Shelly

[nrfitchett4]

Shelly is our new sulcata tortoise. It was purchased from a breeder in Waxahachie, Tx. He also seems to rescue torts as well. His adults were real beaut's, perfectly smooth shells.
Right now shelly is hanging out in a sterilite tub with moist top soil and hay. Only one hide so far, but more coming. Feeding the same thing that the ig eats at the moment (walmart didn't have spring mix, will try HEB tomorrow), which is a mix of collards, acorn squash, green beans, parsnips and mango. so far we haven't seen it eat. Will start soaking in baby food tomorrow. Also has a water dish, uvb bulb and a basking light.
I will post pics when I get some.

 

[tortoisenerd]

Hi! Congrats on the new tort. There are some great threads in the Sulcata forum to get you started and hopefully you'll get some advice soon.

The spring mix sounds really good--it's tort friendly and easy for the owner...not sure if the tort would like anything you put out so far (or if they are the best choices besides the collards). To bad Walmart didn't have it--it's usually pretty easy to find at the Supermarket and even Costco carries a cheap tub of organic. Best wishes.

 

[Yvonne G]

Go easy on the mango. Sulcatas shouldn't have too much fruit. Any kind of greens you buy in the produce store would be ok...turnip greens, mustard greens, raddiccio, escarole, endive, even a bit of romaine and red/green leaf lettuce. Its always a good idea, when buying a new baby and you KNOW the breeder, to ask what the baby is used to eating. Sometimes they don't recognize that what you are offering is "food" because they're not used to seeing that type of food. And sometimes it just takes a couple days for the new baby to settle in.

Yvonne

 

[nrfitchett4]

Go easy on the mango. Sulcatas shouldn't have too much fruit. Any kind of greens you buy in the produce store would be ok...turnip greens, mustard greens, raddiccio, escarole, endive, even a bit of romaine and red/green leaf lettuce. Its always a good idea, when buying a new baby and you KNOW the breeder, to ask what the baby is used to eating. Sometimes they don't recognize that what you are offering is "food" because they're not used to seeing that type of food. And sometimes it just takes a couple days for the new baby to settle in.

Yvonne

there is very little actual mango in it. there were only 2 mangos put into the whole mixture that made about 5lbs of food. it is only temp. due to the fact walmart didn't have any spring mix and I hadn't slept in 24 hours. I gave it mostly collards, just a sprinkle of the other salad, with vitamins sprinkled on.
Thanks for the welcome. I'll call the breeder if he's still not eating by the end of the week.

 

[Maggie Cummings]

Welcome to the forum...If your baby goes too many days without eating the organs start to shut down, so we don't want that to happen. I hope you can get the Spring Mix as it is really delectable to small tortoises...

 

[Crazy1]

nrfitchett4 and Shelly welcome to the forum.

 

[nrfitchett4]

gave shelly some spring mix this morning, still doesn't look like it has eaten. Went ahead and soaked in baby food this afternoon. Placed it back in the food dish, 5 minutes later shelly was walking around, so put it back in the food dish, I will keep trying.

---

Oh, and it wasn't spring mix that I bought, the version HEB had was mostly lettuces. I bought this other mix, called field mix, that was a mix of romaine, radichio, endive, carrots and something else.

 

[Crazy1]

nrfitchett4, can you tell us what your temps are in your enclosure? Under the basking light and in the cooler area? Sometimes if the temps are not right they will not eat.

 

[nrfitchett4]

between 75-80 on the cool side and 90-97 on the warm side.

 

[tortoisenerd]

gave shelly some spring mix this morning, still doesn't look like it has eaten. Went ahead and soaked in baby food this afternoon. Placed it back in the food dish, 5 minutes later shelly was walking around, so put it back in the food dish, I will keep trying.

---

Oh, and it wasn't spring mix that I bought, the version HEB had was mostly lettuces. I bought this other mix, called field mix, that was a mix of romaine, radichio, endive, carrots and something else.

---

Are you putting the hatchling in front of the food, and if she walks away, putting her back a few times? Not sure if you meant the spring mix or the tort! My little guy can walk away from the food, then if I put him back he'll happily munch away like he didn't remember that first time...silly tort.

That field mix sounds fine.

 

[nrfitchett4]

I have been placing her right in the food dish, if she moves, putting her back in. I'll keep trying while soaking with sweet potatoes.

 

[nrfitchett4]

well, it looks like shelly ate some field mix today, not completely sure, but there seemed to be a lot less there this afternoon. I went ahead and soaked her in sweet potatoes again just in case.
I took her outside in the sun for about 20-30 minutes this afternoon. It was a little cool, but I figured the sun would do her good.
She still seems very active all over her enclosure, so I think she'll be ok.

 

[tortoisenerd]

Sounds great. When I was worried about my tort eating I used to count the spring mix leaves as it was easier to tell when I got home (and they were dried up) what was actually eaten. A little peace of mind. Glad she got some sun and is being active!

 

[nrfitchett4]

just an update on shelly. eating like a champ on the field mix (romaine, radichio, carrots, endive and frise). Just got the mazuri in the mail I bought on ebay. Shelly won't touch it so far. Should be ordering some seeds from that carolina place online sometime next week.
Shelly seems to be really friendly, doesn't hide in her shell or seem to be shy eating or any other time. Seems to like to poop on my wife. We measured her today and she measured 2.5 inches across the back shell (straight line, not curving with the shell), 2.25 inches on the underside and 49 grams. Do these seem about right? After the first couple days of not eating, she seems to really have "come out of her shell"!
One question, when she does get spooked and hides, she squeaks? Is this fairly normal? she didn't do it in the beginning, just since the one day my wife found her upside down. We are not sure how long she was upside down, not more than 30-60 minutes.

 

[TKCARDANDCOIN]

I dont know about the squeaking noise but when we got our sulcata approx 5 years ago we would find her on her back all the time!Thats why we named her "FLIPPER".Good luck with your little one,tom.

 

[dcoolguy68]

My little Michaelangelo was flipped over for more than an hour and he was still alive. I soaked him right after though so he doesnt get dehydrated lol. Usually he'd be able to flip himself back over but I guess the ground was flat he wasn't able to.

 

[tortoisenerd]

Is it a hissing noise? When torts retract into their shells (usually when scared), the air exhaling fast makes a strange noise. You mostly have to be concerned about the tort being upside down in water or under a heat lamp. Having straight sides on the hides, and other precautions on cage furnishings can diminish the chances of flipping over. But, nothing to climb on is most important around the heat and water sources.

As for growth...I'm not sure. For Testudo torts there is the Jackson Ratio, but I'm not aware of anything for Sulcatas. If you are used to looking at other hatchling photos you can get an idea of if your tort looks healthy...rolls of fat, etc, are bad. Sounds about right though. I have a Russian hatchling at the same weight and a little shorter. The shells vary by species though so you can't directly compare.

 

[nrfitchett4]

No, he used to hiss when he squeezed back into his shell, now it is a squeak. Guess if he shows any other signs of trouble, off to vet we will go.

 

[nrfitchett4]

shelly is now up to 54 grams (from 49 grams 1 month ago). She can eat way more than it looks like she should be able to. She has also become quite the little adventurer, almost escaping a couple of times.
by the way, the sulcata grass seed mix that I planted on thur. afternoon was already sprouting some on sunday. Now let's see if she will eat it!!!