Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have 3 sulcatas and they are all the same age, (different clutches that hatched during the same month)when i got them a year ago they were all the same size. i took them all to the vet for a general checkup and one of them had worms, we arent sure which. so we put all of them on panacure and they are fine now but the one on the far right (grumpy)hast grown at all. he does weigh a little more than when we first got him but not much. could this be because he was the one with worms and he wasnt getting much nutrition out of his food, also he only likes grasses and leaft green where the other 2 that are growing will eat mazurie tortoise diet. which has more protien could this be the cause. im sure its nothing and hes eating fine and seems active so i shouldnt worry but if anyone has experienced this could u hel ty

here are some close ups if the pic doesnt turn out

http://i24.tinypic.com/k4i974.jpg
http://i24.tinypic.com/n1p7yg.jpg
http://i23.tinypic.com/2hpsq2u.jpg
http://i22.tinypic.com/2dwdykh.jpg

From left to right Precious, Smeagol, Grumpyface

>>I have 3 sulcatas and they are all the same age, (different clutches that hatched during the same month)when i got them a year ago they were all the same size. i took them all to the vet for a general checkup and one of them had worms, we arent sure which. so we put all of them on panacure and they are fine now but the one on the far right (grumpy)hast grown at all. he does weigh a little more than when we first got him but not much. could this be because he was the one with worms and he wasnt getting much nutrition out of his food, also he only likes grasses and leaft green where the other 2 that are growing will eat mazurie tortoise diet. which has more protien could this be the cause.

Yes that could be the cause diet & worms in the past.
I'm one of those people who doesn't believe in feeding them pellet foods because there are ingredients in it that really aren't appropriate for tortoises such as soy- a legume. They do grow faster on a pellet diet but not growing quickly isn't a problem as long as the tortoise is healthy.
Grasses are great for them since they are a grassland species. If you're little guy tests negative for worms now, is eating well and behaving like a normal tortoise, has gained some weight then I wouldn't worry about growth.
They are like anything else, they grow at their own rate, slow growth is fine as long as they are healthy.
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PHRatz

Love your tortoise names!!

I agree with Phratz, although I do supplement with Mazuri. Make sure you are supplementing only.
If that little feller is eating, pooping, drinking, and behaving normally than no need to worry. Be glad your little guy likes grasses and weeds, some torts get "Hooked" On pelleted diets and become finicky eaters. I'll admit, I have 1 Marginated tort that is finicky and only wants his Mazuri but soon realizes that when I'm not providing it every day he's gotta learn to eat the other stuff.

They look good!! Slow, steady growth is the key. Maybe back off on feeding the Mazuri to the others and only supplement with it.

I also agree that slow steady growth is not a problem, and probably better in the long run than fast growth. A fire that burns twice as bright lives half as long.

-Kory