Are my sulcatas growing?

[hustleharder]

I've had my little guys koopa and heffer for about 7 months now which makes them around 13 months. I havnt notice much growth in them. Is it something I'm doing wrong that isn't allowing them to grow properly?


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The 2 are around 13 months and are about 3 inchs.


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[bigred]

I've had my little guys koopa and heffer for about 7 months now which makes them around 13 months. I havnt notice much growth in them. Is it something I'm doing wrong that isn't allowing them to grow properly?


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The folks here on the forum would need alot more info such as how you house, feed, lighting and so on. You can weigh and measure them to see if they are growing or not. Need more info on what you do to care for them, how old are they and how big are they

 

[Levi the Leopard]

3 inches is a small sulcata yearling.

Are you raising them the dry way? I'd assume so based on the age/size.

Many who are raising their African hatchlings the hot and humid way see very fast, smooth and healthy growth.

Have you heard of/read about this alternate way to raise them?

Heather
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[hustleharder]

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Coconut husk, organic soil, and wood chips. I've been feeding romain lettuce and red leaf lettuce. I just found out threw this forum to feed them different things. I don't know if there lack of growing is due to the no humidity I have in the tank or the same food being fed repeatly.


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[Cowboy_Ken]

Limited variety of food, lack of food, as well as improper habitat can all contribute to lack of growth. When I feed my hatchling of 8 months, I make sure he has food in his enclosure for the entire day. They are grazers by design, and my belief is they eat when hungry and stop when full. When I hear of over weight tortoises, I think of animals fed once a day with no leftovers. I believe to promotes a gorging response in the animal.

 

[DeanS]

Check out the first link in my signature for a SULCATA CARE SHEET that I authored last year! It basically gets you through the first couple years!

 

[Blakem]

Along with everything above, people on the forum follow the three H's , Hot, Humid, and Hydrated. They need different forms of nutrition just like we do, but different.

My sulcata yearling is 13 months old and is 6.5 inches long and a little over 1,000 grams, but they all grow differently.

Good luck, read away!!

 

[lkwagner]

I don't see a water dish, isn't that thing for food not water? They need access to water 24/7 and daily soaks in lukewarm water

 

[hustleharder]

I don't see a water dish, isn't that thing for food not water? They need access to water 24/7 and daily soaks in lukewarm water

Yes I use the big food dish as a water dish. They soak in it as well as come out to get soaked in a little deeper water in bowls. The little food dish is there food supply. Will be upgrading tank shortly. Pix will be up.


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[rideburton87]

Yeah you definitely need to close off the top of the lid so you can get the humidity up. I too had a problem with my sulcata not growing because he was kept in a tortoise table and had very low humidity. I built him a closed chamber and he is now growing rapidly. I was talking to another member on the forum because she had the same problem as me and she took a fecal sample to the vet. Turned out her sulcata had worms so that may also be the problem. I plan on doing the same and checking for worms, if it comes up positive I'll post it.. But first start with getting your humidity to the correct levels and the varied diet.

 

[Godcomplex]

Or maybe its not sulcata after all. I've seen someone who raised a sulcata hacling , after many years he thought it was health problem but in the end it turned out that his tortoise is not sulcata after all . I forget the species name but it looks like sulcata.

 

[yagyujubei]

Yes, they're too small. If I were you, I'd get some Mazuri, and add that to your feeding schedule. They need more nutrition than their diet is providing.