# Awww You Just Gotta Love Him!!! <3



## Marty333 (Nov 1, 2010)

Of course more pics of Chevy!! He's my little muse 









He just loves to break the rules 



























































The End


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## laura808 (Nov 1, 2010)

hey do you live in Hawaii? i live in kaneohe, HI :3 chevy is SUPER cute! my sulcata is 9 months


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## Marty333 (Nov 1, 2010)

Sadly no I wish though  I live in Central Florida. Chevy is 3 months old!!!


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## laura808 (Nov 1, 2010)

hahaha wow is it starting to get cooler there? (it just rains more in the winter months here) what do you feed chevy, and what is the wattage of his heat lamp bulb?


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## Marty333 (Nov 1, 2010)

Florida winters are so unpredictable. Today the high was 85 but tomorrow its like 75-80. The weather just fluctuates here. I feed him grassland tortoise feed which he doesn't care to much about, a variety of lettuces, and prickley pair cactus pads. And the heat lamp I believe is 100 hundred watts its a UV bulb It can get to be 113F directly under it.


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## laura808 (Nov 1, 2010)

huh ive been using a 60 watt bulb but i can tell its not hot enough... i feed my Otis romane, weeds, and tortoise food pellet things. and due to the tremendous amount of hibiscus bushes here, he eats a little of that but he dsnt really like it. he is from california and whan i got him the pet store guy said that he was about 4-6 months old. that was on july 1st so mow hes about 9 months old but hes kinda tiny. (112 grams) i also mist otis about 3-4 times a day wbu


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## Marty333 (Nov 1, 2010)

I mist him about 2-3 times a day because florida is already humid enough! I mist him until the entire enclosure is completely saturated. Chevy is only 46 grams so I personally think Otis is doing just fine!


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## Maggie Cummings (Nov 1, 2010)

Marty333...see how the edge of his carapace flairs up all the way around? That tells me he is not being kept moist enough. He needs 80% humidity. He is going to start to pyramid soon and you will never be able to change that so you need to take steps right now to prevent that. You need to get a good substrate and keep it moist, almost wet. You need to feed him a better diet then what I am reading here. I know you have been given links to Toms care sheet on how to raise hatchlings and I think you really need to read it now before bad things happen to Chevy that can't ever be fixed.



laura808 said:


> huh ive been using a 60 watt bulb but i can tell its not hot enough... i feed my Otis romane, weeds, and tortoise food pellet things. and due to the tremendous amount of hibiscus bushes here, he eats a little of that but he dsnt really like it. he is from california and whan i got him the pet store guy said that he was about 4-6 months old. that was on july 1st so mow hes about 9 months old but hes kinda tiny. (112 grams) i also mist otis about 3-4 times a day wbu



Your basking light is not hot enough, and you are not feeding him a good enough diet. Misting him is not good enough, you need a substrate that you can keep wet and that will create a warm humidity rather then the wet misting you are doing now. I think you too, need to read Tom care sheet on how to raise hatchlings. They get sick and die quickly so you need to get on top of his care now before it's too late. Romaine and weeds is not a good diet. Please read Tom sheet it will help you tremendously.


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## Marty333 (Nov 1, 2010)

i have a humidity gauge and it usually is 80-85% humid and in florida a lot of the plants are toxic to Sulcata's so its hard to find a good variety without it being toxic. I have been trying to find dandelions every since I got him and I have had no luck  Also he has always had that flair since I got him is it really that bad?


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## Marty333 (Nov 1, 2010)

Also the diet I am feeding Chevy is what people told me I should feed on this forum.


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## RV's mom (Nov 1, 2010)

precious. thanks for sharing

teri


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## DeanS (Nov 1, 2010)

Marty...your temps and humidity are GREAT...I would like to the temp in the coolest part of his habitat! Also...you can go to Winn-Dixie...I remember them carrying dandelion greens when I lived in FL...also in the bagged salad section...look for ReadyPac Santa Barbara Mix...it contains no lettuce, only endive, escarole and radicchio...torts don't need lettuce...it's not bad for them, but why spend the extra money when it's not necessary. Give him more cactus...it's ok to give it every day. You can also give him roses, hibiscus, honeysuckle...but not much...maybe a flower a day...or every other day is better. It couldn't hurt to put some organic fertilizer in a corner of his home and grow some grass...any fescue or bermuda will do nicely. The following link will help you with some other ideas! 

CarolinaPetSupply.com

And your pictures kick ***!  Keep it up!


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## onarock (Nov 1, 2010)

Is this an example of "flaired up" scutes?
Also, and I'm sure its been mentioned there is some good stuff at 
africantortoise.com

If so I think the sulcata in the attached pic looks pretty good


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## Neal (Nov 1, 2010)

Looks like he has some pretty cool advantures, you are good with the camera.


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## Tom (Nov 1, 2010)

Marta, your pics look great and Chevy is a cutie pie. Is the humidity you listed inside his enclosure or outside in your part of FL? Even in very humid parts of the country, the air inside air conditioned and heated houses can be very dry. The shell and enclosure spraying is good, but all that humidity in their enclosure is what helps keep them from getting dehydrated and that's why you need a damp substrate. Are you using a humid hide box? Those are really helpful too. Your basking temps sound perfect, but how cool does it get on the "cool" side and at night? I wouldn't let any part of the enclosure get below 80 at any time. When he gets older this won't be so critical, but right now it is.

