healthy-sulcata-or-leopard-version-2-0.78361/
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/beginner-mistakes.45180/
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/for-those-who-have-a-young-sulcata.76744/