My introduction and request for help!

[CoopTheBuilder]

Hi everyone!! I am new to the forum but have been reading as much as I have been able the last few weeks.
Long story short: I am a contractor, I recently entered into a contract to rebuild a home that burned down several years ago. The home has sat abandoned since late 2022. Three mature Sulcatas live in the backyard, among them were a male and a female. They survived the fire due to a large burrow underneath the backyard patio, and the kind neighbors feeding them and running a hose into the yard.
Earlier this year when I first arrived at the job, I found several babies and sadly; a bunch of dead ones. I took in one and the homeowner took care of the rest. His name is skid because I found him hiding under an old tire that left a skid mark on his back.
He’s got some peeling of his shell around his belly, I’ll include pictures because I’m worried! He was born in extremely dry conditions, and lived with minimal food and moisture for months before I found him. I definitely didn’t have the best enclosure for a few months, it’s much warmer and more humid now.
What can I do to help him?

 

[Anastasia 22]

Hi everyone!! I am new to the forum but have been reading as much as I have been able the last few weeks.
Long story short: I am a contractor, I recently entered into a contract to rebuild a home that burned down several years ago. The home has sat abandoned since late 2022. Three mature Sulcatas live in the backyard, among them were a male and a female. They survived the fire due to a large burrow underneath the backyard patio, and the kind neighbors feeding them and running a hose into the yard.
Earlier this year when I first arrived at the job, I found several babies and sadly; a bunch of dead ones. I took in one and the homeowner took care of the rest. His name is skid because I found him hiding under an old tire that left a skid mark on his back.
He’s got some peeling of his shell around his belly, I’ll include pictures because I’m worried! He was born in extremely dry conditions, and lived with minimal food and moisture for months before I found him. I definitely didn’t have the best enclosure for a few months, it’s much warmer and more humid now.
What can I do to help him?


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Thank you for saving Skid He's so cute!
People here will definitely help you!

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

Hello! Bless you for taking him in

To me the plastron looks like he’s maybe gotten stuck under something and it’s caused some damage.

Let me tag these guys to look at it for you! @wellington @Tom @Yvonne G

In the meantime, hopefully you’ll find this thread helpful, it covers correct equipment, levels, importance of a closed chamber for younger tortoises(only way to maintain the humidity you need), appropriately maintaining the humidity, substrates, there’s lots of visual examples for everything and a really handy diet link to check out! If going with a greenhouse, the lower the ceiling height, whilst still allowing for recommended bulb height, the better!

Leopard/sulcata starter

Hello there! In this thread I’m going to include some information below on how I’d personally tackle an indoor starter set up for a leopard/sulcata until they’re bigger. Hopefully it helps give people some ideas!” I know it looks like a lot to go over, I like to make sure all bases are covered...

tortoiseforum.org

This includes some different closed chamber options, but bear in mind sizing for a growing sulcata

Visual inspiration

Hi guys! I’ve had some lovely messages complimenting me on my care sheets I made for all the visuals they include! That makes me so happy because as a visual learner myself, that was my goal🥰 I’ve recently had some requests for some more visual inspiration for set ups that can house babies/...

tortoiseforum.org

Lastly, this one is also really good to familiarise yourself with, it’ll help you avoid the wrong bulbs, substrates, housing etc, I always encourage double checking purchases on the forum too before buying

Common keeping errors

Hello everyone! I’d been a long time lurker on this site long before joining just under a year ago now, over that time I’ve seen these husbandry issues come up time and time again, sometimes with dire consequences☹️ I thought this thread might serve as a good visual guide for these common...

tortoiseforum.org

Hope they help! Welcome to the forum!

 

[CoopTheBuilder]

Thank you for saving Skid He's so cute!
People here will definitely help you!

Thank you!

 

[CoopTheBuilder]

Hello! Bless you for taking him in

To me the plastron looks like he’s maybe gotten stuck under something and it’s caused some damage.

Let me tag these guys to look at it for you! @wellington @Tom @Yvonne G

In the meantime, hopefully you’ll find this thread helpful, it covers correct equipment, levels, importance of a closed chamber for younger tortoises(only way to maintain the humidity you need), appropriately maintaining the humidity, substrates, there’s lots of visual examples for everything and a really handy diet link to check out! If going with a greenhouse, the lower the ceiling height, whilst still allowing for recommended bulb height, the better!

