Very Slow Growth Rate?

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masxiii

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Hi guys, I have a 3 year old sulcata and i was wondering why he grows so slow. I just came from a reptile convention and they had sulcatas there that were 1ft to 1 1/2ft long and the person told me they were his 5 year olds.

-I mainly feed him lawn grass, 95% and he eats off any weeds and plants that grows from it *i think* 5%
-I have a whole bowl of broken cuttlebone for him in his enclosure that he completely ignores.
-He rarely drinks water, i do soak him, and ill rarely give him romaine if i dont see him drink for a long time mainly so he can rehydrate.

The pyramiding he has i had bought him like that 3 years ago from a store in San Diego called Pet Kingdom in which they fed their torts spring mix salad and mazuri pellets.

-I dont feed him mazuri *cause theres protien*

-No health issues at all, he is very active, very fast tort too as it was hard for me to take pictures without him blurring as i take the shot.

i am confused :>
 

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Fernando

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I was at the same Expo. Sulcata's have different growth rates. Even though Mazuri has a good amount of protein, I wouldn't entirely rule that out just yet. I would suggest doing some research on the product. In fact, click on the link below in my signature and It will take you to the screen where you can research some of the TFO member's findings.
 

Tom

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Hello and welcome. Yours is not all that slow AND he looks pretty good too. There is a lot of misinformation "out there" and even experts that have been doing it for decades, are promoting the same, wrong, outdated info sometimes.

Yours is bigger than a baby, but check out the care sheet on the top of the sulcata page. That's how I like to house them.

Two of the main problems with raising sulcata babies are both due to old, incorrect info. They are: dehydration and protein deficiency. This comes from the mouth of one of the top breeders in the country. I didn't make it up, but I do agree with it 100%. Further, all of my research backs it up completely. Protein does NOT cause pyramiding. Dehydration is a big factor in it though.

If would recommend daily warm soaks and start feeding a little Mazuri a couple time a week, IF you are wanting him to grow faster. The soaks won't hurt anything either way, but while his growth rate is not super fast, its not terrible either. The main thing is his health. If he's eating grass and weeds and getting sunshine, you are probably just fine. He sure looks good!
 

wrmitchell22

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I am new to Torts and have a sulcata also. I have been following Toms caresheet since day one :) Welcome to the forum! Your Sulcata is so adorable!
 

masxiii

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Tom said:
Hello and welcome. Yours is not all that slow AND he looks pretty good too. There is a lot of misinformation "out there" and even experts that have been doing it for decades, are promoting the same, wrong, outdated info sometimes.

Yours is bigger than a baby, but check out the care sheet on the top of the sulcata page. That's how I like to house them.

Two of the main problems with raising sulcata babies are both due to old, incorrect info. They are: dehydration and protein deficiency. This comes from the mouth of one of the top breeders in the country. I didn't make it up, but I do agree with it 100%. Further, all of my research backs it up completely. Protein does NOT cause pyramiding. Dehydration is a big factor in it though.

If would recommend daily warm soaks and start feeding a little Mazuri a couple time a week, IF you are wanting him to grow faster. The soaks won't hurt anything either way, but while his growth rate is not super fast, its not terrible either. The main thing is his health. If he's eating grass and weeds and getting sunshine, you are probably just fine. He sure looks good!


thank you so much tom :>
 

Yvonne G

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Hi Day54:

Welcome to the forum!!

May we know your name and where you are?

If I saw a picture of your sulcata and no story behind the picture, I would guess he was about 5 years old. Did you get him as a hatchling. You said you've had him for 3 years, then you said he was 3 years old. And you said he already had the pyramiding when you got him. So, going by that, I'm sticking with five years old. And he's an ok size for a 5 year old sulcata. Some get big faster than others, but I think yours is right on track.
 

dmarcus

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Hello and welcome to the forum. I have to say, do not rule out Mazuri, up until I joined this forum I had never heard of Mazuri and since I have started feeding my 5 year old Sulcata it in April, he has gone from 24 pounds to 33 pounds as of a few days ago. I was told a lot of bad info and this forum has really help me correct a lot of the misconceptions I had about a lot of things.

Just keep an open mind about everything and know that a lot of the things you may have been told my not be very accurate. The more you ask the more you learn, and it's all great info from actual owners who are always trying to improve the quality of life for tortoises and turtles...
 

masxiii

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emysemys said:
Hi Day54:

Welcome to the forum!!

May we know your name and where you are?

If I saw a picture of your sulcata and no story behind the picture, I would guess he was about 5 years old. Did you get him as a hatchling. You said you've had him for 3 years, then you said he was 3 years old. And you said he already had the pyramiding when you got him. So, going by that, I'm sticking with five years old. And he's an ok size for a 5 year old sulcata. Some get big faster than others, but I think yours is right on track.

Mario, from southern California, i have a picture the day i got him and weighed him, ill post it right, and that would be awesome if he is 5 years old, now that i think about it you can be right, just at the time when i had got him they had 2 left and they told me he was 6 months old, i figured 3 years since my other reptiles are 2 years old and i had the sulcata a year before my other reptiles. maybe i just really overlooked his age since its my first sulcata, so from the 3 years i have had him, its only a 11.7oz difference.

:>



dalano73 said:
Hello and welcome to the forum. I have to say, do not rule out Mazuri, up until I joined this forum I had never heard of Mazuri and since I have started feeding my 5 year old Sulcata it in April, he has gone from 24 pounds to 33 pounds as of a few days ago. I was told a lot of bad info and this forum has really help me correct a lot of the misconceptions I had about a lot of things.

Just keep an open mind about everything and know that a lot of the things you may have been told my not be very accurate. The more you ask the more you learn, and it's all great info from actual owners who are always trying to improve the quality of life for tortoises and turtles...

so mazuri should be fine?

thank you all for your time and the quick responses :>
 

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Jacob

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He Looks Good, Im Sure Hes Not Half as Bad As You Think He Is :)
If He Gets Sun Daily, and Eats Natural Grass and etc, Thats Great, Just Add In Some Muzuri
And a Varied Diet, along With Warm Soaks Daily
 

masxiii

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Jacob said:
He Looks Good, Im Sure Hes Not Half as Bad As You Think He Is :)
If He Gets Sun Daily, and Eats Natural Grass and etc, Thats Great, Just Add In Some Muzuri
And a Varied Diet, along With Warm Soaks Daily

thank you :>
 
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Maggie Cummings

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he looks pretty good, you are doing a good job. He is slightly pyramided but not bad and I'll bet if you added some calcium and protein to his diet he will smooth out...
 

Livingstone

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Just wanted to say that size isn't everything, health and vitality are more important. Im sure there are many sulcata owners that wish there's hadn't grown so fast... Either way, if you decide to add mazuri, make sure you add daily warm water soaks to balance the added protein intake.

Looks like a great lil sully too!!
 

masxiii

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yes he is very healthy, and even tho he is growing slow, the fact he is healthy is the best
 
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