Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have a young sulcata (not exactly sure how old, probably around 4 months, he's only about 2 inches long)... he will not eat. I can occationally get him to take a small nibble off some lettuce, but I know his main diet should be grass hay, which he will not touch. I offer him both sweet grass timothy hay and dampened 'natural grassland tortoise pellets'. He weighed 22 grams for several weeks, and has recently dropped to 16g. His shell is also somewhat soft, but I'm not sure if this is normal for a tortoise his size/age. He does have a UVB bulb.
Any hints on getting him to eat would be much appreciated, I'm getting pretty worried about the little guy.

first and foremost, if you haven't already, i'd take him to a vet that specializes in reptiles. ask for a fecal screening to make sure that he's not carrying any parasites (those can drain a little one especially quickly). also, make sure that you are providing calcium in his diet, in addition to proper temps and uva/uvb lighting. there are many guides out there that detail how best to cater to sulcatas.

good luck!

The first thing I would ask is how warm you are keeping the tortoise. If he isn't warm enough, he won't digest his food, and therefore will not continue to eat. Sulcata need to be fairly warm (88-90F and more) but also need a cooler spot in which to rest when they are through heating up. A simple small cardboard box turned upside down with a doorway cut out of one side is sufficient for a little guy, and is easily replaceable when necessary.