Leopard/sulcata starter

Hello there! In this thread I’m going to include some information below on how I’d personally tackle an indoor starter set up for a leopard/sulcata until they’re bigger. Hopefully it helps give people some ideas!” I know it looks like a lot to go over, I like to make sure all bases are covered...

tortoiseforum.org

This includes some different closed chamber options, but bear in mind sizing for a growing sulcata

Visual inspiration

Hi guys! I’ve had some lovely messages complimenting me on my care sheets I made for all the visuals they include! That makes me so happy because as a visual learner myself, that was my goal🥰 I’ve recently had some requests for some more visual inspiration for set ups that can house babies/...

tortoiseforum.org

Lastly, this one is also really good to familiarise yourself with, it’ll help you avoid the wrong bulbs, substrates, housing etc, I always encourage double checking purchases on the forum too before buying

Common keeping errors

Hello everyone! I’d been a long time lurker on this site long before joining just under a year ago now, over that time I’ve seen these husbandry issues come up time and time again, sometimes with dire consequences☹️ I thought this thread might serve as a good visual guide for these common...

tortoiseforum.org

Hope they help! Welcome to the forum!

Thanks for calling in the cavalry! And thank you for the links, I’ll go over all of it and update everyone once I’ve made changes to my setup!

 

[The_Four_Toed_Edward]

Welcome to the forum!

The "cavalry" will probably want to know about his weight gain. How much did he weigh when he was found? How much does he weigh now and how long have you had him?

Regarding to weight, how has his diet been?

Any symptoms you are worried about? (pooping, peeing, eating, breathing, sleeping, activity) Anything that might worry you, ask away!

I have some more reading suggestions for you:

A thread for all the new people on the forum:

Info For New People. Please Read This First.

Hello and welcome to tortoiseforum.org! We are all glad you are here! There is no other forum like this anywhere. We have tens of thousands of members from all over the world ranging from kids with their first tortoise to people who have been breeding and keeping high end tortoises since the...

tortoiseforum.org

In depth guide to raising a sulcata:

The Best Way To Raise A Sulcata, Leopard, Or Star Tortoise

I chose the title of this care sheet very carefully. Are there other ways to raise babies? Yes. Yes there are, but those ways are not as good. What follows is the BEST way, according to 30 years of research and experimentation with hundreds of babies of many species. Babies hatch during the...

tortoiseforum.org

Important stuff about sulcata diet:

For Those Who Have a Young Sulcata...

Over and over I type up and answer diet questions and try to get people feeding the right stuff, but I find that the "norm" is grocery store food. Grocery store food is expensive, a hassle to obtain, and very low on the list of what is best for sulcatas. These tortoises are GRASS eaters. From...

tortoiseforum.org

 

[TammyJ]

Thanks for rescuing little Skid, he will definitely benefit from your being here!

 

[wellington]

Wow,sad that the owners didn't take care of their animals or at least adopt them out to a rescue.
Is the area under where the scute should be hard or soft?
Was it like this when you found him? Is the piece of scute moveable or hardened in place?
If it's hard I don't think I would do anything but give the best care possible.
If it is soft, I would keep him on soft substrate like either coconut coir or even paper towels until it has hardened. Keep eye out he doesn't eat the paper towel.

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi, and welcome!

All you need to know about caring for baby sulcatas can be found in those links posted by members in previous posts. One thing I must stress is soak, soak, SOAK! Place Skid in a bowl of warm water daily and let him soak for at least a half hour. You can place the bowl back into his enclosure right NEXT to where the light hits the floor of the enclosure, to help the water stay warm.

 

[CoopTheBuilder]

Wow,sad that the owners didn't take care of their animals or at least adopt them out to a rescue.
Is the area under where the scute should be hard or soft?
Was it like this when you found him? Is the piece of scute moveable or hardened in place?
If it's hard I don't think I would do anything but give the best care possible.
If it is soft, I would keep him on soft substrate like either coconut coir or even paper towels until it has hardened. Keep eye out he doesn't eat the paper towel.

Thanks for answering! This forum is great. The area underneath seems pretty hard, the piece of scute is thin and flexible, I can bend it but haven’t tried too much because I’m not sure if it would hurt him. It wasn’t like this when I found him earlier this year. I had him on a sand-free garden mulch, but recently replaced that with coconut coir. It look like his belly is starting to peel at the edges of his other little sections, starting from the center.

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

Hi, and welcome!

All you need to know about caring for baby sulcatas can be found in those links posted by members in previous posts. One thing I must stress is soak, soak, SOAK! Place Skid in a bowl of warm water daily and let him soak for at least a half hour. You can place the bowl back into his enclosure right NEXT to where the light hits the floor of the enclosure, to help the water stay warm.

What do you suggest for the plastron? Just curious

 

[Yvonne G]

What do you suggest for the plastron? Just curious

I would have to see it in person to know if it is viable so it could be reattached by snugging a bandage around it. . . or if not, to remove it.

