Sick Sulcata!

[BrittanyMac15]

Hi! My 3 year old sulcata has recently become very lethargic. He will only eat if I put him in front of his food and he no longer goes in his water dish to take a dip or drink. He has been this way for about a month. He does eat if I move him to his dish. He also looks as though his shell is too heavy for his body. He sleeps a lot and doesn't do too much walking. Any ideas? Should I take him to a vet?

 

[russian/sulcata/tortoise]

Welcome to the forum! We need a bit more info. What's his enclosure day time temps and night time temps? What's his diet? How big is his enclosure? Is he regularly soaked? Pictures of the tortoise and his enclosure will be very helpful.

 

[dmmj]

honestly I would take him to a vet changes in a tortoises behavior like that should always be checked out

 

[BrittanyMac15]

Not exactly sure about the temps. Do not have a thermometer in his tank. But he does have a UV light on 24 hours a day and is next to a window. His enclosure size is a 60 gal tank. He usually eats leafy greens like romaine. He occasionally eats fruits and veggies but doesn't really like them. I just found out about the soaking and have done it today and he showed a little bit of a difference. I will be doing it regularly.

 

[BrittanyMac15]

 

[russian/sulcata/tortoise]

there is many things very wrong with the care you have been giving you're sulcata. Sulcatas main part of there diet should be grasses and weeds, no fruit should be given to sulcatas. The enclosure should be a lot larger, he should spend most of his time outside grazing. In the wild sulcatas dig very deep underground to create there own little humid microclimate, you're sulcatas enclosure humidity should be at 80%. sulcatas can not properly digest food if the temp is lower than 80, they need a basking spot temp of 95. baby sulcatas should be soaked everyday in warm water for 20 minutes to prevent pyramiding. if you have any questions please ask. read these. http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/how-to-raise-a-healthy-sulcata-or-leopard-version-2-0.79895/
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/sulcata-diet-sheet.64290/

 

[BrittanyMac15]

Thank you for your response. My only concern is that he is still small. Also, we live in Texas and there are a lot of bugs and ants in our yard. I can definitely build and fence off an area for him, but I'm concerned ants will get to him. I will also get a thermometer and make sure the temp stays hot enough for him.

 

[Tom]

Your tortoise is likely dying of a combination of malnutrition, metabolic bone disease and chronic dehydration.

I'm sorry that you got bad advice and never took the time to learn better. I'm most sorry that this poor tortoise has not gotten the correct care for all these years and is now suffering horribly for it.

A good tortoise vet might be able to save it.

 

[BrittanyMac15]

My tortoise was actually doing very well for the past 2.5 years. He used to climb his log regularly ( which drove me crazy ) and would always go into his water bowl and sit in there for a while. He was also very active when we would let him run around outside. We talked to a person at the reptile store about diets and foods, and he told us to feed him greens, veggies and said his liked strawberries. Unfortunately, I thought a person who specializes in reptiles was right. In the last 3 months we have noticed a significant decline in his activity.

The websites that I looked at pretty much told me to get a bigger tank, (which I did ), a better lamp (which i did ) and mix up his diet ( which i did ). I only recently found this particular forum. So please don't bash me for listening to people I THOUGHT were telling me a good way to raise my tortoise. I never had any reason to doubt the advice, because he was a happy and active tortoise.

 

[Bogie=babyDINO]

I'm very sorry to hear your tortoise is sick. And I'm very sorry to hear you were given wrong information. It's very frustrating and upsetting when you are trying to do what it best for your pet only to later find out it's not. The good thing is you have found this forum!! There are people here that have the best updated information on sulcatas. Now I would probably take him to a vet and start reading all about sulcatas on here. I wouldn't trust any other site. There are people here that have evidence to back up there methods on raising sulcatas. Smooth shells are the goal! Toms method is the best and his care sheets give you everything you need to know!! You can make your torts life healthier and happier if he makes it out of this sickness. Best of luck!! Please keep up your research!!

 

[ILoveTorts&Gerbils]

If you haven't already, you need to get a thermometer and hygrometer. The people here can help you if you provide more information!

 

[BrittanyMac15]

Ok, after reading all of this...i need major help. I need to change the bark in the tank to what? and how do you guys get the humidity in the tank? I'm starting from scratch and want to correct all of the wrong things i have been doing. I am very wary about going back to a reptile store to get things required for this (because they are the ones that told me all of the wrong things. Does anybody have any thoughts or ideas on how to completely change my tortoise habitat? Also, I will be building an outdoor boxed area for outside, any thoughts on that as well?

