should i be worried ?.

[mattkearley]

hello every thing is going fine he lively anoth eating fine the temps are right i soak him twice a day .Just cant find no sign of him goning to the toilet he five weeks old and he did do it when he soaked when first got him, but nothing for the last couple of day .I use wood shaving for bedding are they that small i just cant see them but i have had a good look should i be worried?

 

[Livingstone]

Tortoise might be eating the poop. its instinct. Just keep up the soaking.

 

[mattkearley]

havent thought of that i hope so thanks

 

[tortoisenerd]

How long do you think its been? Probably 99% probability he ate it or hid it. 1% chance there is a problem. Its rare for a Sulcata to not eat their poop! Plus, hatchling poop is very tiny, especially once it dries up--very easy to miss. I assume you mean cypress mulch, which when kept moistened like it needs to be, is the right color to hide the poop well. You can usually tell by careful inspection of their mouth if they have eaten poop, and by their butt if they have pooped recently. The poop (and greens) stain around their mouth. Most captive torts have poop a bit on the runny side so a bit will stay around their butt.

If you are really worried, in a couple more days, put him on newspaper or paper towels for a few days so you can watch for skid marks (if you don't see any on the mouth/butt). How much is he eating (ie. a pile of greens his size)? A new owner might think their tort is eating well, but actually maybe its not eating that much...they eat more than you'd expect. Throwing that our there on the chance he's really not eating much, and since you've only had him for 5 days, there is also the possibility that he hasn't eaten enough to poop more than that one time yet. Its common when you first get a tort for them to either poop a lot due to stress, or hold it in due to stress, normal as they adjust.

Bottom line...don't worry.

 

[Tom]

I'm worried about your choice of substrate. Wood shavings cannot be wet and that makes it much harder to maintain any humidity. Have you considered this?

Babies need humidity, hydration and shell spraying or they generally will not grow smooth.

 

[mattkearley]

i got some cypess mulch on the way should arive monday all tuesday along with all the meters but trying to keep humity up i will know when i got my meters thanks for your concern what should the humidity be

 

[Tom]

For babies, assuming you keep temps at least 26-27 ALL the time, I shoot for 80%. This is usually pretty difficult to maintain. I usually cover most of the top, use a big water dish, use a damp substrate, and use a humid hide box. It is very dry where I am, so I have to go to extreme measures to maintain ANY humidity. You may not need to go so far. It just depends on your particular situation.

Just want to repeat again, do NOT let him get a chill with all this moisture and humidity.

 

[mattkearley]

thanks mate for your help im going to follow what you say to the letter ive got him in a big plastic box at the momemant but im building a nice big table 1.8 meters /1 meter out of ply wood im thinking if i lineing the plywood with plastic sheets and a plastic cover to keep the humidity up do you soak your substrate so it is wet?