Hello everyone, back in February I got a baby sulcata from a local shop. For months she was super active, hungry, and insanely curious about everything. Only in just this past week have things been strange and terrifying for me. I've been mainly feeding her the mazuri tortoise pellets, Wheatgrass, clover, and sometimes a bit of spring mix or other safe greens(that seems to be the most effective way to give her the calcium she needs, it sticks to the store greens much better than her other food). She gets daily soaks, and I've been giving her calcium powder every other day. She has the reptisun bulb, her basking spots are 100-108, the rest of her cage usually is in the 80s, the room she's in never goes below 75 degrees, and i mist the cage multiple times a day. Yesterday I went to give her a soak like normal, and she wasn't moving around or opening her eyes at all, and she has no interest in food all of a sudden, it's so unlike her. She also has a soft spot on the belly of her shell, which wasn't there just a few days ago. Today during her soak she did open her eyes and try to escape, and once I took her out she urinated, but she still has no interest in food or anything. What can I do? Is my baby doomed to have a cut lifespan? I'm beside myself right now because I know I've given her everything that she needs, but is there anything else I can do?
Hatchling failure? Is there anything i can do?
- Thread starter TheLabRat
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You will probably need to post some pix of your set-up to get any meaningful recommendations on what you may be able to do for your tortoise.
Has it defecated recently? What is your substrate?
How much does the baby weigh in grams?
For future reference:
-No part of the enclosure should ever drop below 80 degrees, day or night.
-What kind of reptisun? Long tube or cfl type? 10.0 or 5.0? How far above the tortoise is the bulb mounted?
-Basking area directly under the bulb should be around 95-100 at tortoise shell height.
-If you are having to mist your enclosure, that means it is too dry and too open. Closed chambers work much better for tropical species. Easier to keep warm too.
-Too much calcium can cause problems. Twice a week is plenty on a good diet like what you've been offering.
-What substrate is the baby on?
Judging by your thread title, you have already read the thread, but I'll link it again just in case and for anyone else reading. If the baby was started too dry and too much damage was done in those first few critical days and weeks, there is noting anyone can do to save it. All you can do is offer optimal conditions and hope that not too much damage was done. Many of them pull through. If your's doesn't, you should take solace in the knowledge that this was not your fault and you gave the baby a good life.
"Hatchling Failure Syndrome"
I've heard this term for many years and I don't like it. Its a way to excuse our ignorance and failure. I will agree that an occasional hatchling is born that is just not going to make it no matter what anybody does, but MOST of them, if they make it full term and hatch, SHOULD survive and...
tortoiseforum.org
And here is the correct care and housing info for you too:
The Best Way To Raise A Sulcata, Leopard, Or Star Tortoise
I chose the title of this care sheet very carefully. Are there other ways to raise babies? Yes. Yes there are, but those ways are not as good. What follows is the BEST way, according to 30 years of research and experimentation with hundreds of babies of many species. Babies hatch during the...
tortoiseforum.org
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