 

[BrittanyMac15]

I just purchased peat moss and coconut husk for bedding. I also a calcium turtle block for him to chew on. I put him in a small kiddie pool and have him outside. We will build him an enclosed spot, but for now all I have is the tree bark dome. I also have a small water dish for him. Am I getting off to the right start?? Any advice is greatly appreciated!!

 

[Bogie=babyDINO]

Yay good job! You are off to the right start but still have a long way to go so don't give up. I would soak him 2 to 3 times a day for 20min in warm water till he starts feeling better. He needs to be hydrated most importantly!! 3 things to focus on would be 1 hydrating him, cannot stress humidity enough!! 2 temperature (uva and uvb light also) and 3 food! You don't want a lot of protein. So fruits and vegis are out unless really dark leafy green vegis. Weeds and grass is what you need to get him used to. Be prepared he might not like it at first. You can mix it into his food he likes and slowly add more and more. And If he doesn't chew on his block you can crush it up into powder and mix it with his food couple times a week. When it comes to the enclosure you want to put him in, I would advice making it a closed chamber because it keeps in the heat and humidity and it's super easy to adjust. But before you start messing with lights you need a thermometer so you don't cook or freeze him. Temps are very important to their health. There are a lot of ideas on this forum for closed chambers! Keep up the good work. Your tort is going to be so happy and his health is going to improve immensely! Remember these guys can live for 100+years! Your tort is only a few years old better late then never

 

[BrittanyMac15]

Thank you! I will definitely start soaking him. I soaked him today in warm water...but when i came back 15 mins later...the water was cold. Is there something you do to maintain warm water the entire 20 mins? Or just keep adding warm water? Also, what kind of grass and weeds do you feed? I will start mashing up his block and sprinkling it on his food for now and leave half the block in there. How do you maintain humidity in his enclosure? I moved his tank to the garage for nighttime, because it is much warmer...and will leave him outside in the pool when I am home during the day.

 

[Robertchrisroph]

Hi Brittany. Welcome to the forum. I see you meet Tom. Lol. He is a sulcata expert and others. He only wants what is best for the tort, please and thank you to stick around and learn. This is a wonderful place. Again welcome

 

[Lyn W]

Hi and welcome, I don't think anyone has mentioned this but your uv light should only be on in the day not 24hours as torts need darkness to sleep. Red bulbs are not great as torts see colour and it confuses them. Coiled or looped CFL bulbs can damage the torts eyes.
I use an MVB which gives heat light and uv tays in one bulb. For the night you could use a CHE on a thermostat to keep temps even - it just gives heat (no light) But check the temps as advised.
I hope he gets better soon.

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi Brittany:

I think the main problem is lack of sunshine. If it's at all possible, you should get this tortoise set up outside ASAP.

When you said you felt the shell was too heavy for his body it gives me the idea that he may be suffering from Metabolic Bone Disease. It creeps up on them. They act fine for a long time then all of a sudden they go downhill quickly. It is painful and that's why lately you've noticed he doesn't want to move.

It is imperative he gets real sunshine and calcium-rich foods. Here's what one of our members (a vet) says about calcium:

"If the tortoises are in a correct diet, there likely is no need for supplementation. Remember that calcium is absorbed through the gut due to the mechanism of Sunshine Vit D7>D3> 1,25 dhydroxycholecalciferol, with this pathway. Bottom line is UV is responsible for correct absorption of calcium. If you supplement w/ calcium and there is no natural or synthetic UV. The calcium will not be absorbed."

So, you see, it is very important that the tortoise gets sunshine along with the calcium.

 

[BrittanyMac15]

Thank you soo much everybody for the input! It is definitely noted and has been improved. I will replace the bulb ASAP! We have moved his tank to the garage ( we live in Houston ) so it stays warm and humid in there. Also, he has shown major improvement being in the pool outside. He did a few laps around it and seems to really be improving. I know this is still a process, but we are working it out. After talking to my husband, we may try to find other arrangements for Speedy. I am so sad that we have been negligent have gotten such bad advice. I am the biggest animal lover and feel horrible for the conditions he has been in. Until we come up with a better solution we will keep up with doing what we are doing.

Thank you again for all of the advice! I am extremely thankful to have found such a great forum!

 

[ILoveTorts&Gerbils]

With the humidity, what do you keep him in? Whilst tortoise tables are preferable to vivs, they may need a plexiglass lid. Spray the substrate lightly several times a day and get that hygrometer.