Young Sulcata 3-4 Months...possible soft shell

DKampouri

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Oct 22, 2014
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Hey everyone, I recently acquired a young 3 month old sulcata, (possible 4 months by now), but i kept reading that about a soft shell issue where should the shell too soft, the tortoise is a goner..
That being said, i buy organic spring mix, he so far in the 1-2 weeks i've had him, I have fed him lettuce, arugala and something else from the spring mix, in addition to that i have let grounded up timothy which i dont think has gotten in his system too much because he does not like it...only in recently have i began to sprinkle calcium + d3 on his greens...but thats because he gets about 2-4 hours of direct sunshine everyday, 3 of those days were in the screen protected porch so im not sure how much UV he actually got...
but the main concern i have right now is that the sides of his shell when i put pressure, i can feel them able to be pressed in slightly...same with the under side, the top seems hard...but over all the shell seems thin to me...i can't tell if i just noticed this since i got him or this developed in the 1-2 weeks ive had him...what is considered a soft shell?
 

russian/sulcata/tortoise

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hello and welcome to the forum:)! what type of light are you using? what are his cage temp? what is his cage humidity? how often do you soak him? its best to give him as much natural sun as he can get, that will harden up his shell. for his diet he should have grasses, weeds and some lettuces as part of a varied diet. do you have a lawn that doesn't have chemicals on it? if so get a bucket and some scissors and cut some grass up for him. http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/how-to-raise-a-healthy-sulcata-or-leopard-version-2-0.79895/ read this entire care sheet:)
 

DKampouri

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Hey, I have a 60watt bulb, the house is kept around 78, underneath it is around 80-90 during the day, and then i shut it off for the night, I have not been using a UVB light because he goes outside for almost 4 hours a day, and also i live in florida so the humidity outside is consistently over 60. Also every morning he is soaked in about 84 degree water for 30 minutes...and i let him graze on my grass (have not used fertilizer nor pesticides for over 6 months) but its a little tough (the Bermuda grass) that i have in the yard, but he eats the weeds easily. I decided to just plant Bermuda grass in a separate pot so he can chew the younger softer plants. He is very active in the sun, walking back and forth in his cage then passes out for a while. But I put in a wooden wall style thing inside to prevent him from seeing him outside of the cage, and he was able to climb up it vertically...so I dont think he is weak because i thought that was impressive...im just not really sure what is considered a soft shell and what is considered a normal shell for a 3-4 month old sulcata.
 

russian/sulcata/tortoise

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lucky you, living in florida:)! what can the soft shell be compared to? for hatchling there is some give if you press down on there shell a little bit. i would increase the humidity in his cage to about 80%, so that the ground is moist. you seem to be doing good for you baby tort, i think over a little time of all the sun he is getting his shell will harden out:)
 

DKampouri

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Oct 22, 2014
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plastic bin container...maybe a little tougher?? the bottom for sure feels like maybe slightly tougher than the blue plastic glad container tops, same with the lower sides, and consistently gets harder till the top, which is hard and has no give...
 

russian/sulcata/tortoise

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you have only had him for 2 weeks, i think he was kept with out UVB lighting and thats why is shell is so soft. i would say in the next 2 months you will certainly see a change in his shell with all the natural sun he is getting.:)
 

russian/sulcata/tortoise

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i think he's fine:)! i know how you feel, when i just get my baby sulcata i was so worried i wasn't caring for him correctly and there was so much conflicting info! just increase you cage temps and humidity. also feed him lots of grass:)
 

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