3.5 yo sulcata growth

[kale315]

I have two sulcatas that will be 4 in October when I first got them I joined this site to better inform myself on care and maintenance of my beloved family members. I have since acquired a time consuming job and two beautiful kids and fell out of the forum. I assumed my diet and routine was suitable and haven't checked on their growth rate till recently. I live in Florida where they inhabit our large screened in concrete patio with half being exposed to natural sunlight and half shaded. I soak every other day. There diet consists of mostly of hay and I give them flowers, cactus, pumpkin, peppers, kale, squash, and tomatoes sparingly. When check their weight to age recently I noticed they are very small and freaked out. They are 16.5 cm long and just over 900g. As of today I switched to the Mazuri tortoise food and soak everyday. Need I do more to boost their weight and health? Thank you for your help.

 

[Tom]

Mazuri will make them grow faster. When they are fed mostly hay as youngsters they tend to grow pretty slow. Not necessarily a bad thing though. I'd love to see some pics of them and their enclosure.

The stress of living as a pair can slow them down too.

Also living outside full time tends to make them grow much slower.

For a reference, most of mine reach 1000 grams at around 12-14 months. My 4 year olds (hatched May 2010) are 24 and 35 pounds. My two year olds (Hatched June of 2012) are around 4000-5000 grams. Mind you, this is ideal conditions from hatching.

 

[krh11b23]

Sounds like you are doing everything right. They all grow at different rates. If u are concerned take some feces to a vet and get it check for parasites it only costs about 10 bucks

 

[krh11b23]

Also my tort frank is also a slow grower. He is almost 3 and only 600 grams. He also was infested with parasites about a year ago. After I got rid of them he has more than tripled in size

 

[kale315]

Here are some pics of the torts and the patio. Unfortunately they have grown out of last years indoor enclosure. I am working on a tort table for winter months. They have lots of room to roam and are more active and social on the patio. Plus it's Florida so the temp and humidity are better than i can create with limited time. I will bring them in and see if they have parasites.

 

[motero]

Living on concrete looks tough on there feet and nails. They would do better grazing on the grass. Good luck.

 

[garrybailey]

My tortoise Timothy is one and he is the same size as yours but weighs a little bit more. I hope he is not growing to fast

 

[kale315]

It's been 7 weeks on the mazuri diet and and the tortes look amazing and have gained a couple of pounds. Their growth lines look awesome too and pyramiding has stopped. here are some updated pics for those who care.

 

[Robertchrisroph]

Member cuddle bone or other kind.

 

[Yellow Turtle01]

They look like they are doing a bunch better ! Their little faces are just adorable
I agree with the above, rock is hard on them. I have an RES that had a rock basking area for a bit, and it really just KILLED her nails A quick solution for an outdoor area on grass with grazing is just some plywood and stakes... easy and simple, plus they aren't big enough to knock it down yet

 

[bouaboua]

Pretty looking Sully. I like their color.