Two Sulcatas same clutch but different sizes.

[aejones]

Good afternoon. I have two sulcatas that I got back in October. (2017) Wondering if it’s normal for them to have such a significant size difference. Right now they eat mixed greens, grass that had grown within their enclosure and just introduced Mazuri about a month ago. They are in a large plastic container which I keep them outside majority of the day. In the morning they get natural sun and then covered by shade. Our temps in Texas are 100-105 degrees. At night I bring them in and they stay under their heat lamp. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

 

[TechnoCheese]

It could very well be from bullying. Tortoises, especially territorial species like Sulcatas, should never be kept in pairs. They are solitary animals, and cannot make friends. In pairs, there is always a dominant and a submissive, and both are constantly stressed. The dominant is stressed because it can never get the other out of its territory, and the other is stressed because it’s constantly being bullied. It is very common for there to be a size difference because of this.

Bullying can take the form of “snuggling”(crowding), “following”(chasing), standing on food, constantly being around each other, sitting face to face, etc.

I don’t have a strong connection to internet at the moment so I can’t see the pictures, but assuming they are together, they definitely need to be separated.

 

[daniellenc]

Definitely a case of bullying. The little guy is scared and stressed which effects appetite and digestion. They’re also too young to be in an open table or outdoors for more than a few hours a day. If you read the sulcata threads on here you’ll be steered in the right direction and once you separate these two the little guy will catch up. FYI they’re already pyramiding so reading through this https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/for-those-who-have-a-young-sulcata.76744/
https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/helpful-threads.35317/

 

[vladimir]

See this post for a peek at what the future could look like:

https://tortoiseforum.org/index.php?posts/1475976

 

[Yvonne G]

The size difference you talk about almost certainly is because you have two tortoises together. They just don't do well in pairs. Now if they lived outside in a very large yard, it wouldn't be as important, but in the house in a small enclosure (no matter how large YOU think it is), it almost never works out peacefully.

 

[Big Charlie]

That enclosure is too dry. They need separate covered enclosures.

 

[TechnoCheese]

Please give all of these a read-
How To Raise A Healthy Sulcata Or Leopard, Version 2.0 https://tortoiseforum.org/index.php...ealthy-Sulcata-Or-Leopard,-Version-2.0.79895/
For Those Who Have a Young Sulcata... https://tortoiseforum.org/index.php?threads/For-Those-Who-Have-a-Young-Sulcata....76744/
Beginner Mistakes https://tortoiseforum.org/index.php?threads/Beginner-Mistakes.45180/