I everyone! I'm am very sad and distraught right now. I think that nucky has fallen ill. He is a very young sulcata tortoise and I have had him since December. I think he may be calcium deficient. His shell seems very soft although is not caved in. He is very sluggish and not moving around much.
Since I've had him, he gets regular soakings twice a week. A calcium powder twice a week ( which he never ate much of it seems). When I got him all he wanted to eat was lettuce ( different types, but still not nutritious). I have introduced him to grassland tortoise food ( compacted grasses) collard greens, tomatoes, green peppers , cucmber, and he also has timothy hay too. He did not like to eat much of anything else but the stinkin lettuces. He is in an enclosure with a heat lamp, 10.0 reptiglo UVB bulb and calci-sand. Avg temp on the cool side is 87F. He has a log for a house and a shallow water dish.
For the past five days I have tried giving him repti-aid electrolyes but it is very difficult as he is quite small.
I did not intentionally harm him in any way. I'm afraid I am just too new at this and am thinking he's been not up to par since before he came to me. I will try anything and everything I can to save him. Any suggestions from all of you is greatly appreciated. I do have a vet in my area but did not know if they could do anything at this point or not. Thanks in advance for the help and thanks for taking the time to read my story. - nuckysmom

Hi Nuckysmom, welcome to the forum! No one here is going to think you would intentionally harm your tortoise, so don't worry about that and ask away! We are all learning here. The important thing is you're here now trying to learn.

I don't know much about sulcatas, you may want to head on over to the sulcata section of the forum, there are a few posts made by Tom that are very helpful. I do know calci-sand is not a good substrate, sometimes they eat it and it can cause intestinal obstructions. Is the uvb bulb you are using the coil kind?

I can't help you with the temperatures, I'll leave that up to sulcata keepers. Good Luck!

If you are lucky enough to have a vet close by who specializes and reptiles, I would go ahead and take him in.

Agreed! It's easy to feel like we contributed when something goes wrong, regardless of our best and informed intentions. How old is very young? Do you know his weight and length? He's been this way for 5 days. Has he pooped at all during this time? I also agree that his substrate needs changing. A lot prefer coco coir as it holds humidity for much needed moisture. How has he been eating these 5 days? Is he on organic lettuces?

Welcome!

Hello and welcome..first of all..get rid of the sand, your temps need to be increased. Also how old is your tort? You may need to be soaking more. Does he have a bubbly nose? Runny nose? Has he pooped? Have you noticed anything in his poop? There is no nutritional value in lettuce. Have you tried other types of lettuce? Red lettuce, romain, collard greens, etc? Grasses? Mazuri?

Hello and welcome! You will get great advice here, stick with this forum.
Hope he will recover soon.

Hi! I wish you were here for a better reason. Don't worry about the past, instead concentrate on doing all you can in the now. I have a feeling if your thinking he is really soft, he probably is. I think seeing a Vet would be a good idea. Meanwhile, can you get him out for some real sunshine? Even if just for a few minutes a day, it will help. Do you just put his calcium powder on top of his food or mixed in so he has to eat it? I would cut out the tomatoes and cucumber from the diet. Have you tried feeding any weeds, grape leaves, mulberry leaves, cactus (just to name a few items)? When you add new food, do you cut all the food small and then mix it well? You mentioned the cool temps, but what is the high spot?

Check out all of Tom's stuff! But in brief...substrate to the coconut fiber stuff and daily soaks perhaps? From what I have read it is almost impossible for a Sulcata to get shell rot. Is it possible to get some outside sun time? I soak my guys in warm water one hour a day in the direct sun. Helps the water stay warm longer and they get the sun the need. Plus, I always know who poops enough! I'm just a beginner at this tortoise thing but I have been doing TONS of reading on here! My guys (or girls) seem to be doing good so far.

Hi, and welcome. If I am seeing correctly, I think the photo of your tort is a sulcata. Don't know when or where you got him, but I would first take the tort to a vet. Even if he's not an expert on reptiles, poop sample can reveal if the tort has worms or other intestinal infection. Also, x-rays can also tell if your tort is not developing correctly, of if he may be having some bone disease. Then, you can check into an expert vet on reptiles and show him copies of the x-rays and take it from there. Also, take the suggestions of others here to change your substrate and foods. If your tort won't eat calcium powder in his foods, try giving it in his soaks. Literally put the powder and baby food (squash or pumpkin) into warm water and have your tort sit in it for at least 20 minutes, if not longer. Two or three soaks a day is better than one. Most importantly, get that tort into some real sun for at least one hour a day. I hope all goes well for you and your baby.

Hope your tort gets well soon! Lost of good advice from this form. Get all you can!

-Drew

Thanks a million for all the ideas and advice! I'm going to change around a few things and post an update soon.
Also, made an appointment with the vet for this tuesday just to be safe. ( that was the soonest appointment I could get ). Thanks again, and I'll keep you posted!

Welcome hope all goes well

As of 9pm tonight , nucky has passed away. He is limp and unresponsive. Last night I thought he was coming around. Walking around, eating a little bit, ect... But to no avail. My poor baby is gone. I wish I couldve gotten to the vet sooner so at least I might have known the problem.
RIP Nucky.

That's pretty bad news, Randi. I'm so sorry this happened.