I have had one Sulcata for about 5 years now, she has never had any sort of problems, so I decided to purchase 2 hatchlings at the reptile expo back at the beginning of January. I picked the most active one and the largest one. The larger one was never very active, but he did eat and drink, so I just let it be. After about 2 months, I discovered the larger hatchling dead. I removed it from the enclosure and started noticing that the other hatchling was becoming more and more listless. He just lays there most of the time, his hind legs seem limp compared to how he was before. He still eats, but not as much as he use to. When I soak him, he doesn't drink like he use to. I have since added two more hatchlings, but I keep them in a seperate area, and they are doing very well. I have noticed that my sick hatchling's shell is a little different from the healthy ones - it is more square shaped than round, it is flatter, and it is much lighter in color, more yellow. I am well read on the care of Sulcata Hatchlings and I cannot figure out what I could be doing wrong, perhaps he is just a case of failure syndrome? Here is some information on how he is cared for:



2'X 2' pine box enclosure

coconut substrate, i mist it once a day for hydration

halogen heat/basking bulb...area temp. is 75-80 deg, basking area 90-95 deg.

I have tried to feed him alfalfa and timothy, but he's not interested so I offer him dandelions and romaine lettuce, he eats the romain, about 1" square inche per day. he also seems to digest a little of the coconut shell substrate...is this ok?

I sprinkle the romaine with calcium powder twice a week and Vitamin powder twice a week.

I don't currently have him under a UV light, but I take him outside and leave him in an enclosure under natural sunlight several days a week for a couple hours. Could this be a big problem?

I also have a small water dish in the enclosure and I have been soaking him every day for at least 10 minutes.



Any help is appreciated.

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