SJTurtle
New Member
Hi guys! I've been lurking on this forum for a while and decided to finally make an account and introduce myself!
I am Sarah. My mom has an approx. one year old sulcata tortoise but is often out of town so I've been the primary Tortoise Wrangler.
The tortoise is named Señor, though he may be a Señora. (Explanation -- when my brother first took Spanish, he latched onto the word tortuga and every time he saw a turtle he'd say "Tortuga!" So as adults when we saw Mom's new tortoise we naturally started referring to it as Señor Tortuga.)
The pet store of course gave terrible advice -- tiny tank with sand, no real instructions as far as heat and humidity. So I'm struggling a bit with equipment at the moment, especially with the indoor enclosure (space, light, and heat sources.) I tried to order a kiddy pool online but I ordered something that I thought gave dimensions in feet but instead it was *inches* so I got this tiny sort of box thing that's maybe 1.5 ft by 1.5. Rookie online shopping mistake. (Current readings -- Temp is 80, humidity is 70. Not enough room to have temperature variations. Trying to make this current set-up as temporary as possible. Thinking of getting a big ol plastic storage container for him.)
His temporary outdoor enclosure is working better and luckily the weather here is 80° and humidity around 70 (and I hose everything off before putting him in it to raise it higher.) As soon as possible I want to give him the whole yard but that will require some landscaping and tortoise-proofing first. Currently he's in a 2x6 raised garden bed. I'm having trouble posting pics right now but I'll try to post some later. There's some half-sunken plastic plant containers so he can have somewhere cool to go, and I have a wooden turtle house, the "saucer" from a plant pot is being used as a water dish, and I turned the original glass tank we were using onto its side and put some dirt in it so he can have that as a shelter option as well.
I'm about to place an order on Amazon for a 100 Watt CHE and a 25 watt heating pad. I was also thinking of getting some grass seed especially for sulcatas ("African grasses tortoise blend"), but is that even necessary or would it be fine with just the weeds and grass already in my yard? Also, is the heating pad necessary? I just read somewhere that they're not great for younger guys since they can warp their bottom shell or something? But I was also thinking I might use it for the turtle house in his outdoor enclosure since nighttime temps are mid to upper 60s right now. I'm trying to learn as much as I can before any decision I make.
Tomorrow I'm also going to Lowes to get some plants (I'm aware that due to fertilizers, etc. I shouldn't give them to Señor right away -- he's too little to be out full time anyway, so I'm hoping that by the time he's grown a few more inches the plants will be safe and ready for him!) and also look to see what sort of fencing options they have. I'm thinking a low stone wall would be a nice way to fence off his permanent enclosure, but I don't have a huge budget.
Thanks for reading! Can't wait to meet y'all. From what I've read, it seems like a pretty good group here.
I am Sarah. My mom has an approx. one year old sulcata tortoise but is often out of town so I've been the primary Tortoise Wrangler.
The tortoise is named Señor, though he may be a Señora. (Explanation -- when my brother first took Spanish, he latched onto the word tortuga and every time he saw a turtle he'd say "Tortuga!" So as adults when we saw Mom's new tortoise we naturally started referring to it as Señor Tortuga.)
The pet store of course gave terrible advice -- tiny tank with sand, no real instructions as far as heat and humidity. So I'm struggling a bit with equipment at the moment, especially with the indoor enclosure (space, light, and heat sources.) I tried to order a kiddy pool online but I ordered something that I thought gave dimensions in feet but instead it was *inches* so I got this tiny sort of box thing that's maybe 1.5 ft by 1.5. Rookie online shopping mistake. (Current readings -- Temp is 80, humidity is 70. Not enough room to have temperature variations. Trying to make this current set-up as temporary as possible. Thinking of getting a big ol plastic storage container for him.)
His temporary outdoor enclosure is working better and luckily the weather here is 80° and humidity around 70 (and I hose everything off before putting him in it to raise it higher.) As soon as possible I want to give him the whole yard but that will require some landscaping and tortoise-proofing first. Currently he's in a 2x6 raised garden bed. I'm having trouble posting pics right now but I'll try to post some later. There's some half-sunken plastic plant containers so he can have somewhere cool to go, and I have a wooden turtle house, the "saucer" from a plant pot is being used as a water dish, and I turned the original glass tank we were using onto its side and put some dirt in it so he can have that as a shelter option as well.
I'm about to place an order on Amazon for a 100 Watt CHE and a 25 watt heating pad. I was also thinking of getting some grass seed especially for sulcatas ("African grasses tortoise blend"), but is that even necessary or would it be fine with just the weeds and grass already in my yard? Also, is the heating pad necessary? I just read somewhere that they're not great for younger guys since they can warp their bottom shell or something? But I was also thinking I might use it for the turtle house in his outdoor enclosure since nighttime temps are mid to upper 60s right now. I'm trying to learn as much as I can before any decision I make.
Tomorrow I'm also going to Lowes to get some plants (I'm aware that due to fertilizers, etc. I shouldn't give them to Señor right away -- he's too little to be out full time anyway, so I'm hoping that by the time he's grown a few more inches the plants will be safe and ready for him!) and also look to see what sort of fencing options they have. I'm thinking a low stone wall would be a nice way to fence off his permanent enclosure, but I don't have a huge budget.
Thanks for reading! Can't wait to meet y'all. From what I've read, it seems like a pretty good group here.
