Young sulcata not growing

Josiewa

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I got two baby sulcata’s about 9 months ago, I WAS keeping them together until I found out that it was a no no. I separated them about 7 months into having them. They are both kept outside in Hawaii where the temp is normally 80 during the day and 76ish at night. I take them outside to walk in designated areas in the grass. They both eat grass when they please as well as I feed them 5 days a week either pellets or various vegetables with calcium powder. However one sulcata weighs in at 180g and keeps growing, but the other balances between 50-53g and doesnt have growth rings or has gotten big like the other one. Please help with any suggestions!
 

Crystallynda

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I’m suspecting he’s not getting enough nutrients!! Calcium by itself isn’t enough!
maybe consider getting MinerALL for them and Possibly other vitamins that they may not have be getting! Diet is key!
I’m not sure about the crass they been eating!! If it’s planted by you great..”without chemicals” but I wouldn’t know!!

ima tag someone who knows more about torts! He’ll probably point you into the right direction!! I’m fairly new here myself still!! Learning more each day!!

@Tom
 

Jan A

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I got two baby sulcata’s about 9 months ago, I WAS keeping them together until I found out that it was a no no. I separated them about 7 months into having them. They are both kept outside in Hawaii where the temp is normally 80 during the day and 76ish at night. I take them outside to walk in designated areas in the grass. They both eat grass when they please as well as I feed them 5 days a week either pellets or various vegetables with calcium powder. However one sulcata weighs in at 180g and keeps growing, but the other balances between 50-53g and doesnt have growth rings or has gotten big like the other one. Please help with any suggestions!
I'm a newbie w/o a tort, but baby sulcatas & all baby torts get fed 7 days a week with as much as they'll eat. They also need daily soaks for at least 30 min. where they can soak, drink water, defecate, etc.

@Tom, @Yvonne, & others can be of much more help. Hang in there. Get the latest dated care & feed sheets here on this forum on sulcatas.
 

KarenSoCal

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I'm glad to see that you have already separated them.

I think there could be 2 issues going on here. First, regardless of your wonderful warm climate, baby torts don't do well when kept outside full time. They grow more slowly, and just don't seem to thrive as easily as babies who live in a heated, humid closed chamber. Tom has already been flagged...he can tell you more about this, as he and some other breeders have noticed this for some time.

Second, sadly, some babies just don't do well and never thrive. Usually this is caused by the breeder, who doesn't start the baby correctly. By 'start', I mean the care the hatchling gets as soon as it leaves the egg. If it is kept too dry kidney damage results, which is not reversable. The baby will do OK for a few months, then will die. I think 9 months is a really long time for this to happen, but they usually don't grow much past 50 gms. Again, Tom will have more insight here.

Here is a thread that describes this. I sincerely hope it is not what's wrong with yours.


And here is our caresheet for sullies. Please pay special attention to the humidity requirements. If yours are outside all the time, I suspect they are seriously dry.

 

Josiewa

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Hawaii
I got two baby sulcata’s about 9 months ago, I WAS keeping them together until I found out that it was a no no. I separated them about 7 months into having them. They are both kept outside in Hawaii where the temp is normally 80 during the day and 76ish at night. I take them outside to walk in designated areas in the grass. They both eat grass when they please as well as I feed them 5 days a week either pellets or various vegetables with calcium powder. However one sulcata weighs in at 180g and keeps growing, but the other balances between 50-53g and doesnt have growth rings or has gotten big like the other one. Please help with any suggestions!
Just to add a few more details, they both were kept in inside enclosures for about 5 months before being moved outside. The one that is not growing does eat and appears to have an appetite and poops, but the plastron isn’t as hard as the growing sulcatas plastron.
 

Josiewa

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Hawaii
I'm glad to see that you have already separated them.

I think there could be 2 issues going on here. First, regardless of your wonderful warm climate, baby torts don't do well when kept outside full time. They grow more slowly, and just don't seem to thrive as easily as babies who live in a heated, humid closed chamber. Tom has already been flagged...he can tell you more about this, as he and some other breeders have noticed this for some time.

Second, sadly, some babies just don't do well and never thrive. Usually this is caused by the breeder, who doesn't start the baby correctly. By 'start', I mean the care the hatchling gets as soon as it leaves the egg. If it is kept too dry kidney damage results, which is not reversable. The baby will do OK for a few months, then will die. I think 9 months is a really long time for this to happen, but they usually don't grow much past 50 gms. Again, Tom will have more insight here.

Here is a thread that describes this. I sincerely hope it is not what's wrong with yours.


And here is our caresheet for sullies. Please pay special attention to the humidity requirements. If yours are outside all the time, I suspect they are seriously dry.

I soak their bedding while they’re out in the grass here and there and we have about 70% humidity here during the day. Is there something else I can do to ensure they are not dry?
 

Tom

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Just to add a few more details, they both were kept in inside enclosures for about 5 months before being moved outside. The one that is not growing does eat and appears to have an appetite and poops, but the plastron isn’t as hard as the growing sulcatas plastron.
I think Karen spelled it out perfectly. If you read that first thread she posted, it will explain what is likely happening with your other baby. Almost all breeders start them far too dry. Some babies survive their dry start, and some don't. Lack of growth and stalling right around 50 grams is a tell tale sign. Softening plastron is another. These babies eat, bask, run around and seem totally fine, but they just don't grow. Most of them die between 6 and 12 weeks after purchase, but some of them last 9-12 months before finally expiring.
 

Tom

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I soak their bedding while they’re out in the grass here and there and we have about 70% humidity here during the day. Is there something else I can do to ensure they are not dry?
Move them back inside into large, warm, humid closed chambers until they reach about 8-10 inches. Then move them outside with a heated house. Their house will give them shelter from the rain and keep them warm when temps occasionally dip below 80 at night there. When I've been in HI, the temps sometimes dipped into the high 60s at night. That is too cool for a sulcata. Especially babies.

You can still use the outdoor enclosure during fair weather during the day. My general rule is one hour of outside time per inch of tortoise. Once they are 5-6 inches long, I'll leave them outside all day, weather permitting, and only bring them in at night. In your climate, with all the frequent rain, they should probably have a heated house to retreat to in your frequent rain when they are outside all day.
 

KarenSoCal

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I'm so sorry this is happening with your baby.

But whatever happens, please remember that this is not your fault! The fault lies with the breeder who didn't keep him well enough hydrated.

The damage was done before you got him, and there was nothing you could have done to prevent this.
 

Josiewa

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I'm so sorry this is happening with your baby.

But whatever happens, please remember that this is not your fault! The fault lies with the breeder who didn't keep him well enough hydrated.

The damage was done before you got him, and there was nothing you could have done to prevent this.
I greatly appreciate this! I’m making all the accommodations I can and will just continue to love them. I’ll hope and work for the best!
 

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