Reptile & Amphibian Forums

My friends sulcuta is developing softshell. She tried feeding it hayleaf but he will have nothing to do with it. He will however scarf down any other green she puts before him.. Any suggestions on what else to feed or do for the boy?

Well I am not very experienced, having only had my sulcata for a day. However, I found that while it doesn't eat dry hay yet, he is more than willing to eat freshly picked grass. Just make sure there are no chemicals or pesticides.

For softshell, should take to a vet.

Is your friend supplementing the tortoise's diet with extra calcium (in the form of cuttlefish bone or limestone flour)?

Nina

is your friend using a UVA/UVB light? this is a must! Also, calcium must be supplemented in the diet.

Thanks for the replies. I doubt she is supplementing any of the food, nor is she using anything else than room lighting besides a ceramic heat bulb. The vet's only advice was to feed it hayleaf and like I said that has not been readily consumed yet. But I'll relay yall's information to her and see what happens. Thanks again.

OMG, I don't want to be alarmist here, but your friend is killing that tortoise. If it is kept indoors it must have UVB light! Could you tell your friend to have a look at these sites:
http://www.sulcata-station.org/basics.html
http://home.earthlink.net/~rednine/sulcatacare.html
http://www.herpindex.com/center/sulcata.html
http://www.anapsid.org/sulcata.html
They will provide good advice on the care of sulcatas.
If your friend doesn't have access to the internet then perhaps you could print some of these out for her. Good luck.

Nina

This tort is not geeting enough uv light. He needs to either be placed outside in the sun for long periods of time (with a shady spot available) or if indoors you need a UVB bulb kept over a part of his habitat during the day.
If he isn't eating the hay alone, wet it and mix with your good greens so it sticks to them. I suggest you look into this supplement TNT, Total Nutrition for Tortoises sold at www.carolinapetsupply.com I've seen positive results with my rescues using it. I then just keep a cuttle bone available in their enclosures.

Also check out the salad style hays sold at Carolina Pet Supply or at OxbowHay.com The hay is already cut up and is very soft. Your torts might like it better.
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