I believe the cause is low calcium.My sulcata tortoise laid fine last year, but this year it laid a clutch of eggs that were soft and mushy and covered with yellow egg yolk. What causes that?
Nothing usually causes that because it doesn't usually happen after they have laid good eggs.My sulcata tortoise laid fine last year, but this year it laid a clutch of eggs that were soft and mushy and covered with yellow egg yolk. What causes that?
she is with a few other tootsies, one of which shows the same symptoms. i feed a lot of cactus, plus alfafa hay, mulberry leaves and assorted fruits and vegatables. she has a pond she can soak in at anytime, but i don't force her to go in it. she had a heated house for winter, but it's hot now and not neededNothing usually causes that because it doesn't usually happen after they have laid good eggs.
Calcium would be the most obvious place to look, but you might want to review all your husbandry.
1. How often do you soak the tortoise?
2. What do you feed her?
3. Does she live alone? If not, how many others and what sexes?
4. Does she have a heated shelter for cool nights and winter? Or does she live in a burrow year round?
I had this same thing happen one year. I bumped up the calcium and it went away the next laying season. In the years that followed, I did not bump up the calcium and it never happened again with that female or any other. Have you tried upping the calcium? I bought calcium powder in bulk from @Kapidolo Farms You can also buy RepCal in bulk, cuttle bones for birds in bulk or ZooMed has large canisters of it too.she is with a few other tootsies, one of which shows the same symptoms. i feed a lot of cactus, plus alfafa hay, mulberry leaves and assorted fruits and vegatables. she has a pond she can soak in at anytime, but i don't force her to go in it. she had a heated house for winter, but it's hot now and not needed
I've had a few people - icncuding a local vet-speculate what it is, but nobody can tell me for sure. i would gladly pay a vet to look at her, but no vet I know has sulcata experience. any ideas?
Oyster shell is calcium carbonate. I prefer the powdered forms that are available instead of the type used for chickens and pigeons.Somebody suggested I give her a lot of extra calcium using crushed oyster shells along with the rest of her diet. Are crushed oyster shells OK to feed to sulcata tortoises?