Time to introduce my babies

ricks45

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Joined
Sep 23, 2018
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16
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Sulphur Louisiana
I have been reading skulking around in the background and reading a lot of threads and learning. I have had a love for giant tortoises since I was a child, but knew that I did not have the time to properly care for one. WELLLL! Now I am retired and decided to pull the trigger and bought two baby Sulcatas from Arizona Sulcata. Austin Clayton was great to work with and answered all my questions promptly. He even gives a 1 year warranty if you send a picture of your enclosure and it is up to his guidelines! I have been researching Sulcatas for awhile now and have found ALOT of conflicting information on the internet. I have also spent literally weeks on here reading threads and decided that you people were the ones that made the most sense in the proper care of the priceless treasures we call tortoises. I spent some time editing the pictures to answer most of the questions that ya'll regularly ask new members. I live in Southwest Louisiana where it is Hot and Humid, just like the Sulcatas like. If anyone has any questions that are not answered in the pictures, just ask! I feed them a variety of greens and grasses and even planted them a tub of tortoise grass mix for more variety. They get soaked regularly. They are from two different clutches that were temperature sexed and just happened to hatch on the same day (Or so I was told) I have had them for six weeks and they have gone from 40 grams to 76grams. I know that there is a possibility that one might bully the other and I watch them close for signs, but they get along great and do almost everything together! I chose their names after watching them for several hours. Dozer(temp sexed male?) doesn't like to go around things, He wants to plow through them. Turbo(temp sexed female?) is always in a hurry, and it amazes me how fast she can go. Without further blabbing from me Meet Dozer and Turbo!2018-10-21_132042.jpg Tortoise Enclosure.jpg Controllers.jpg Outdoor Enclosure.jpg Tortoise Grass.jpg
 

wellington

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Looks like you really took in all the reading and research you have done.
With your ? marks after their sex I take it you understand that temp sexed is no guarantee. Let's hope though it worked.
Bullying can be very tricky to spot sometimes and eventually it will happen so be prepared.
Otherwise it looks like your doing great and you have two little cuties.
 

ricks45

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Joined
Sep 23, 2018
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16
Location (City and/or State)
Sulphur Louisiana
Looks like you really took in all the reading and research you have done.
With your ? marks after their sex I take it you understand that temp sexed is no guarantee. Let's hope though it worked.
Bullying can be very tricky to spot sometimes and eventually it will happen so be prepared.
Otherwise it looks like your doing great and you have two little cuties.
Austin told me that there was no guarantee as to the sex, But the chances were greatly increased. As for the bullying, I have read so many conflicting opinions that I chose to take a chance. They have dug a hole in the back of their cave that they share to sleep in, But I have another 60 gal tank that could be rigged out in hours if I see any sign of bullying. Another outside enclosure is no problem. I have a 30 x 60 chain linked yard I can divide in half, and 1 1/2 acres that can be divided so space is not a problem.
 

Tom

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Hello and welcome. Austin is great and starts his babies very well, so you made a great choice there. You've done a great job with your set up.

Everyone has their own take on things, so I thought I share my thoughts on your pics and post.
  1. I'd triple the amount of substrate. It works much better at maintaining humidity with a thicker layer.
  2. 115 is way too hot for your basking spot. It will cause them to pyramid. Because your babies were started right, you live in a humid climate, and you are working to maintain humidity, it won't be bad pyramiding, but you will have less if you raise that fixture a bit and get the basking temp down to 95-100.
  3. You will very seldom see overt aggression or hostility with babies. That is not what you are looking for. What you should be looking for is them following each other around, sleeping in the same spots, sleeping or resting face to face, sitting on the food pile, etc... All of these thing indicate tortoise hostility. They should never be kept as a pair. It is still a problem even if they aren't yet pushing and shoving or biting. Both will be much better off living alone, or as part of a small group. Just not as a pair. If you do infect have at least one male, you will also have major problem in about 12-14 months when that male's hormones start to kick in. Males mature and get randy much earlier than females, and they will harass their cage mates to the point of sickness or death. Best to just separate them now.
Congrats on the new babies, and keep us posted. Here are some more food ideas in case you haven't seen this one yet:
https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/for-those-who-have-a-young-sulcata.76744/
 

ricks45

New Member
Joined
Sep 23, 2018
Messages
16
Location (City and/or State)
Sulphur Louisiana
Hello and welcome. Austin is great and starts his babies very well, so you made a great choice there. You've done a great job with your set up.

Everyone has their own take on things, so I thought I share my thoughts on your pics and post.
  1. I'd triple the amount of substrate. It works much better at maintaining humidity with a thicker layer.
  2. 115 is way too hot for your basking spot. It will cause them to pyramid. Because your babies were started right, you live in a humid climate, and you are working to maintain humidity, it won't be bad pyramiding, but you will have less if you raise that fixture a bit and get the basking temp down to 95-100.
  3. You will very seldom see overt aggression or hostility with babies. That is not what you are looking for. What you should be looking for is them following each other around, sleeping in the same spots, sleeping or resting face to face, sitting on the food pile, etc... All of these thing indicate tortoise hostility. They should never be kept as a pair. It is still a problem even if they aren't yet pushing and shoving or biting. Both will be much better off living alone, or as part of a small group. Just not as a pair. If you do infect have at least one male, you will also have major problem in about 12-14 months when that male's hormones start to kick in. Males mature and get randy much earlier than females, and they will harass their cage mates to the point of sickness or death. Best to just separate them now.
Congrats on the new babies, and keep us posted. Here are some more food ideas in case you haven't seen this one yet:
https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/for-those-who-have-a-young-sulcata.76744/
I was thinking about adding more substrate so I wouldn't need to fill the humidifier as often. And I meant to edit the enclosure pic. I went to a lower wattage basking bulb and temp. is a steady 95. As far as keeping them as a pair---There are so many conflicting opinions that I feel that if they have a big enough enclosure to be able to get away, and close monitoring, they should be ok. We will see. Thanks for the great advice.
 

TechnoCheese

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Them doing everything together is likely already one bullying each other. Tortoises are solitary animals, and just seeing another tortoise is very stressful for them. Separating them now really would be best, seeing as they gain nothing but stress.
 
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