is it normal for a baby sulcata to only eat,pee and poop once a week??
once a week
- Thread starter redreatta
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Your sulcata should be eating more than once a week. How do you have him/her set-up?
Danny
Danny
Did you make the changes we advised you about on your first thread?
My GUESS would be that he isn't warm enough.
Another thing is that baby tortoises are prey and as such they hide a lot. If your 2'x3' habitat is wide open he might be feeling too scared to come out and eat.
Can you shoot us some pictures of the habitat?
My GUESS would be that he isn't warm enough.
Another thing is that baby tortoises are prey and as such they hide a lot. If your 2'x3' habitat is wide open he might be feeling too scared to come out and eat.
Can you shoot us some pictures of the habitat?
More information about the tortoise (age, how long you have had it, how long this behavior has been going on), enclosure (photos), and care (food, temperature) would be great so we can advise. If the info is on another thread you may want to link to it--sorry I missed the old one or don't remember. When a tort is not pooping, assuming it is not a medical problem, then it isn't eating. Torts won't eat if they are not warm enough or don't feel safe enough. They will also not warm up if they don't feel safe. I recommend making sure the temperature gradient is appropriate (70-95 F) and placing hides near the food and near the basking area. Urinating once a week could be normal based upon the water intake. They only expel urine when they take in fresh supplies from water or the foods they eat. You probably want to encourage the tort to drink and thus pee a little more often than that, but also keep in mind many torts will pee in their water dish, so unless urates are included with the urine (they are not always), you may not notice the pee. Same with a substrate which can hide a very small amount of hatchling pee. Best wishes.
hey guys, i have been doing everything that the more exp. owners have been telling me. the torts age is 18 weeks. i have had him for11 weeks. this has been going on for 8 weeks. i had him in a aquarium style reptile tank for the first 3 weeks, had to give him shots in the leg for 3 weeks because of a infection, had him dewormed twice. temps are between 78 - 98. humidity is at 60-75 %.
the foods i have been feeding him are as follows, Mustard greens, Nappa cabbage, Collard greens, Turnip Greens ,Peaches, pears, apples Tomatoes, plumbs, and squash.
i am using cypress mulch as the substrait, bulbs are a reptisun 10 uvb 30 uva fluorescent, and a ripitglow 10 uvb 30 uva fluorescent in a aquarium style top. i have a sunglo 150 watt tight beam basking lamp,and a 100 watt heatglo infrared for night. i have a solar glow 160 watt lamp i have no been using because it get too hot in there.
i built him a new tort table about 7 weeks ago to make it a little nicer for him but all he does is lay around. only eats once a week and poops and pees once a week. i will wake up to check on him and he will have moved around a little but not much.
the foods i have been feeding him are as follows, Mustard greens, Nappa cabbage, Collard greens, Turnip Greens ,Peaches, pears, apples Tomatoes, plumbs, and squash.
i am using cypress mulch as the substrait, bulbs are a reptisun 10 uvb 30 uva fluorescent, and a ripitglow 10 uvb 30 uva fluorescent in a aquarium style top. i have a sunglo 150 watt tight beam basking lamp,and a 100 watt heatglo infrared for night. i have a solar glow 160 watt lamp i have no been using because it get too hot in there.
i built him a new tort table about 7 weeks ago to make it a little nicer for him but all he does is lay around. only eats once a week and poops and pees once a week. i will wake up to check on him and he will have moved around a little but not much.
