Rescue baby Sulcata

[Reptidad]

Hello all.
New to the forum.
I just rescued a baby Sulcata, about 2” from the front of the shell to the back and about 37g.
It was in bad shape when I got it.
It’s eyes were swollen and shut, it’s never had uvb and pretty lethargic.
It’s now eating and drinking and more active and it’s eyes are open.
All that to ask what would be the better vitamin and schedule to put it on?
Any other advice would be great, I use Rapashy for all my other reptiles.
Thanks in advance.

 

[Maro2Bear]

Have you checked out the care sheet under the African Tortoise section?

Where did you rescue it from?

 

[Tom]

Hello all.
New to the forum.
I just rescued a baby Sulcata, about 2” from the front of the shell to the back and about 37g.
It was in bad shape when I got it.
It’s eyes were swollen and shut, it’s never had uvb and pretty lethargic.
It’s now eating and drinking and more active and it’s eyes are open.
All that to ask what would be the better vitamin and schedule to put it on?
Any other advice would be great, I use Rapashy for all my other reptiles.
Thanks in advance.

Read and follow this to give it the best chance of survival. Most tortoise care info you find is all wrong and still following old wrong outdated info. Here is the correct info:

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

 

[Reptidad]

Have you checked out the care sheet under the African Tortoise section?

Where did you rescue it from?

I’ve not yet, was planning to when I get off work.
We got the call Saturday that the lady who had it was found dead on Friday, no one knew the last time the little guy had been cared for.
We found him in a 10 gal aquarium with a bare glass bottom and long rotted lettuce littered the bottom, a screen lid with just a regular Florescent light and a water bowl to high for him to get to, the water in it was nasty as well.

 

[Reptidad]

Read and follow this to give it the best chance of survival. Most tortoise care info you find is all wrong and still following old wrong outdated info. Here is the correct info:

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

Thank you so much.

 

[ZenHerper]

Wow - lucky save.

Let the community know how to help - welcome!

 

[Reptidad]

Wow - lucky save.

Let the community know how to help - welcome!

Thank you.
My biggest concern at the moment is we’ve had him since Saturday and as of today he still hasn’t pooped.
I’ve let him soak is water for about 30 min a day for three days in which he dunks his head in the water (which has helped him to open his eyes) he is eating some but I would like to see some poop, gonna take him to the vet Friday.

 

[ZenHerper]

Elimination is always dependent, in part, on moist fiber intake. Lettuce contains little useful digestive fiber, so the former care predisposed the wee one for chronic constipation. Be patient for a bit to see what proper nutrition does.

Continue with hydration - that is vitally important to so many bodily systems.

Before trundling off to a stressful medical exam (and potential for incorrect/harmful treatments), try offering small bits of oputina (so-called spineless) cactus. It is high in water content, calcium, and fiber. Look for Mexican food stores or online suppliers (the fresh pads ship pretty well).

An OK second choice would be a few slivers of cucumber. You do have to be careful to not use squash or fruit so that the digestive flora does not *bork* from the sugars.

 

[Jan A]

Elimination is always dependent, in part, on moist fiber intake. Lettuce contains little useful digestive fiber, so the former care predisposed the wee one for chronic constipation. Be patient for a bit to see what proper nutrition does.

Continue with hydration - that is vitally important to so many bodily systems.

Before trundling off to a stressful medical exam (and potential for incorrect/harmful treatments), try offering small bits of oputina (so-called spineless) cactus. It is high in water content, calcium, and fiber. Look for Mexican food stores or online suppliers (the fresh pads ship pretty well).

An OK second choice would be a few slivers of cucumber. You do have to be careful to not use squash or fruit so that the digestive flora does not *bork* from the sugars.

I’ve not yet, was planning to when I get off work.
We got the call Saturday that the lady who had it was found dead on Friday, no one knew the last time the little guy had been cared for.
We found him in a 10 gal aquarium with a bare glass bottom and long rotted lettuce littered the bottom, a screen lid with just a regular Florescent light and a water bowl to high for him to get to, the water in it was nasty as well.

