Shell Question

[Laurenj04]

I have a 6 month old Sulcata. The other day I noticed two matching dents on his shell. Upon looking at photos from April, it was there then but I hadn't noticed. Is this normal or a sign of something? I hope not MBD.

First pic is from today, second is from April. Thank you for your help!

 

[Tom]

That is a little unusual, but not a big deal. Is your tortoise getting a good diet, UV and calcium?

Is that a red bulb? Dry substrate?

These might help too:
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/how-to-raise-a-healthy-sulcata-or-leopard-version-2-0.79895/
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/beginner-mistakes.45180/
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/for-those-who-have-a-young-sulcata.76744/

 

[Laurenj04]

He eats spring mix, mazuri and hay with Repashy SuperVeggie. I have a cuttle bone in there but I've never seen him use it. In the picture he is on a heat rock (power cord is cut off) that he lays on for basking, but the rest of the enclosure is Eco Earth. I mist the enclosure down daily, but it does dry out in between. He has a 75w red bulb and a ReptiSun T5 10.0. He soaks himself almost daily and poops in his water. I have a 15 year old Sulcata, but I inherited him. This baby is my first hatchling.

 

[Tom]

He eats spring mix, mazuri and hay with Repashy SuperVeggie. I have a cuttle bone in there but I've never seen him use it. In the picture he is on a heat rock (power cord is cut off) that he lays on for basking, but the rest of the enclosure is Eco Earth. I mist the enclosure down daily, but it does dry out in between. He has a 75w red bulb and a ReptiSun T5 10.0. He soaks himself almost daily and poops in his water. I have a 15 year old Sulcata, but I inherited him. This baby is my first hatchling.

These might offer more info. May or may not be related to your initial question.
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/how-to-raise-a-healthy-sulcata-or-leopard-version-2-0.79895/
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/beginner-mistakes.45180/
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/for-those-who-have-a-young-sulcata.76744/

1. I would not use a colored bulb day or night. They need it dark and they see colors better than we do.
2. Hay is not so good for babies. Too course and hard to eat. Great for adults.
3. Misting the coir doesn't do much. You need to pour water into it to get it damp enough.
4. Hatchlings need to be soaked daily even if he goes in and out of the water himself.
5. What are you using for night heat? Its important to keep babies warm at night, but still dark.
6. What length is your T5 UV bulb? Does the tortoise have an outside enclosure for sunshine?
7. What size enclosure are you using inside?

 

[Laurenj04]

Ok, I'll switch to a white bulb, cut out the hay and start soaking him daily. I've been using the red bulb 24/7. Can I use heating pads at night? Or should I do CHE? His enclosure is 36x18x17. The bulb is 36". I don't have an outdoor enclosure yet, so I just supervise him outside.

 

[Laurenj04]

Because I live on a couple acres and there are lots of hawks and owls, and we have 6 dogs running around, I can't leave him in an open enclosure outside. I'm working on building something more predator-proof. Our dogs don't bother the 15 year old sulcata, but I don't trust them around this little guy.

 

[johnsonnboswell]

Use the CHE