Tortoise Rescue

[Sarahsaur]

Hello! I'm a brand new Sulcata owner as of last night! An old high school friend messaged me and asked if I would take her daughter's African Spurred tortoise or else she was going to release him into the wild, so of course I told her I would. I have zero reptile experience, but I feel a special affinity to turtles and tortoises, so I'm quite happy this opportunity arose. Anyway, I'm asking for any hints, help and guidance I can get! I will do a quick rundown of what they were doing and what I am currently doing for the little guy.

As far as we know, he's about 2 years old and I haven't measured him, but he looks to be about 4 inches long and his shell does look like it has slight pyramiding. He was housed in a large terrarium, with no basking light or heat lamp as far as I know. He's never been out in the sun (she told me that I shouldn't put him out in the sun, it might shock his system!) Anyway, she had been feeding him red eared slider food, brine shrimp, carrots, kale, spinach and celery.

I currently have him in a 106 qt Rubbermaid tub with cypress mulch and coco fiber bedding, I have the zoo med grassland tortoise food, along with Bermuda grass from my yard and mulberry leaves from my tree. I have different kinds of produce that I intend to offer, such as green leaf lettuce, zucchini, cilantro, carrots and cantaloupe. The light I have is the double dome lamp with a 13 watt CFL and a blue daylight basking bulb (both of which I am def. going to replace). I've also got herptivite and repti calcium, and a food by nature zone that's some kind of soft melon flavored stuff.

When we picked him up, he was super lethargic and he did not look good at all. Eyes were closed and he pretty much stayed in one spot all night long. This morning, I turned on the lamps and gave him a good soak and he has perked up quite a bit. I offered him grass, mulberry leaves and the tortoise food this morning and he has picked at it, but hasn't really eaten.

I am open to any and all suggestions and comments, I want him to have the best care possible and be healthy and happy!

 

[Rue]

Good grief! Poor little guy! Thank you for rescuing him!

 

[Sarahsaur]

I'm so happy I did! I don't know what is wrong with people! They had him for a year and couldn't even be bothered to learn how to take care of him properly. Grrr

 

[Pearly]

Welcome to the forum. I am kinda new to reptiles too, but recent 12 months of intense research have got my comfort level up with the Redfooted care. I know that sulcata have very different diet than my babies and not sure about cantaloupe for yours... I hope @Tom, @Yvonne G, @maggie3fan chime I soon with their expertise. There are many great sulcata keepers here that will help you along. Glad you have found us

 

[dmmj]

wow I have never seen any post so full of misinformation. Simply amazing Welcome to The Forum

 

[JoesMum]

Hello and welcome. I'm glad you rescued this guy.

His diet is mostly leafy greens, preferably weeds.

He can digest sugars properly, they cause digestive and kidney problems, so fruit, tomato, bell pepper and carrot should only be fed very sparingly and very occasionally.

Animal protein should not be fed - including those brine shrimp.

Please read the following for up to date information and how to care for your tort. It should answer most of your questions, but please come back to us if you have more

Beginner Mistakes
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/beginner-mistakes.45180/

How to raise a healthy Sulcata
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/how-to-raise-a-healthy-sulcata-or-leopard-version-2-0.79895/

 

[Speedy-1]

Hi and welcome , Most all the info you need is in the posts above the line in this section ! Sounds like you have already made the little guys life better !

 

[Sarahsaur]

Thanks everyone! He still hasn't eaten, and seems to be drinking quite a bit. I am going to try to get him in to see a veterinarian on Monday. He has bubbles coming out of his nose occasionally and sometimes he stretches his neck really far out of his shell and water/mucous comes out of his mouth. I'm really worried about him and I hope I didn't rescue him too late The temp in his tub is around 84 degrees, and the basking area isn't much warmer. I'm about to go out and get different lamps.

 

[dmmj]

sounds like he may have developed a respiratory infection keep hin warm until you can get him to see a vet

 

[Jodie]

Hello and welcome to the forum. Poor guy has not had an easy life so far. Glad you have him and really Hope it's in time. The CFL's can cause eye problems. I would get an MVB and a CHE. Put the CHE on a thermostat. Keep the ambient temperature over 85F. Cover the enclosure to keep the heat and humidity in. Daily soaks. Best of luck to you.

 

[Lyn W]

Hi and welcome. What a great save! I hope he is better soon.
I too rescued a leopard tort and had no knowledge of tort care at all but thankfully found this forum. I had a steep learning curve and buying the correct lamps and heat sources etc was a bit expensive but they are essential and it gets easier. If you check what you need here first here it will save you making expensive mistakes (pet shops are profit driven and don't always sell the correct or safest equipment e.g terracotta plant saucers a re safer than the steep sided water dishes they sell, and coiled bulbs can harm eyes )
There is a lot to learn about caring for torts but this is the best place for information and support.
Follow the caresheets and ask as many questions as you like and I'm sure we'll all look forward to hearing about his progress. If you can post pics of his enclosure members will be able to help you make it as safe and comfortable as possible for him

 

[Sarahsaur]

I have acquired a mercury vapor bulb and ceramic heat emitter, I could not find a thermostat locally, but I have ordered one and it should be here monday evening, what can I do to regulate the temperature until then? The room temp is about 75 since I don't have air conditioning in the room he is in.

 

[Jodie]

I would leave it on and monitor. As long as it didn't get hotter than 90F in the coolest spot, leave it on. Heat will help his metabolism and recovery. With high temps though it is extra important to keep him hydrated. I would soak 2 X per day for a while.

 

[Sarahsaur]

Awesome, thanks so much! As soon as I get home and get things set up, I will post some photos.

 

[surfergirl]

He is lucky you adopted him. I hope he recovers quickly, poor little sully.

 

[Sarahsaur]

Alright, he's all set up! temp is about 85 in the warm spot and climbing, humidity is at 75%. I know his little tub isn't the biggest, and I'm going to work on putting together something larger here pretty soon, but this place is a palace compared to the 10 gallon tank those people had him in.

 

[Momof4]

Welcome!!

I'm soooo glad this fellow found you!!! Follow the advice here and you will have a happy friend!!

Everything seems overwhelming at first but so worth it in the end!!

Building and planning indoor/outdoor enclosures can be really fun!

 

[Rue]

You are off to a great start!

 

[Sarahsaur]

We just left the vet and she said that it looks like he is severely dehydrated, has mouth rot and is half starved. He only weighed about a half a pound. She gave him injections of b vitamins and antibiotics and showed me how to give injections, which we will do every other day. I'm so hoping he will get better, I am so sad and angry about all he has gone through. I can't understand how someone could let this happen. :-(

 

[Yvonne G]

Well, getting him healthy again might be a long haul, but it's well worth it in the end. Follow your vet's instructions and use up all the medicines he gave you even if the tortoise seems better. Soak him daily in warmish water for at least a half hour, watching to make sure he doesn't flip on his back in the water.