"Runt" Sulcata

Joey B.

New Member
Joined
Jan 16, 2016
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16
Location (City and/or State)
Raleigh, NC
I recently got a little leopard tortoise that I've just fallen in love with. But, if truth be told, what I really wanted was a sulcata. But, their eventual size & fast growth convinced me that I probably wasn't ready for that just yet. A breeder that many of you are familiar with (I won't name them) has an ivory sulcata that hatched last year and he's still only about 50 grams. He says he's in perfect health, he's active, friendly & eats like a champ. He's just tiny, with no real explanation why. I'm seriously thinking of getting this little guy, mostly because I'm assuming he'll continue to grow slow &/or he's just going to be a smaller than usual sulcata. I've seen some posts where people have them that are several years old and they're still pretty small.

Does anyone have any advice or input here? Other than the usual requirements, is there anything else I can do (maybe a slight change to his diet) to maybe help him grow just a little faster?

Thanks in advance.

image8.jpg
 

Tom

The Dog Trainer
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Jan 9, 2010
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I bought ivories from a well known breeder and they didn't grow because they had reptile cryptosporidia. It is very difficult to diagnose in a live animal, highly contagious and there is no treatment or cure. Many tortoises don't die from it but just continually shed the disease so everything around them gets it.

I wouldn't accept that tortoise if someone paid ME $1000 to take it. No thank you.
 

Joey B.

New Member
Joined
Jan 16, 2016
Messages
16
Location (City and/or State)
Raleigh, NC
Ok, there was a slight miscommunication with the seller (probably on my end). When he said he had one left over from "last year" I assumed he meant last year around this time. This one actually hatched around Dec. 1st. So, he's small, but not quite as super tiny as I originally thought.
 

Tom

The Dog Trainer
10 Year Member!
Platinum Tortoise Club
Joined
Jan 9, 2010
Messages
63,264
Location (City and/or State)
Southern California
Ok, there was a slight miscommunication with the seller (probably on my end). When he said he had one left over from "last year" I assumed he meant last year around this time. This one actually hatched around Dec. 1st. So, he's small, but not quite as super tiny as I originally thought.
They should hit 50 grams in their first month of life. By 7 months old, a well raised sulcata should be around 400-500 grams. Even a slow grower with a dry start should be 200-300. Something is wrong with that one.
 
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