No telling how long it's been when he last got food or water before you rescued him, plus he was in a small enclosure. They need room to roam to digest as well as basking temps, higher temps, humidity, etc., all as set out in the care sheet. Welcome to the forum. We are here to help.

 

[shellcior]

I’ve not yet, was planning to when I get off work.
We got the call Saturday that the lady who had it was found dead on Friday, no one knew the last time the little guy had been cared for.
We found him in a 10 gal aquarium with a bare glass bottom and long rotted lettuce littered the bottom, a screen lid with just a regular Florescent light and a water bowl to high for him to get to, the water in it was nasty as well.

Awww...poor little guy. Thank you for saving his life.

 

[Melymann]

Can you post any pictures? I’d love to see him/her?

 

[Reptidad]

Can you post any pictures? I’d love to see him/her?

 

[Reptidad]

He is eating really well now, but still working on keeping his eyes open, MUCH better than at first though.

 

[ZenHerper]

Prolonged dehydration is hard on the eyes.

You might look for either one of these preparations:

FLUKER'S Repta Rinse Reptile Eye Rinse, 2-oz bottle - Chewy.com

Buy Fluker's Repta Rinse Reptile Eye Rinse, 2-oz bottle at Chewy.com. FREE shipping and the BEST customer service!

www.chewy.com

VETERICYN Plus Antimicrobial Ophthalmic Pet Gel, 3-oz bottle - Chewy.com

Buy Vetericyn Plus Antimicrobial Ophthalmic Pet Gel, 3-oz bottle at Chewy.com. FREE shipping and the BEST customer service!

www.chewy.com

 

[Reptidad]

Prolonged dehydration is hard on the eyes.

You might look for either one of these preparations:

FLUKER'S Repta Rinse Reptile Eye Rinse, 2-oz bottle - Chewy.com

Buy Fluker's Repta Rinse Reptile Eye Rinse, 2-oz bottle at Chewy.com. FREE shipping and the BEST customer service!

www.chewy.com

VETERICYN Plus Antimicrobial Ophthalmic Pet Gel, 3-oz bottle - Chewy.com

Buy Vetericyn Plus Antimicrobial Ophthalmic Pet Gel, 3-oz bottle at Chewy.com. FREE shipping and the BEST customer service!

www.chewy.com

Thank you.

 

[harrythetortoise]

Poor baby.. keep us posted! I'm glad he found you.

 

[Reptidad]

Thank you.
I bought him one of the Zoomed Tortoise Houses which he seems to love, he seems to be getting stronger every day but we are still working on his eyes, he will open them more and more but with time and the right care he will be on his way to 100lbs.

 

[Lyn W]

Hi and thank you for giving this little one a chance, it's great that he's eating better now.
Vivs (the bigger the better) are usually recommended for babies as it's easier to control the heat and humidity , much of which is lost in a table. Alternatively members cover the tables with the portable mini greenhouses.
If you follow the caresheet he should thrive and if you post pics of his enclosure you'll get good advice to make sure he has everything he needs to be safe.

 

[Tom]

Thank you.
I bought him one of the Zoomed Tortoise Houses which he seems to love, he seems to be getting stronger every day but we are still working on his eyes, he will open them more and more but with time and the right care he will be on his way to 100lbs.

Those "tortoise houses" are not suitable for any species or any size tortoise. You cannot maintain the correct heat and humidity for this species in that, and all the electric heat will dry out the baby and make it dehydrated and pyramided. You need a large closed chamber with the heat and lights inside where you can easily keep warm temps and high humidity. Open topped enclosures simply don't work.

 

[Reptidad]

Those "tortoise houses" are not suitable for any species or any size tortoise. You cannot maintain the correct heat and humidity for this species in that, and all the electric heat will dry out the baby and make it dehydrated and pyramided. You need a large closed chamber with the heat and lights inside where you can easily keep warm temps and high humidity. Open topped enclosures simply don't work.

Thanks for the info, I’ll be making some changes.