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no, it fell off. it isnt burnt thats just a little extra food. it FELL off. what should i do!
sulcatas sick :(
- Thread starter antonio650
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Well the vet is not an option, but if he is eating and defecating normally and drinking water then he should be fine, the beak is growing everyday and it should be healthy soon
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it grows. but it does not grow right. it grows downward and it not growing upwards and sharp. i have to cut it sometimes or it grows too far down. how do i get it to grow up?
and it has been growing deformed for over a year. i am at a loss for how to make it grow to a normal beak
and it has been growing deformed for over a year. i am at a loss for how to make it grow to a normal beak
your husbandry might be part of the problem... he is pyramided, and probably has a deficiency of some sort.. what is the regular diet? he is small.... how much does he eat? warm? water? sunshine?
antonio650 said:
Hmm tough one im stumped on how to make it grow back the correct way, maybe something is impeding it from growing correctly or maybe it just wants to grow that way though i hope its just a temporary problem, btw i have told that heating rocks are extremely bad, but i dont know if its the same with heating pads, ill look for a solution here, and does he use a coil light bulb or a regular bulb?
Laura said:
Yea this too but hes new and at its good hes come here for help
i wouldve had crazy pyramided tortoises if it werent for this site lol so i dont blame him for not knowing- Joined
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i keep him in a cement mixer. i feed him grassland tortoise food, carrots, broccoli, lettuce, and cactus with a calcium supplement on top about 3 days a week. he has a heating pad which is under the substrate (coconut coir bricks). i have a uv bulb that runs 12 hours as well as the regular heating bulb that runs 12 hours. the heating pad always runs. he has recently been getting lots of sunlight. he has a shelter and a rock that he can climb up on and sunbathe. it is about a 4 foot long a 2 foot wide box he is in. any ideas or any tips?
can anybody just tell me the ideal diet for a sulcata, the ideal enclosure and temps. and the ideal way to raise them. he is a little smaller then the size of my palm and he is a little over 1 1/2 years old. is this a normal size?
can anybody just tell me the ideal diet for a sulcata, the ideal enclosure and temps. and the ideal way to raise them. he is a little smaller then the size of my palm and he is a little over 1 1/2 years old. is this a normal size?
antonio650 said:
To me that doesnt sound all that bad at all, the food might be bad though, broccoli has too much protein that causes pyramiding and idk a carrots or the grassland diet, but ive seen people say they use the grassland diet and sometimes carrots so its probably good, too much veggies i dont think theyre good, and well if i were you i would let the beak grow and let the bad stuff grow out, eventually it should grow in right and that might take a while. as long as it eats and drinks water and defecates daily then you have nothing to worry about bud
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he is a little bit smaller then my palm and he is about 1 1/2 years old. is that a good size for a sulcata of that age?
I hope someone here comes along that can help you and this poor little one.
He is quite small for that age.
He is quite small for that age.
antonio650 said:
I have one who is 1 year old and is still not bigger than my palm and you look like a bigger guy so you might have big hands like me and it will still look small, it could be female also and even though its still small it could be that its just a small one lol
In addition to his beck, I also think he's a bit small for being 1 1/2 years old. You say you soak him 2-3 times a week. I would soak him daily, perhaps even two times a day. In one of his warm soaks, I would put powder calcium and a jar of squash baby food. Let him soak in it for 30 minutes. Also, there's nothing like letting your tort get direct sunlight--not through a window, but outside daily, if possible. That will help him absorb the calcium; otherwise, feeding him calcium would be of no use w/o uv lights or direct sunlight. Concerning the beak, I would get to a vet who handles torts asap. Your tort is probably not eating enough because of this problem. Keep us posted.
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he eats fine it just sucks that i have to chop his food up everyday, but i am willing to do it. is there a way i can make him grow? he gets a TON of sunligh on the weekends and about 30 - 60 minutes during the weekday. what would the calcium and the squash baby food do?
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Did you say the toenails are deformed? Or is it just the beak?
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the toenails on its right foot are crooked. and its beak is deformed
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This is absolutely heartbreaking to see..
I hope someone on here can give you a sure answer..
I hope someone on here can give you a sure answer..
I don't know sulcatas so I can't help unfortunately. But I do wanna say thank you. Really. Thank you for caring so much about your little buddy. A lot of animals are discarded for much less. It shows great character that you're willing to do what it takes to make sure he can eat without too much discomfort.
I don't doubt that you know he needs to see a vet. I don't know where you live but me in Canada, a vet visit is only $64, not too expensive and oh so worth it. At the very least it'll give you an idea as to where to go from here. So he eats and goes to the bathroom, that's good, very good, I think you both have good chances of seeing the light at the end of the tunnel.
Good luck to you and keep us updated, we do care and are all hoping for a full recovery.
I don't doubt that you know he needs to see a vet. I don't know where you live but me in Canada, a vet visit is only $64, not too expensive and oh so worth it. At the very least it'll give you an idea as to where to go from here. So he eats and goes to the bathroom, that's good, very good, I think you both have good chances of seeing the light at the end of the tunnel.
Good luck to you and keep us updated, we do care and are all hoping for a full recovery.
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diaboliqueturtle said:
:,)
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How long have you had the tortoise? And when you picked it up did it have any of these signs or has this all happened since you have had the tortoise? Did the beak fall off in one go or could you see the beak detaching over time? What colour would you say is the skin just back from where the beak would have been and the colour if the all over skin generally? There is a reason for these questions so as much info would be great
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I have had the tortoise 1 year and 7 months. When I got him he had a beak and seemed to be healthy. I didn't really notice the beak falling off. I just checked him one morning and it was totally off. A few weeks after was when his bottom beak fell off. The skin on his head is a light tannish color almost like a very lit brown. His beak is deformed and his head is all the same color. I hope that answered your questions
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From the housing point of view you have is not bad at all and would not cause in my opinion this to happen unless without seeing it for myself the cleanliness of it could be an issue harbouring mould etc within the substrate it sounds like a blood disorder/ infection as it is attacking the nails aswell the same as we get fungal infections in our nails etc... The calcium intake will need to be higher at the moment but blood could be carrying something which would need testing and is not too costly!! Otherwise you will start to get other deformities due to having to walk differently having the tie nails distorted which will lead to deformed legs as the tortoise is still young and growing and the tortoise will feed tilting the head in different angles to compensate for no beak this could lead to a habbit the tortoise will get as he will learn this is the way to eat if the blood supply can be sorted the beak and nails will start to grow they are getting deformed from the blood supply not being good enough the same as if you damage a finger nail it will re grow if you are healthy and fit but if you say he has had no accident it can not be damaged from the nail bed so the blood supply is what needs sorting if you leave this and the platelets are not right in the blood it can lead to other problems years later attacking the organs it could have all led from a fungal infection that you may have not even seen and as it was in the housing it has affected all the nails and beak the same as if we get a nail infection it spreads! The beak will be first as he eats and the mouth contains an open blood supply when he opens it to eat the tie nails will take longer my advice is to clean all the housing using a veto nary disinfectant not bleach! And just simply place newspaper in the house and change it everyday soak the tortoise in f10 so he drinks the fluid and it will also clean any infection and take him to the vet and just ask for bloods let the tortoise go in the garden as much as possible but hose it down the area he walks on as you should not keep tortoises on paper for too long it causes their legs to work harder as they can't grip but this will be fine for a few months wash all food and clean everything thoroughly using f10 or a veto nary disinfectant do not clean using washing liquid we use or dishwashers hope this helps
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