My friend and I both received baby tortoises almost 2 years ago. In that time, my red footed tortoise has thrived, and is now ~6 inches in length, however his sulcata (unless we mistook the identity) seems like it hasn't grown more than maybe 1/2 of an inch in length. I went over and his cage was large, but it was just warm (not hot), and I think the water pool was too big for him to get in and out of. Also, apparently the vet they went to said that sulcatas only need to eat alfalfa hay, so all they did was make that the bedding, and then assume he would eat that. There was a big UV lamp, nothing else really.
Anyways, I finally convinced him to let me take care of his tortoise for a few weeks to see if I could get him more active, and eat some real food. Now that he is with me, I notice how bad he seems to be. He has almost no energy, he will walk for ~5 minutes, then just stop in his tracks and close his eyes to sleep for hours. I finally got him to fully open his eyes with bath soakings and heat baths. He only eats a little, (feeding some leafy greens at this point). Also, the underside of his shell isn't near as hard/tough as my red footed.
I thought I would post a few pictures to see what you think. Again, this guy is at least 2 years ago, we believe it is a sulcata, but he is absolutely tiny and has very minimal energy to do anything. I don't know if I should take him into a herp vet, or keep on trying to take care of him and see if his energy/appetite approves.
If I posted in the wrong forum thread, let me know, I can move it.
Anyways, I finally convinced him to let me take care of his tortoise for a few weeks to see if I could get him more active, and eat some real food. Now that he is with me, I notice how bad he seems to be. He has almost no energy, he will walk for ~5 minutes, then just stop in his tracks and close his eyes to sleep for hours. I finally got him to fully open his eyes with bath soakings and heat baths. He only eats a little, (feeding some leafy greens at this point). Also, the underside of his shell isn't near as hard/tough as my red footed.
I thought I would post a few pictures to see what you think. Again, this guy is at least 2 years ago, we believe it is a sulcata, but he is absolutely tiny and has very minimal energy to do anything. I don't know if I should take him into a herp vet, or keep on trying to take care of him and see if his energy/appetite approves.
If I posted in the wrong forum thread, let me know, I can move it.