I have a sulcata I've had almost a year it still has the shell beak. It hasn't seemed to have grown much in the past year. I was just curious as to what others are feeding theirs and their growth rate as well. I know they all have different growing patterns just wanted to see others stories.
What does his mean? You will want to feed the tort baby a couple of times a day, each time offer the tort a pile that is equal in size to the entire tortoise....if the tort is chowing that down rapidly then adjust to offer a little more until you have the right size for the tort to get full....also, if the tort is allowed to graze on clean grass then that is way beneficial...
I think you need to make some drastic changes to the way you're taking care of your little sulcata. At a year of age he should be way bigger than he is - at least 3 times, maybe 4 times bigger.
Do you see that first scute right behind his head? That is not normal. It was either an injury (burned by the light), or maybe chewed off by a rodent???
I think if you go back and re-read all the care sheets that Tom wrote about taking care of hatchling sulcatas, and make drastic changes in your tortoise-keeping, you can turn this little guy around. Forget everything you 'thought' or was told and start again with a new frame of mind. Read "How to raise a healthy hatchling sulcata". You'll find it at the top of the Sulcata section.
In my opinion, once you get that baby into a humid environment and start feeding him better and soaking him daily, you'll see a very big change in his growth.