Via Infinito
Active Member
I have read lots of threads on this forum about this issue, but I can't seem to find the answer yet.
At first I thought it was the Hatchling Failure Syndrome, but I'm not sure anymore.
My baby Bulby has the optimum care it needs, I will call it a 'he' lol
Temperature: At the hot spot it's 36C, ambient is about 30C, and the cool spot is about 28C. At night temperature dropped to about 26C.
Hide: It has a hide to sleep right in the middle of the cage
Cage size: The cage is huge which is about 140cm x 70cm,
Lighting: Heat bulb and the coiled UVB, but that UVB is simply a supplement because where I live is tropical, so I bring my baby tortoise to my outside enclosure for about 3 hours in the garden right around 2pm where it gets plenty of sunlight everyday. I don't think UVB is the problem at all because where I am the sun is pretty strong. The enclosure has a big tree which also provides half the area with shades.
Hydration: I bath him in lukewarm water for about 20 minutes every morning when he gets up, he has a tray of water in his enclosure which I can see he is getting in and out of due to the dirt he leaves behind at the end of the day. Plus the humidity here is high which is 70%-80% 24/7, at night it dropped to about 50%
Substrate: his enclosure is half carpet half coco coir which I dampened every morning by spraying
Diet: Watercress, Bak Choy, lots of grass, various weeds in the garden, liquid calcium on salad which he is addicted to, Rep-cal tortoise food ( which I spray with water so it gets softer and has moisture), carrots every weekend, sometimes squash, hisbicus leaves, rose leaves. He avoids anything with mazuri in it so it's quite difficult getting him on that stuff.
Bulby: very active, walks around a lot, eats a lot, but picky towards certain plants and mazuri, it naps from 10am to 2pm and goes out to eat more and goes to sleep about 5:30pm
I already de-wormed him 1.5 months ago, but it doesn't seem to be the problem, I also have never seen any worms in his poop.
His belly button area is soft but it's springy, otherwise other areas of his plastron is hard. 3 days ago I start to see small white patches around his legs and under his neck, but it looks like shedding?
He was born in June ( the pet store said), I got him in mid August and now it's mid December and he is still hovering around 58-60g at 6 months old!
I am really confused. Do you think he will have a growth spurt soon? he doesn't seem to get weakened at all but so concerned about his weight.
My friend said he looks bigger, but it doesn't make sense if he is bigger and not gaining weight?
At first I thought it was the Hatchling Failure Syndrome, but I'm not sure anymore.
My baby Bulby has the optimum care it needs, I will call it a 'he' lol
Temperature: At the hot spot it's 36C, ambient is about 30C, and the cool spot is about 28C. At night temperature dropped to about 26C.
Hide: It has a hide to sleep right in the middle of the cage
Cage size: The cage is huge which is about 140cm x 70cm,
Lighting: Heat bulb and the coiled UVB, but that UVB is simply a supplement because where I live is tropical, so I bring my baby tortoise to my outside enclosure for about 3 hours in the garden right around 2pm where it gets plenty of sunlight everyday. I don't think UVB is the problem at all because where I am the sun is pretty strong. The enclosure has a big tree which also provides half the area with shades.
Hydration: I bath him in lukewarm water for about 20 minutes every morning when he gets up, he has a tray of water in his enclosure which I can see he is getting in and out of due to the dirt he leaves behind at the end of the day. Plus the humidity here is high which is 70%-80% 24/7, at night it dropped to about 50%
Substrate: his enclosure is half carpet half coco coir which I dampened every morning by spraying
Diet: Watercress, Bak Choy, lots of grass, various weeds in the garden, liquid calcium on salad which he is addicted to, Rep-cal tortoise food ( which I spray with water so it gets softer and has moisture), carrots every weekend, sometimes squash, hisbicus leaves, rose leaves. He avoids anything with mazuri in it so it's quite difficult getting him on that stuff.
Bulby: very active, walks around a lot, eats a lot, but picky towards certain plants and mazuri, it naps from 10am to 2pm and goes out to eat more and goes to sleep about 5:30pm
I already de-wormed him 1.5 months ago, but it doesn't seem to be the problem, I also have never seen any worms in his poop.
His belly button area is soft but it's springy, otherwise other areas of his plastron is hard. 3 days ago I start to see small white patches around his legs and under his neck, but it looks like shedding?
He was born in June ( the pet store said), I got him in mid August and now it's mid December and he is still hovering around 58-60g at 6 months old!
I am really confused. Do you think he will have a growth spurt soon? he doesn't seem to get weakened at all but so concerned about his weight.
My friend said he looks bigger, but it doesn't make sense if he is bigger and not gaining weight?