Chevy looks great right now, but Maggie and I both know how delicate the little ones can be. It is very obvious that you LOVE that little guy and since you are a pretty likable gal, we just want to give you all the info and help that we can. I can't speak for anyone else, but I made a lot of mistakes with my first reptiles back in the 80's and there was no internet or forums to help me out. I wish someone had told me back then what I'm telling you now. I don't want you to have to learn the hard way like I did.

When I was in FL, I saw lots of good weeds. Spend some time browsing through the "Plant ID" section and see if you can find any pics that look familiar. Or post pics of the plants you have. More variety is good. I live in an arid wasteland. If I can scrounge up some edible weeds, I know you can too.

Here's that care sheet Maggie referred to, in case you wanted to check it out again. This way you don't have to hunt for it. I took the time to type this up for all the little "Chevys" out there in the world.
http://tortoiseforum.org/Thread-How-To-Raise-Sulcata-Hatchlings-and-Babies[hr]
Laura, your little guy is on the lower end of normal for that age, but still within the "normal" range. Its also possible that he's not as old as they told you. All those hibiscus leaves are going to be very useful when you start measuring his weight in pounds or kilos instead of grams. Haha.

I use 35-50 watt flood or spot lights in my reptile room and they get the job done just right. The whole room is heated to 80 and I make my basking spots around 110 by raising or lowering the light fixtures. I also project the light down onto a flat rock. This safely warms their belly while they bask and helps disperse the heat from your bulb better when they aren't on it. My point is that your 60 watt MIGHT be good enough, but you need to properly measure your temps to make sure. They will survive for quite a while with temps that are too low, but eventually they will fail to thrive and they could get sick or die.

Which brand of "pellets" are you feeding? Mazuri and ZooMed Grassland are the only two that I recommend or use.


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## PeanutbuttER (Nov 1, 2010)

I like the little dots running down his "spine".


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## Marty333 (Nov 2, 2010)

Thanks every for the comments on Chevy's picture and with the help! Chevy's cool spot is usually 80-90 degrees and he has a little water bowl if he wants to get cooler . The humidity gauge is in his enclosure. Also I have the house AC set to 80F all day long so at night he is still warm! I also was wondering should I use a ceramic heater at night?


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## mytjj (Nov 2, 2010)

very cute


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## Isa (Nov 2, 2010)

Beautiful pictures  Chevy is a handsome little tortoise


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## laura808 (Nov 2, 2010)

"Laura, your little guy is on the lower end of normal for that age, but still within the "normal" range. Its also possible that he's not as old as they told you. All those hibiscus leaves are going to be very useful when you start measuring his weight in pounds or kilos instead of grams. Haha.

I use 35-50 watt flood or spot lights in my reptile room and they get the job done just right. The whole room is heated to 80 and I make my basking spots around 110 by raising or lowering the light fixtures. I also project the light down onto a flat rock. This safely warms their belly while they bask and helps disperse the heat from your bulb better when they aren't on it. My point is that your 60 watt MIGHT be good enough, but you need to properly measure your temps to make sure. They will survive for quite a while with temps that are too low, but eventually they will fail to thrive and they could get sick or die.

Which brand of "pellets" are you feeding? Mazuri and ZooMed Grassland are the only two that I recommend or use."
[/quote]



Well all the pet store that i went to had pretty pets tortoise food do i got just a little until had i found some mazuri here on the islands. GOOD NEWS i just found a pet store selling mazuri) so im going to have my mom take me there today or next weekend. where can i find organic potting soil for otis's enclosure? i REALLY need to get his corn cob crap out of there!


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## tobibaby (Nov 2, 2010)

laura808 said:


> "Laura, your little guy is on the lower end of normal for that age, but still within the "normal" range. Its also possible that he's not as old as they told you. All those hibiscus leaves are going to be very useful when you start measuring his weight in pounds or kilos instead of grams. Haha.
> 
> I use 35-50 watt flood or spot lights in my reptile room and they get the job done just right. The whole room is heated to 80 and I make my basking spots around 110 by raising or lowering the light fixtures. I also project the light down onto a flat rock. This safely warms their belly while they bask and helps disperse the heat from your bulb better when they aren't on it. My point is that your 60 watt MIGHT be good enough, but you need to properly measure your temps to make sure. They will survive for quite a while with temps that are too low, but eventually they will fail to thrive and they could get sick or die.
> 
> Which brand of "pellets" are you feeding? Mazuri and ZooMed Grassland are the only two that I recommend or use."





Well all the pet store that i went to had pretty pets tortoise food do i got just a little until had i found some mazuri here on the islands. GOOD NEWS i just found a pet store selling mazuri) so im going to have my mom take me there today or next weekend. where can i find organic potting soil for otis's enclosure? i REALLY need to get his corn cob crap out of there! 


