1.5 yr old sulcatas not eating

[Dash+Lightning]

Hello!

I've been reading through so many helpful posts in this site but every situation is different so I figured I would ask for specific advice:

I have 2 one and a half year old sulcatas (Dash and Lightning). They usually eat a lot, are always moving around, love going outside, etc.

A little over a week ago they stopped eating almost completely and are extremely lethargic. They sleep almost all day and seem like they're even having trouble moving around when they try to.

Details:
Soaked 2× weekly in warm water
~90° basking spot
3'×4' enclosure
Room kept at least 70
Diet - mainly organic spring mix (I try to branch out but they're super picky...)
Have been really healthy and active up until last week


Any advice would be greatly appreciated!!

Thank you

 

[Maro2Bear]

Try to upload a pix of your enclosure. Are you keeping them together?

 

[Dash+Lightning]

Yeah they've always been together

 

[Tom]

Several problems:

• They should never live as pairs. This is always a problem.
• You cannot maintain the correct warm humid conditions in an open topped enclosure.
• It looks very dry in there. They need warm humid monsoon conditions.
• 70 is too cold. What are you using for night and ambient heat to keep the temperature around 80?
• I see two lamps in there. What type of bulbs are you using? If one is a cfl type UV bulb, it might be burning their eyes. Those are ineffective as UV sources, and some of them damage reptile eyes. They shouldn't be used.
• Those clamps always fail. Your fixtures need to be hung from overhead. Coming in at an angle would also make the previously mentioned problem worse.
• How much do they weigh? At this age they should be MUCH larger than the size shown in your pics.
• Spring mix is a very poor diet by itself.

Read these for more info, and then come back with all your questions.

Beginner Mistakes

To comment on Tom's article, go here: http://www.tortoiseforum.org/Thread-split-Beginner-Mistakes#axzz1tG8s05M5 Over the years many of us, myself included, have made many of these mistakes, and we have certainly seen them made many times by others. With springtime upon us and many new...

tortoiseforum.org

How To Raise A Healthy Sulcata Or Leopard, Version 2.0

It's been three years since the original care sheet, http://www.tortoiseforum.org/thread-63788.html , and I think its time for a review and an update. A lot of new info has come to light over the last three years and new insight has been gained through numerous experiences. What follows is my...

tortoiseforum.org

For Those Who Have a Young Sulcata...

Over and over I type up and answer diet questions and try to get people feeding the right stuff, but I find that the "norm" is grocery store food. Grocery store food is expensive, a hassle to obtain, and very low on the list of what is best for sulcatas. These tortoises are GRASS eaters. From...

tortoiseforum.org

 

[Dash+Lightning]

Several problems:

• They should never live as pairs. This is always a problem.
• You cannot maintain the correct warm humid conditions in an open topped enclosure.
• It looks very dry in there. They need warm humid monsoon conditions.
• 70 is too cold. What are you using for night and ambient heat to keep the temperature around 80?
• I see two lamps in there. What type of bulbs are you using? If one is a cfl type UV bulb, it might be burning their eyes. Those are ineffective as UV sources, and some of them damage reptile eyes. They shouldn't be used.
• Those clamps always fail. Your fixtures need to be hung from overhead. Coming in at an angle would also make the previously mentioned problem worse.
• How much do they weigh? At this age they should be MUCH larger than the size shown in your pics.
• Spring mix is a very poor diet by itself.

Read these for more info, and then come back with all your questions.

Beginner Mistakes

To comment on Tom's article, go here: http://www.tortoiseforum.org/Thread-split-Beginner-Mistakes#axzz1tG8s05M5 Over the years many of us, myself included, have made many of these mistakes, and we have certainly seen them made many times by others. With springtime upon us and many new...

tortoiseforum.org

How To Raise A Healthy Sulcata Or Leopard, Version 2.0

It's been three years since the original care sheet, http://www.tortoiseforum.org/thread-63788.html , and I think its time for a review and an update. A lot of new info has come to light over the last three years and new insight has been gained through numerous experiences. What follows is my...

tortoiseforum.org

For Those Who Have a Young Sulcata...

Over and over I type up and answer diet questions and try to get people feeding the right stuff, but I find that the "norm" is grocery store food. Grocery store food is expensive, a hassle to obtain, and very low on the list of what is best for sulcatas. These tortoises are GRASS eaters. From...

tortoiseforum.org

I was told they would be fine living together and I haven't had any problems in that area. I will look into this, read your debate thread, and potentially into keeping them separate.

I have a spray bottle and mist the enclosure at least twice per day to keep it humid. Is this not enough?

I say a minimum of 70, but it's almost always 76-82.

The UV bulb is an exoterra UVB for reptiles. I'll look into ways to hang them instead.

I don't have a scale but size is about 3 inches long. I was told it was fine and size just varies but they seem to be growing relatively slowly to me.

I saw your list of diet suggestions in the articles and will definitely try this!

Thank you

 

[Tom]

I was told they would be fine living together and I haven't had any problems in that area. I will look into this, read your debate thread, and potentially into keeping them separate.

I have a spray bottle and mist the enclosure at least twice per day to keep it humid. Is this not enough?

I say a minimum of 70, but it's almost always 76-82.

The UV bulb is an exoterra UVB for reptiles. I'll look into ways to hang them instead.

I don't have a scale but size is about 3 inches long. I was told it was fine and size just varies but they seem to be growing relatively slowly to me.

I saw your list of diet suggestions in the articles and will definitely try this!

Thank you

Were you told that by somebody who wanted to sell two instead of one? Food for thought.

Spray bottle is not even close to enough. They need monsoon conditions. Contrary to what we were all taught for decades, these are NOT desert animals. They live in grassland and forest edge areas. You need a lot of annual rainfall to maintain grasslands and Forrests. Babies hatch at the start of the rainy season. Hot, humid, wet. When you keep them too dry they either die, or don't grow. They should be 10-12 inches at 18 months old, and weigh several pounds.

70 is too cool. They need night heat controlled by a thermostat and they shouldn't drop below 80.

Those UV bulbs should not be used. Your tortoise isn't getting the UV it needs AND some of those bulbs burn their eyes. Those bulbs shouldn't be sold, but people keep buying them, so they keep selling them.

I don't know who is telling you that pairs are fine, 70 is okay, cfl UV lamps are okay, and that its fine for an 18 month old sulcata to be 3 inches, but I'm hoping it is becoming obvious that they are not a good source of info for tortoise care.

Glad you liked the diet thread. Your tortoises will be much better off if you can getting them eating better stuff.