sulcata hatchling

Question
Hello,
   Thank you for taking the time to answer my question. I have a sulcata hatchling which I have had for a little over a month. He/she seems to be doing fine. I feed with dandelion weeds and flowers, romaine lettuce, turnip and collard greens, baby spring lettuce mix, optunia cactus bits,hibiscus flowers and leaves and occasionally cucumbers,zucchini and pumpkin. I have water available at all times he/she is able to crawl into. I have a heat and uvb/uva light source. I use cypress mulch as the tortoise table substrate. I soak him/her every other day for about 30 min. Lately I have noticed a white scaly substance growing on his/her head and around the eyes. Do I need to change something I am doing? Your help is greatly appreciated. Mila

Answer
Hi Mila,

It sounds like you're doing every thing just about right.  I would change the substrate to a 50/50 coir( Bed-A-Beast or Ecoearth; I'm not sure what's available in Sweden, but it comes in a brick that you soak in water so it expands) and playsand mix, kept slightly damp.  This holds humidity better and is better for burrowing and walking on than the mulch.  The diet sounds good, but leave out cucumber (very little nutritional value and tends to be very addictive for tortoises) and zucchini.  Pumpkin is OK very occasionally when in season, but not as a staple item.  

I'm not sure what's causing the white substance.  This is something I've never heard of in tortoises, unless your water is very hard and it's calcium deposits from that.  Can you post a close up picture so I can see what it could be?  Thank you!