stressed new father!!!!!

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Rjhoop

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hello everyone!Just got my first baby sulcata yesterday came a day earlier then the day i had scheduled(NOT HAPPY).He hasent been eating much yet im not sure if he needs to get used to everything just a little stressed,i know i am!!temps are good i have 75-80 in his sleep hut,100-110 in his basking spot 75 in a humid box and the rest of the cage is room temp 68-mid 70s sounds good to me i soaked him/her/it?just a short 5 min today just to not over stress a new baby i have a small amount of food that the breeder was feeding,and oh yea i have the wood substrate that everyone recommends and the coconut stuff in his humid box i keep the humidity between 45-70% kind of hard in a open cage 18x36 but tonight i went and bought some suction cup soap dishes to keep damp sponges in that should help a bit!!any suggestions to get him to eat better, i thought he would be a cow and hes barley a chicken he only nibbled like 4 bites of his pellets that he came with(moistened)and a few bites of something out of some spring mix !!over worried father or what,give it a week like ive been readin?also he is alot smaller than i thought sold as a 17 week old what happened to the 4 inch law just out of curiosity??thanks all in advance!!!!!!
 

dmarcus

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My new hatchling is slowly starting to eat more, when I first got him, he would only take a few bite and that it. I have had him 3 weeks as of this Saturday and he is just now starting to eat a liitle more. I have found that the warm soaks and natural sunlight has helped stimulate him to eat more. Just give hime time to adjust and watch his weight and things will be fine. Sounds like your doing everything right.
 

Edna

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Breathe in. Hold it. Now let it out, slowly..... OK. Your baby is tiny and won't eat much at a time for now. He may not like the pellets the breeder sent, so offer him a variety of greens with the pellets. Soak water at 95 degrees is nice. Use a temp gun to check it, and place the soak tub under a heat lamp to maintain a nice warm temp while he's soaking.
Tortoises have kind of a daily cycle that controls when they are hungry. Mine have to wake up in the morning, get warmed up in the basking spot, digest, and then they are finally ready to eat. If I turn their lights on at 6:30 AM, they are ready to eat at 9:30. If I feed them earlier than that, it's just going to sit there, get wilty or dried out.
 

Yvonne G

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Hi Rjhoop (Did you ever tell us your name?):

Don't stress yet. He's new and his environment is new to him.
 

ALDABRAMAN

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Welcome, they do stress, he should settle. Sounds like you are doing things good!
 

Rjhoop

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Thanks guys!!i just want to do everything right from the start because as of yesterday it is MY RESPONSIBILITY!!Doing the best i can its gonna be a loooong stressful weekend i will check back often over the weekend for any tips advice.Thanks again!!
 

TortieLuver

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This is all new to him and sometimes they need an adjustment period so I wouldn't worry yet. Do you know how old he is and does his belly button appear closed? What are the pellets he came with? I have found that hatchlings tend to eat well the same time everyday, which a good time is in the morning within a half hour of turning on the basking heat light. Hatchlings tend to love the spring mix and that seems to be the easiest to start with in this situation.
 

Rjhoop

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emysemys said:
Hi Rjhoop (Did you ever tell us your name?):

Don't stress yet. He's new and his environment is new to him.

I think so i introduced myself early last week or so!!But if not my name is Russell from Western N.Y.

TortieLuver said:
This is all new to him and sometimes they need an adjustment period so I wouldn't worry yet. Do you know how old he is and does his belly button appear closed? What are the pellets he came with? I have found that hatchlings tend to eat well the same time everyday, which a good time is in the morning within a half hour of turning on the basking heat light. Hatchlings tend to love the spring mix and that seems to be the easiest to start with in this situation.

they advertised him as 17 weeks old?not sure about the food i got him from the turtle source and it is the food they use no name/brand mentioned
 

Edna

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Turtlesource sends them out with a sample of Mazuri, which is a good food for tortoises. However, turtlesource is a pretty big dealer of animals and your tort was not necessarily eating Mazuri before he was shipped to you. He just may not be familiar with it yet. Some torts take a while to "discover" Mazuri.
 
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Maggie Cummings

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If he were mine I'd be offering him Spring Mix and adding whatever greens are in your produce section now.
 

Tom

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68 is too cold for him with all that humidity and humid hide boxes. If you are going to use humidity, which I highly recommend, the whole cage needs to stay 80ish all the time with a warmer basking spot for 12-14 hours a day. Warm him up right away. Those temps can make him sick literally overnight. I like to use a 60 watt ceramic heating element 24/7 and a mercury vapor bulb on a timer for 12 hours or so. I adjust the bulbs up or down to get the temps right. The wattage you need will depend on your house and its temps.

Here's a care sheet I typed up:
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/Thread-How-To-Raise-Sulcata-Hatchlings-and-
Babies#axzz1JZC7dfPj

The 4" rule has all sorts of loopholes, btw.
 

Rjhoop

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UPDATE on Dozer!!!!Well after 3 days of just a bite here or there,its all over..............He is FINALLY the cow i thought he should be!!Thanks to all!
 

Tom

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Just get him out in the sun as soon as you can. Its really good for them.
 

Jacob

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Yes, im with dalano73!
i just got my 4 month old baby sulcata, about a month ago!
It takes a while for him to get used to the new move, about a couple weeks to a month!
With alot of natural sunlight, and everyday baths he will be fine, in no time!
mine used to eat like three nibbles, now he eats about two to three little lettcues peices, etc..
 
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