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Pardon me if I sound rude, but get rid of the coil bulb. They've been known to cause eye problems in reptiles.
sammi said:
which one is the coil bulb? the nite lite?
redreatta said:
That's exactly what I was going to suggest. Try returning them, even for store credit. The coil bulbs are the white ones in the 3rd or 4th pic above.
franeich said:
yes,, every day,,
webskipper said:
what is so bad about these bulbs,,they came highly recomended
They seem to concentrate the UV rays and that is harmful to your tortoise's eyes. I know first hand instances of burned corneas.
emysemys said:
so originaly i had been using a 160 solar glo mercury vapor lamp that is also a heat lamp, and the red 100 watt heat lamp. this is good? is there any other type of lights i should be getting him.
does everything else seem to be right?
also if you look at the picture 0019.jpg that i posted earlier you will see white stuff it looks like coming out of his shell in the cracks in his pattern. look closely......what is it? should i be getting a tooth brush out and gently scrubbing his shell. or bathing him daily or something.....
i do apologize i know i post only problems but i just want to do the best for iggie. i pray every nite for him and i just want to see him live a happy healthy life. ((((90 years old and he is sitting between my wife and i in our rocking chairs on the front porch talking in turtlemosis to us)))) lol
thank you to everyone who has commented on iggie
The white you see in between the scutes is new growth. Don't try to brush it with anything firm or hard, as it is very tender to him.
I don't know much about the UV lights because I never used them until about a month ago. I use the T-Rex 100 watt UV/heat spot. But I'm sure there are others that work just as well.
No need to apologize. Its better for you to get your problem questions out of the way now, while he's still healthy. Its pretty hard to get a sick tortoise healthy again.
I don't know much about the UV lights because I never used them until about a month ago. I use the T-Rex 100 watt UV/heat spot. But I'm sure there are others that work just as well.
No need to apologize. Its better for you to get your problem questions out of the way now, while he's still healthy. Its pretty hard to get a sick tortoise healthy again.
I use a T-Rex 100W flood MVB [mercury vapor bulb]. Works great, though a little pricey [about $40-$45], but it's an "all-in-one" bulb, so it makes things easier.
[I think its the same one Yvonne recommended]
[I think its the same one Yvonne recommended]
emysemys said:
thank you. very much,your expertise is highly valued, so.. that means he is growing then! i still am wondering about the only using the restroom once per week and eating once per week. do you have any suggestions on how to entice him to eat? i have never had a tort before so i do not know what to expect.
sammi said:
yep, the one i got is a 160 watt uva uvb heat lamp. i think i paid 50$ for it. i have seen one that is 70$, i think the maker was zoo med.
the only reason i bought the "coil" style was because of stuff i was reading in tort care books.
I can only guess, but I THINK he's not warm enough. If they can't get their body temperature up to at the very LEAST 80f. (27C) he won't eat.
M
Maggie Cummings
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Also Sulcata do not eat fruit. Their kidneys cannot process sugar the way ours does so. Fruit is not something they would come across in the wild. So stop with the fruit. You are probably giving him a tummy ache that's why he doesn't want to eat more. Also he needs to be kept at 80 degrees. Their body systems (metabolism) needs to be at 80 degrees in order to metabolize their food. So he is not warm enough to metabolize his food so he doesn't eat it. Do you see how it all works and it's all tied in together? It all has to be just right for it all to work and for him to eat. You need to warm him up and you need to get him a better light. A Trex 100 watt bulb is what you need. For now I would use a 100 watt incandescent regular household bulb for him to bask under. We have been telling you since you came on the forum how to care for him. We have been telling you to warm him up for over a month. And evidently nothing changes. I am yelling at you now because that baby needs for you to change the way you are keeping him or he will die. Now I am not mad at you but your baby's life depends on you to listen to me and Yvonne and Kate and all the others who have been telling you the best way for you to care for this baby. So I am telling you all this with much love you need to change the way you care for Iggy starting tomorrow morning.
In captivity it is a common error to feed too much wet food such as lettuce, tomatoes and fruit when in reality this tortoise requires a coarse, high fiber diet. Feeding excessive fruit or soft foods frequently leads to repeated flagellate (a type of parasite) and other gut problems such as colic, most probably as a result of increased gut motility However, the risks associated with the feeding of fruit can be minimized in very healthy tortoises that are already receiving a varied grassland diet. Adding Hay to the diet to will balance this effect.
