How much sulcata hatchling eat per day

[casey.sherrod25]

Hey everyone,
We got our little guy jörmungandr about a week ago and I was just wondering about how much a hatchling sulcata should be eating per day. Hes moving just fine I've noticed him eat little here and there but not very much.
Just for reference I'll tell you the average day. We live in west Mississippi so it's about an average of 90-95 degrees and plenty humid. First thing when I get up I soak him in luke warm water every morning for 20mins and prep his food. He gets a mix of grasses dandelion, turnip, collard,and mustard greens and some succulent. I don't give him all of that every day. I mix it up between them and I sprinkle ground up egg shells on his food every 3rd day. Im only asking because I don't want him to become sick or weak. I know he's just getting use to us so we try not to mess with him to much. I come check his enclosure temps and sunlight every 2 hours just to make sure it's not too hot. Please let me know if it's normal for them to eat very little in the beginning or if the is anything I can improve on. Thank you so much for any advice.

Sincerely,
Casey and jörgi

 

[Tom]

They should start eating the day you get them and eat a lot every day after that. If they are not eating, something is wrong.

Are you housing this baby outdoors full time? If yes, that is likely a big part of the problem. It doesn't work.

Where did you get the baby? Most breeders don't start them correctly, and lack of appetite is one of the tell tale signs.

I don't want to bum you out with a bunch of bad news, but we'll have to talk about things if we are to fix the problem, or discover if the problem is fixable.

Most of the care info for this species is all wrong. Its been wrong for 30 years and it was based in incorrect assumptions about how they live in the wild. Most people are still parroting the old bad info. Here is the correct info:
https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/beginner-mistakes.45180/
https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/how-to-raise-a-healthy-sulcata-or-leopard-version-2-0.79895/
https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/for-those-who-have-a-young-sulcata.76744/

 

[casey.sherrod25]

They should start eating the day you get them and eat a lot every day after that. If they are not eating, something is wrong.

Are you housing this baby outdoors full time? If yes, that is likely a big part of the problem. It doesn't work.

Where did you get the baby? Most breeders don't start them correctly, and lack of appetite is one of the tell tale signs.

I don't want to bum you out with a bunch of bad news, but we'll have to talk about things if we are to fix the problem, or discover if the problem is fixable.

Most of the care info for this species is all wrong. Its been wrong for 30 years and it was based in incorrect assumptions about how they live in the wild. Most people are still parroting the old bad info. Here is the correct info:
https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/beginner-mistakes.45180/
https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/how-to-raise-a-healthy-sulcata-or-leopard-version-2-0.79895/
https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/for-those-who-have-a-young-sulcata.76744/

I will read those right away. We got him from AZsulcata .and I'll bring his enclosure in right away.

 

[Tom]

I will read those right away. We got him from AZsulcata .and I'll bring his enclosure in right away.

AZ sulcata does a great job of starting them right, so that eliminates one big possibility. You got a good one from a good breeder, so you are starting off great!

 

[SweetGreekTorts]

Sulcatas are grazers, so it's more common for them to pick at their dish of food throughout the day instead of eating it all in one sitting.

 

[casey.sherrod25]

AZ sulcata does a great job of starting them right, so that eliminates one big possibility. You got a good one from a good breeder, so you are starting off great!

Ok so I moved his enclosure inside. hes In front of a big window that gets a lot of natural sunlight especially in the mid morning. With a few hours of natural sunlight and a very humid hide do I need to keep his uvb lamp on him the rest of the day as well? I'm going to be building a better enclosure when we move into our new home next month but for now I have an open topped tub. Humidity is high around here even in our house but if it gets to low can I add a humidifier to the cooler side of tub to help with that. The uvb lamp I have actually heats the warm enclosure side so do I need to have a regular basking lamp as well? I'm sorry I know these are all very amateur questions but I want to make sure I'm doing it all perfect for my new tort baby.

 

[casey.sherrod25]

Sulcatas are grazers, so it's more common for them to pick at their dish of food throughout the day instead of eating it all in one sitting.

The problem was he might take 5 bites a day and that was it. I was getting so worried.

 

[casey.sherrod25]

AZ sulcata does a great job of starting them right, so that eliminates one big possibility. You got a good one from a good breeder, so you are starting off great!

Moved him inside, got a basking light, and a good CHE. Changed his substrate to one that will hold humidity better with a larger hide that I've soaked and a cover for the top. He's already eating way better and is even moving more. He was moving a lot before but now he is a little speeded racer all over his enclosure. Thank you for the great advice tom! Your awesome!

 

[DaneC020]

I noticed a big change in my baby's appetite after I added a good Mercury vapor bulb to the setup. Before I was just using the UVB bulb with a basking light and he did alright but once I switched to the mercury vapor bulb things changed. I think the right light source, temp, and environment are the biggest keys. Just make sure you have a heat drop off so he has cool spots to lay around in but most of the day mine spends it's time under the bulb soaking in the heat. I am in Louisiana and very close tot he Mississippi border so we are pretty much the same humidity. I was told not to let my tort outside until he was a few years old to prevent sickness and make sure he was hardy enough for the outside elements. I already got him a 15ftx15f enclosure outside ready for when that time comes! Love these little guys!