Aspyn (Shelldon)
New Member
Hello all, my name is Aspyn, I am 18, and I live in Utah. I want to introduce Shelldon, and get some help and advice.
Recently, my family has taken over care of Shelldon, a (turning) 4 year old African Sulcata.
His prior owners have moved with him from California and have had him here in Utah for most his life.
His owners had a lot on their plate, as well as 3 children under 5 years old. The kids would often hide him, and the mother was recently diagnosed and treated for cancer... and the parents simply couldn’t take care of him any longer. My mother, who has always loved tortoises and turtles (and has quite the obsession with them) told her we could take him.
Before getting him, we read into everything we could about care, food, shelter etc. We have a very large backyard we have been renovating as well as an indoor room for him.
After getting him, I was immediately concerned.
He will be turning 4 this December according to his owners and original breeder, and he only measures 4” by 4” around.
There are no other concerns, no other issues, other than his size.
His prior owners fed him only repti-pellets and iceberg lettuce, which I immediately freaked out about. They didn’t let him out often, despite Utah’s summer temps being over 80° for months. They kept him in a tortoise house, which is certainly big enough, but we have come to the conclusion he was certainly deprived and malnourished.
We have already began the process of overturning this.. We soak him often, feed him what he needs in a diet for a tortoise his size, and actively work to keep his enclosure humid and warm. We measure him to see any change.
Because of the pandemic, the exotic animal hospitals around us are not accepting new clients at the time unless there is something directly concerning.
I want to ask you all as a community, what can we do under these circumstances? What are we doing wrong/right? What other advice or questions do you have?
Help us get our Shelldon to where he needs to be! Thank you!
Recently, my family has taken over care of Shelldon, a (turning) 4 year old African Sulcata.
His prior owners have moved with him from California and have had him here in Utah for most his life.
His owners had a lot on their plate, as well as 3 children under 5 years old. The kids would often hide him, and the mother was recently diagnosed and treated for cancer... and the parents simply couldn’t take care of him any longer. My mother, who has always loved tortoises and turtles (and has quite the obsession with them) told her we could take him.
Before getting him, we read into everything we could about care, food, shelter etc. We have a very large backyard we have been renovating as well as an indoor room for him.
After getting him, I was immediately concerned.
He will be turning 4 this December according to his owners and original breeder, and he only measures 4” by 4” around.
There are no other concerns, no other issues, other than his size.
His prior owners fed him only repti-pellets and iceberg lettuce, which I immediately freaked out about. They didn’t let him out often, despite Utah’s summer temps being over 80° for months. They kept him in a tortoise house, which is certainly big enough, but we have come to the conclusion he was certainly deprived and malnourished.
We have already began the process of overturning this.. We soak him often, feed him what he needs in a diet for a tortoise his size, and actively work to keep his enclosure humid and warm. We measure him to see any change.
Because of the pandemic, the exotic animal hospitals around us are not accepting new clients at the time unless there is something directly concerning.
I want to ask you all as a community, what can we do under these circumstances? What are we doing wrong/right? What other advice or questions do you have?
Help us get our Shelldon to where he needs to be! Thank you!