Regularly:
Dark Leafy Greens such as: Endive, Watercress,Collard Greens, Kale, Dandelion, Chicory, Escarole, Radicchio, Turnip Greens, Opuntia (smooth or despined) Here is a link to a good care sheet. You need to read up on it and take care of that baby in the best way for him. Not in a way you think is easiest for you.
http://africantortoise.com/
So read this care sheet and it will give you pretty good advice. Also he should be soaked at least every other day. So please stop praying for Iggy and read this care sheet and start caring for him in the best way possible. He is depending on you!
In captivity it is a common error to feed too much wet food such as lettuce, tomatoes and fruit when in reality this tortoise requires a coarse, high fiber diet. Feeding excessive fruit or soft foods frequently leads to repeated flagellate (a type of parasite) and other gut problems such as colic, most probably as a result of increased gut motility However, the risks associated with the feeding of fruit can be minimized in very healthy tortoises that are already receiving a varied grassland diet. Adding Hay to the diet to will balance this effect.
Regularly:
Dark Leafy Greens such as: Endive, Watercress,Collard Greens, Kale, Dandelion, Chicory, Escarole, Radicchio, Turnip Greens, Opuntia (smooth or despined) Here is a link to a good care sheet. You need to read up on it and take care of that baby in the best way for him. Not in a way you think is easiest for you.
http://africantortoise.com/
So read this care sheet and it will give you pretty good advice. Also he should be soaked at least every other day. So please stop praying for Iggy and read this care sheet and start caring for him in the best way possible. He is depending on you!
maggie3fan said:
i have listened, i have been getting it warmer and warmer. i have a point click type therm. also a therm that just sits there. they always read above 80 degrees most of the time it is in the 90's . i have been keeping the 100 watt red lite on 24/7 and a 100 watt tight beam on during the day. should i get it even more hot. trust me i do listen to you guys. i bet i have spent over 1500$ on lights 4 diff substraits.(now i am on cypress mulch) and vet bills so i am dedicated to him. he does not eat the 2 diff types of hay i got him so i have been putting a grassland mix(hard pellets) crushed up also a bag of oxford critical care powder that the vet gave me. i am not doing it the easiest way for me i am spending alot of time each day preping food, soaking for an hour, cutting the 2 diff types of grass i planted for him to eat on top off the greens i cut for him, so please dont think i am doing it the easiest way, i have been doing all the stuff that it says in the care sheets. i have bought 3 diff books on how to care for him, and spent alot of time on the internet and in the petstores trying to figure it all out. i just started giving him the fruit hoping it would entice him to eat.
i will bump the temps up 5 degrees then it will be in the high 80's to roughly 110
i will bump the temps up 5 degrees then it will be in the high 80's to roughly 110 in the hotest spot
his body is always 84-89 degrees
redreatta said:
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M
Maggie Cummings
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Stop buying books and listening to other people. Stop spending money on the wrong things. Stay on cypress mulch, feed Spring Mix, I am sorry you are spending so much money, but tortoises are not cheap and you started out badly. Feeding Spring Mix is easy, you open a container, take out a handful and throw it in the habitat. If you would just listen to us and not pet shop idiots, or book authors who don't know squat I am trying to make it easier for you. If you actually read the books or care sheets not one would tell you to feed fruit to a Sulcata. Hatchlings and yearlings are extremely fragile and an inexperienced keeper should never have gotten one that young.
I understand your frustration. But you've come to the right place now. This will be the last change you have to make, so the buck stops here!! 
Like Maggie said...Spring Mix is very easy to feed. 85 to 90 degrees on the warm side of the habitat and 70 to 75 on the cool side.
Cypress mulch for the substrate and moisten it every day.
Piece of cake!!!
Like Maggie said...Spring Mix is very easy to feed. 85 to 90 degrees on the warm side of the habitat and 70 to 75 on the cool side.
Cypress mulch for the substrate and moisten it every day.
Piece of cake!!!
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