NEED HELP

[smlboggess]

i have three 4 to 6 month old sulcatas babies today one died im pretty sure its because of my enclosure his eyes were swollen last night and when i woke up she was gone i am pretty new to sulcatas so i need some general info basking temps best substrate im feeding them mazuri and lettuce should i change it or is that good. looking forward to info.

 

[bettinge]

Sorry to hear about your loss! I would go read all you can under the "Sulcata" section. Lots of threads and lots of info.

 

[Maggie Cummings]

Here's a link to the best care sheet out there...

http://africantortoise.com/

I would start feeding them packaged Spring Mix and keep the Mazuri to once or twice a week. The hot end should be 85 to 90 degrees and the cold side about 70. You should put them outside on clean grass everyday making sure they are safe from predators.
I use cypress mulch as my substrate...Keep asking your questions and read up on that care sheet as that will help you also...

 

[smlboggess]

Here's a link to the best care sheet out there...

http://africantortoise.com/

I would start feeding them packaged Spring Mix and keep the Mazuri to once or twice a week. The hot end should be 85 to 90 degrees and the cold side about 70. You should put them outside on clean grass everyday making sure they are safe from predators.
I use cypress mulch as my substrate...Keep asking your questions and read up on that care sheet as that will help you also...

thanks very much i need to bring my temps up one of them peed on me earlier and it was white is that good or bad?

 

[Maggie Cummings]

That's called urates. They (the urates) should be slimy/creamy not dry or gritty. If they feel gritty you need to soak them more. You should be soaking them daily...

 

[Meg90]

These aren't the ones you had for sale are they???

Please post pictures of how you are keeping them.

 

[Yvonne G]

The swollen eyes are merely a symptom of an other, underlying illness. By the time the eyes swell closed, the tortoise has been sick for some time. Here are the important things needed for babies to survive:

Heat - they have to be able to get their body up above 80 degrees in order to be able to digest their food
UV - either from the sun or a light bulb. Without UV the calcium they eat doesn't work
Hydration - either a water dish or daily soaking
Correct diet - I use Spring Mix because its easy, but a nice mixture of dark, leafy greens is fine. To this you can add weeds from outside. They don't start eating hay until they're 2 or 3 years old.
Hiding place - baby tortoises are prey and can get very stressed out if they can't find a place to hide

And not all babies make it (failure to thrive). I'm sure a lot more babies in captivity live than babies in the wild, though.

I'm sure there's more, but my old brain isn't working good this a.m. Raising babies is much harder than starting with a 1 or 2 year old little guy. Babies are very fragile and are not forgiving of poor care.

Yvonne