[/quote]

you can go to any gardening place or home depot.. get cypress mulch its much better, holds humidity better.. and you can get that coco stuff at the pet store, they sell them in bricks where u soak them in water or u can buy a bag..


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## onarock (Nov 2, 2010)

laura808 said:


> "Laura, your little guy is on the lower end of normal for that age, but still within the "normal" range. Its also possible that he's not as old as they told you. All those hibiscus leaves are going to be very useful when you start measuring his weight in pounds or kilos instead of grams. Haha.
> 
> I use 35-50 watt flood or spot lights in my reptile room and they get the job done just right. The whole room is heated to 80 and I make my basking spots around 110 by raising or lowering the light fixtures. I also project the light down onto a flat rock. This safely warms their belly while they bask and helps disperse the heat from your bulb better when they aren't on it. My point is that your 60 watt MIGHT be good enough, but you need to properly measure your temps to make sure. They will survive for quite a while with temps that are too low, but eventually they will fail to thrive and they could get sick or die.
> 
> Which brand of "pellets" are you feeding? Mazuri and ZooMed Grassland are the only two that I recommend or use."





Well all the pet store that i went to had pretty pets tortoise food do i got just a little until had i found some mazuri here on the islands. GOOD NEWS i just found a pet store selling mazuri) so im going to have my mom take me there today or next weekend. where can i find organic potting soil for otis's enclosure? i REALLY need to get his corn cob crap out of there! 


[/quote]

Laura what island are you on?


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## goReptiles (Nov 3, 2010)

I hate looking at all the cute sulcata pictures... Makes me want one... But they just get too big and destructive for me. :-(


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## Marty333 (Nov 3, 2010)

My parents don't want me to put a hole inside a Tupperware box so is there any other way to make a humid hide box?



laura808 said:


> hey do you live in Hawaii? *i live in kaneohe, HI* :3 chevy is SUPER cute! my sulcata is 9 months





onarock said:


> laura808 said:
> 
> 
> > "Laura, your little guy is on the lower end of normal for that age, but still within the "normal" range. Its also possible that he's not as old as they told you. All those hibiscus leaves are going to be very useful when you start measuring his weight in pounds or kilos instead of grams. Haha.
> ...



*Laura what island are you on?*
[/quote]

Hope that helps with your question


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## laura808 (Nov 4, 2010)

hehehe yes it does  i live on oahu, hawaii. its so rainy right now!!! and thank you guys ill try to get some cypress mulch. im so happy that i found this website!!


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## onarock (Nov 4, 2010)

laura808 said:


> hehehe yes it does  i live on oahu, hawaii. its so rainy right now!!! and thank you guys ill try to get some cypress mulch. im so happy that i found this website!!



Kaneohe, nice. I'm actually from that side, Kailua, but I live in Haiku, Maui


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## Floof (Nov 5, 2010)

What a total cutie!! Oh, now I'm getting "sulcata fever"... And your pictures aren't helping! 



Marty333 said:


> My parents don't want me to put a hole inside a Tupperware box so is there any other way to make a humid hide box?



You can use an old food tub... Like spreadable butter, cream cheese, and yogurt come in? Just make sure it's large enough. Otherwise, go to the dollar store and buy your own Tupperware-type containers. Any cheap container will do; you don't need anything "high quality" to make a humid hide. You could even buy a couple Sterilite storage tubs, $1 for a 6 quart tub, that will last a bit longer than smaller containers as he grows.


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## Marty333 (Nov 5, 2010)

thank you so much Taylor!!!!!!


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## Yvonne G (Nov 5, 2010)

Floof said:


> What a total cutie!! Oh, now I'm getting "sulcata fever"... And your pictures aren't helping!



You've been without tortoises for a while now. 'Bout time you got back into the game!


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## Marty333 (Nov 5, 2010)

Bye the way there is no found cure of Sulcata Fever


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## Floof (Nov 5, 2010)

Yvonne-- Gotta stay out of the game for just a few more months... Hopefully the wait won't kill me!

Marty-- Getting a Sulcata doesn't cure it? Uh oh... This is gonna be like the snakes and beardies, isn't it? Geeze! With all the snakes, lizards, and tortoises I'm going to have, I better find a man who absolutely loves reptiles... lol!


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## shmily1605 (Nov 5, 2010)

Marty333 said:


> Bye the way there is no found cure of Sulcata Fever



Nope there sure isn't. Your pics are very cute by the way. The butt pics are my fav.


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## Marty333 (Nov 5, 2010)

Floof said:


> Yvonne-- Gotta stay out of the game for just a few more months... Hopefully the wait won't kill me!
> 
> Marty-- Getting a Sulcata doesn't cure it? Uh oh... This is gonna be like the snakes and beardies, isn't it? Geeze! With all the snakes, lizards, and tortoises I'm going to have, I better find a man who absolutely loves reptiles... lol!



Sadly no  once you get one you just want to get more and more and more.............


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## Floof (Nov 5, 2010)

Marty333 said:


> Sadly no  once you get one you just want to get more and more and more.............



Curses. I don't stand a chance! Those devious little critters have us all under their spell... lol


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