Sulcata not growing enough? Care advice?

Netflix

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i have 2 Sulcatas from a breeder they are now 1 year old and one is way bigger then the other one.... is this normal?

I keep them in a big wood terrarium 4 ft x 4 ft. The terrarium is very hot during day its 92f and at night 88f because I know they come from the desert. I feed them both the same amount of salads and fruit but one of them is not really growing...
I keep them like the breeder told me to but since one is not growing I'm not really sure if the breeder gave me the correct infos... I also don't know how much water they need. The breeder told me to give them water once a week but shouldn't they have it daily so they can choose?

Can someone give me some help or useful links? I'm sorry I'm not very experienced.
 

Tom

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I'm glad you found us, and soon your tortoises will be too. There is a lot of bad advice out in the world for this species, and like almost everyone else, you found it. This is not your fault.

They should never be housed in pairs. This is a really bad deal for both of them and they need to be separated ASAP.

They are NOT from the desert. They come from grassland and forest edge areas. You need a lot of annual rain fall to sustain grasslands and forests. Not a desert at all. Babies hatch at the start of the monsoon season when it is rainy, hot, and humid.

They should never be fed fruit, and lettuce isn't great either. The care sheet I will link will have the correct feeding info for you.

They should be housed in high humidity, with damp substrate, and there should be a large shallow water bowl available 24/7. You should also be soaking babies daily. At one year old they should not need daily soaks, but a few times a week is still good.

Most breeders do it all wrong. They learned the wrong info years ago and have never found the right info.

Here is the correct care info:

Questions are welcome.
 

Netflix

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Location (City and/or State)
Michigan
I'm glad you found us, and soon your tortoises will be too. There is a lot of bad advice out in the world for this species, and like almost everyone else, you found it. This is not your fault.

They should never be housed in pairs. This is a really bad deal for both of them and they need to be separated ASAP.

They are NOT from the desert. They come from grassland and forest edge areas. You need a lot of annual rain fall to sustain grasslands and forests. Not a desert at all. Babies hatch at the start of the monsoon season when it is rainy, hot, and humid.

They should never be fed fruit, and lettuce isn't great either. The care sheet I will link will have the correct feeding info for you.

They should be housed in high humidity, with damp substrate, and there should be a large shallow water bowl available 24/7. You should also be soaking babies daily. At one year old they should not need daily soaks, but a few times a week is still good.

Most breeders do it all wrong. They learned the wrong info years ago and have never found the right info.

Here is the correct care info:

Questions are welcome.
Thank you for all this help and the care sheet! I will make changes directly
They are now separated and in plastic containers so I can keep them with a lid and more humidity. I need to read it a few more times to get everything right but thank u so much I will post pictures when I'm done
 

Yvonne G

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I wanted to explain a little more about Tom's pairs comment - since tortoises are solitary, and not herd type animals, they neither want nor need another tortoise in their territory. When you put two tortoises together in a territory with fixed boundaries you will end up with a dominant who will claim the territory. He constantly tells the other tortoise to get the heck out of his territory, but since the boundaries are fixed (the walls of the enclosure), the other tortoise can't get away. This constant harassment (which is usually not visible to the keeper) is very stressful for both of them, and most often causes the less dominant animal to not grow as big as the other animal.

Like I said, bullying is usually mental and you can't see it, but a couple thing you CAN see are sleeping in the same spot together, sitting on the food, "cuddling", head bobbing, mounting.
 

Netflix

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Location (City and/or State)
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I wanted to explain a little more about Tom's pairs comment - since tortoises are solitary, and not herd type animals, they neither want nor need another tortoise in their territory. When you put two tortoises together in a territory with fixed boundaries you will end up with a dominant who will claim the territory. He constantly tells the other tortoise to get the heck out of his territory, but since the boundaries are fixed (the walls of the enclosure), the other tortoise can't get away. This constant harassment (which is usually not visible to the keeper) is very stressful for both of them, and most often causes the less dominant animal to not grow as big as the other animal.

Like I said, bullying is usually mental and you can't see it, but a couple thing you CAN see are sleeping in the same spot together, sitting on the food, "cuddling", head bobbing, mounting.
This is good to know... the breeder said I need to buy 2 or they will get lonely guess he just wanted to get more money.....
 

Jan A

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This is good to know... the breeder said I need to buy 2 or they will get lonely guess he just wanted to get more money.....
Yeah, imagine that!! Welcome to the forum. I'm so glad you found the forum. There are good people here & lots to read. Don't be shy & ask away with questions. We love photos!!
 

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