One of our Sulcatas died this weekend :(

racegirl1000 · Jan 19, 2011

One of our female sulcatas passed away this weekend. She was about 5 years old and we have had her for only about 7 months. She was a stray that we adopted from a rescue group. When she was brought to us, she had a clean bill of health from their local vet. She appeared healthy and very mobile up until we found her lifeless. She did not appear to have any lacerations from being attacked by the male. We have a very large yard for her to roam, eats grasses and plants in the yard, and no chemicals used in yard. SHe also has a nice huge tortoise hut with a heated floor and lamp to get away from the elements. Needless to say, her death was complete shock! We are fairly experienced with sulcatas, now having one of them for over 12 years, brought up from a baby.

My concern is that she might have died from something that the other torts might could have contracted. Does anyone have any thoughts on what might have caused her death? I cannot find much online on Sulcata illness other than the bubbly nose or dehydration, neither of which were a problem. I also do not believe she was large enough to be impacted with eggs.

Thanks in advance for any help on this!!

Love the Sulcatas!
2 Adult Sulcatas
1 Hatchling
20 eggs

zzzdanz · Jan 19, 2011

That's horrible...The only way to know will be to get a necropsy done.

coreyc · Jan 19, 2011

Sorry to hear that

like zzzdanz said get a necropsy done

Sweetpea · Jan 19, 2011

So Sorry to hear about your loss. Unfortunately, I do not know enough myself to give you any advice. I do know that losing a dear pet affects me and finding out the cause will help put closure on it. Good luck.

racegirl1000 · Jan 19, 2011

Cedar has already been placed in a nice spot under one of our trees to rest in peace.

Tracy Gould · Jan 19, 2011

sorry to hear about Cedar but the only way to know what happened is the Necropsy

Torty Mom · Jan 19, 2011

So sorry to hear about Cedar.

dmmj · Jan 19, 2011

sad to hear but without a necropsy it would be next to impossible to determine cause of death, especially with no outward signs of illness, or injury.

Xilonen · Jan 19, 2011

So sorry to hear about Cedar. Short of a necropsy, you may consider taking the male into the vet for bloodwork and a physical exam. It might help alleviate your concerns.

Robert · Jan 19, 2011

Xilonen said:
So sorry to hear about Cedar. Short of a necropsy, you may consider taking the male into the vet for bloodwork and a physical exam. It might help alleviate your concerns.

I agree. I would take your other Sulcata to the vet for a well visit. Explain the situation and get a check up.

I'm sorry for your loss.

ChiKat · Jan 19, 2011

Very sorry for your loss

How tragic and unexpected.

Yvonne G · Jan 19, 2011

Hi racegirl1000:

Sorry to welcome you to the forum under such sad circumstances. Your vet might be able to do a gross necropsy pretty reasonably. He wouldn't be able to send anything to the lab without charging more, but he could at least tell you if there was any visible reason for the death.

CtTortoiseMom · Jan 19, 2011

I am so sorry for your loss. It sounds like you gave Cedar a great 7 months!

TortieLuver · Jan 19, 2011

So sad to hear about your Sulcata. Was she eating and everything normal the day before? When was the last time you saw her alive and moving around?

PoisonOrchid · Jan 19, 2011

I agree with everyone.
Also sanitize the area that Cedar was in. Sterilize EVERYTHING!
I am sorry for your loss. :/

Wirewehear · Jan 19, 2011

I cant help you with your concerns but truely, I'm sorry for your loss.

Tom · Jan 19, 2011

Sorry for your loss.

I have three possible ideas.

1. She ate something that either blocked or punctured her intestine. We call this "hardware" disease in hoofstock.
2. She ate something toxic. Maybe a plant. Maybe a poisoned animal from a neighbors yard. I've been in a major battle with gophers lately and I've been hearing all sorts of horror stories about poisons. Sulcatas WILL sometimes eat a gopher or mouse, given the opportunity. They will also occasionally eat toxic plants. I had to pull an oleander leaf out of my adult males mouth once.
3. If you had just one small female in with a larger male, its very likely that she died from chronic stress and harassment. I had this very ting happening with mine just recently. He doesn't have to be actually ramming or attacking her. The bullying can be subtle. Just the sight of him could do it. I have a 7000 sq. ft. pen with lots of nooks and crannies and my lone female was hiding ALL the time. He would march up and down looking for her. Now he's got three big females and he is MUCH more relaxed and so is my original female. She comes out to bask and graze like a normal tortoise now.

Necropsy will tell you if its Number 1. Tox screen will tell you if its number 2 and if its not number one or two then its most likely three. Sulcatas don't usually do well in pairs, and sometimes not in trios either.

lisalove · Jan 19, 2011

Sorry for you

racegirl1000 · Jan 20, 2011

TortieLuver said:
So sad to hear about your Sulcata. Was she eating and everything normal the day before? When was the last time you saw her alive and moving around?

I know she was roaming the yard about 3 days before. She was in the hut the days leading to her death.

Tom said:
Sorry for your loss.

I have three possible ideas.

1. She ate something that either blocked or punctured her intestine. We call this "hardware" disease in hoofstock.
2. She ate something toxic. Maybe a plant. Maybe a poisoned animal from a neighbors yard. I've been in a major battle with gophers lately and I've been hearing all sorts of horror stories about poisons. Sulcatas WILL sometimes eat a gopher or mouse, given the opportunity. They will also occasionally eat toxic plants. I had to pull an oleander leaf out of my adult males mouth once.
3. If you had just one small female in with a larger male, its very likely that she died from chronic stress and harassment. I had this very ting happening with mine just recently. He doesn't have to be actually ramming or attacking her. The bullying can be subtle. Just the sight of him could do it. I have a 7000 sq. ft. pen with lots of nooks and crannies and my lone female was hiding ALL the time. He would march up and down looking for her. Now he's got three big females and he is MUCH more relaxed and so is my original female. She comes out to bask and graze like a normal tortoise now.

Necropsy will tell you if its Number 1. Tox screen will tell you if its number 2 and if its not number one or two then its most likely three. Sulcatas don't usually do well in pairs, and sometimes not in trios either.

Thank you for the above info... it is very helpful.

We had Cedar (female), plus George (female), plus Grandpa (male) that roam the backyard. The hatchling is un-named and stays in the house, of course. We will be looking for another adult female soon. They have about a 1/2 acre to roam.

racegirl1000 · Jan 20, 2011

Thank you everyone for your condolensces!! She will be missed!!

One of our Sulcatas died this weekend :(

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