 

[Chefdenoel10]

What happened to the three large Sulcata?
I know you said the other people took the babies that survived but what ever happened with the other three??
God bless you for taking care this beautiful little one .
I hope all heals itself either with time or the advice of the pros on here.
He/ she deserves a second chance as he/she got off to a crappy start.

Ask @Yvonne G if you SHOULD soak at all because if that she’ll on the bottom is cracked you wouldn’t want water to get in it right?? Please ask her first, she will know the answer.
Please take care

 

[The_Four_Toed_Edward]

How is the hatchling doing?

 

[CoopTheBuilder]

Welcome to the forum!

The "cavalry" will probably want to know about his weight gain. How much did he weigh when he was found? How much does he weigh now and how long have you had him?

Regarding to weight, how has his diet been?

Any symptoms you are worried about? (pooping, peeing, eating, breathing, sleeping, activity) Anything that might worry you, ask away!

I have some more reading suggestions for you:

A thread for all the new people on the forum:

Info For New People. Please Read This First.

Hello and welcome to tortoiseforum.org! We are all glad you are here! There is no other forum like this anywhere. We have tens of thousands of members from all over the world ranging from kids with their first tortoise to people who have been breeding and keeping high end tortoises since the...

tortoiseforum.org

In depth guide to raising a sulcata:

The Best Way To Raise A Sulcata, Leopard, Or Star Tortoise

I chose the title of this care sheet very carefully. Are there other ways to raise babies? Yes. Yes there are, but those ways are not as good. What follows is the BEST way, according to 30 years of research and experimentation with hundreds of babies of many species. Babies hatch during the...

tortoiseforum.org

Important stuff about sulcata diet:

For Those Who Have a Young Sulcata...

Over and over I type up and answer diet questions and try to get people feeding the right stuff, but I find that the "norm" is grocery store food. Grocery store food is expensive, a hassle to obtain, and very low on the list of what is best for sulcatas. These tortoises are GRASS eaters. From...

tortoiseforum.org

Thanks for responding! I haven’t noticed any other symptoms, he seems completely normal other than the shell. I’ve been feeding him a lot of leafy greens but recently switched to orchard hay and Timothy grass because of what I saw on here

 

[CoopTheBuilder]

How is the hatchling doing?

Speaking of hatchlings, I just found about 17 brand new ones this week! They came crawling out from underneath the patio slab and I’ve gathered as many as I could find to keep them from being hurt by the ongoing construction! I’ll make a separate post about it to gather suggestions for proper care, although I know it’s beyond my skill set

 

[CoopTheBuilder]

What happened to the three large Sulcata?
I know you said the other people took the babies that survived but what ever happened with the other three??
God bless you for taking care this beautiful little one .
I hope all heals itself either with time or the advice of the pros on here.
He/ she deserves a second chance as he/she got off to a crappy start.

Ask @Yvonne G if you SHOULD soak at all because if that she’ll on the bottom is cracked you wouldn’t want water to get in it right?? Please ask her first, she will know the answer.
Please take care

One of the three large ones was taken to a rescue by the homeowner, and he is currently looking for a suitable rescue for the other two! Thanks for the input, I’ll ask Yvonne

 

[CoopTheBuilder]

I would have to see it in person to know if it is viable so it could be reattached by snugging a bandage around it. . . or if not, to remove it.

Would it be worth taking Skid to a vet? I know they’re usually under informed on sulcatas. If the “damage” to the plastron is normal I won’t worry too much about it!

 

[CoopTheBuilder]

Hi, and welcome!

All you need to know about caring for baby sulcatas can be found in those links posted by members in previous posts. One thing I must stress is soak, soak, SOAK! Place Skid in a bowl of warm water daily and let him soak for at least a half hour. You can place the bowl back into his enclosure right NEXT to where the light hits the floor of the enclosure, to help the water stay warm.

I’ll make sure his soaking dish is next to the warm spot!

 

[COmtnLady]

Would it be worth taking Skid to a vet? I know they’re usually under informed on sulcatas. If the “damage” to the plastron is normal I won’t worry too much about it!

You said you named him Skid because he had tread marks on his back... Could the damage to the plastron be from getting run over by whatever it was? Or stepped on by a workboot? Or that tire falling on him?
What direction did the skid marks go (side-to-side, long-wise, kitty corner)?
It looks to me like the plastron damage goes directly across/side-to-side (sort of in a straight-ish line). With a lot of weight pushing down (probably into soft-ish dirt/mud so it didn't kill him) it could bend him until the lower shell split.

Is this where I say, "Welcome to The Tortoise Forum"?

.