This is a story of how a little knowledge and awareness can make a big impact. We normally don't take in Sulcatas; because of their size, we cannot provide proper care. The only reason we stepped in was because a close friend repeatedly saw Ranger stuck in an aquarium with lettuce and improper light. She noticed he simply sat in the corner of his aquarium, digging at the glass to get out. She saw his diet consisted only of romaine lettuce (better than iceberg, but still not good.) She saw he had no hide, poor substrate and wasn't sure if his lighting was warm enough or if it had UVA/UVB. Ranger is one of hundreds of thousands of sulcata babies sold every year over the internet. Like most, he arrived in this home via FedEx, to a family unprepared to provide proper care - but so excited about their new addition. They didn't have a plan for his growth (they can get upwards of 200#) or how best to house him in our cold, wet Pacific Northwest winters once he was too big to be inside. They didn't research how to provide proper nutrition or that calcium is necessary in a tortoise diet. They thought, like so many families, all they needed to do for this new shelled one was toss some romaine lettuce in to him and provide some sort of lamp. My friend and I drove to pick up Ranger and met with his primary caregiver. The man had nothing to say. He picked Ranger up, put him in the bin we'd brought and simply uttered, "OK?" I nodded, said how beautiful Ranger was and kept the other comments silently running in my head. We left the home, put Ranger in the back seat of the car and headed to one of my contacts who is able to care for larger reptiles. Upon arrival, he looked at Ranger. He was surprised to learn the tortoise was 6 years old; Ranger's size is half of what it should have been and the tortoise was very light in weight for his size. He noticed the pyramiding of Ranger's shell, then commented that it could be much worse. What was more concerning than the stunted growth, light weight and pyramiding was that Rangers shell flexed 1/4 inch, like an aluminum can. He is severely calcium deficient. When we put Ranger on the lawn, in front of real food, he looked confused and retreated to his shell. It broke my heart. We left Ranger in the good hands of my friend and will be receiving updates as he progresses. Ranger is fortunate to be in a place where he can become healthier. There is no way to know, right now, what other health effects he has suffered; however, we do know he likely would have perished in his previous environment. We really can't stress enough.... if you are planning on getting a pet, please do your research before hand. Sulcatas are big animals. They bulldoze through things and can be destructive, just by their sheer size. They aren't bad torts; they just can grow so enormous that they'll doze through a wooden fence, ram into and destroy large ceramic decorative pots or let themselves into the house in search of their humans...leaving a poopy trail in their wake. They ARE lovely, friendly animals and terrific pets for those who are prepared to have them long term.
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AuthorThe Tort Resort is a Whidbey Island based project dedicated to rescue and rehab of smaller tortoise species. Archives
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