Two Sully’s raised in a tropical house

Miscally said:

They are very cute.
Sorry, I don't think they should be together or able to see each other.
You work in a tropical house? What a great job [emoji3] Where avoid in southern England are you? I'm in Cambridge

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Charlotte_r said:

Thank you I think they’re pretty awesome!
It’s a butterfly house so we have ponds with fish, free flying birds and of course the sullys I’m on the Isle of Wight, eventually the girls will move outside. I will take pics of the outside area later too so everyone can see that

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Charlotte_r said:

Thank you I think they’re pretty awesome!
It’s a butterfly house so we have ponds with fish, free flying birds and of course the sullys I’m on the Isle of Wight, eventually the girls will move outside. I will take pics of the outside area later too so everyone can see that

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Maro2Bear said:

Greetings. Great location you have there - what lucky torts (and ppl).

Definitely increase your soaking to daily! In nice, warm water.

From Toms Care Guide

Soaking:
I recommend hatchlings be soaked in 85-95 degree water for 20-30 minutes once a day. I use a tall sided opaque tub and keep the water depth about a third of the way up the body. If you have a humid enclosure with a humid hide and a water bowl, it is totally fine to skip a day here and there. Soaking only once a week and using a dry enclosure is not enough in my opinion, and I would not buy a hatchling that had been started that way. Once the tortoise gets to about 4" I relax a bit on the soaking routine and gradually taper it down as they gain size. How often I soak older tortoises depends on a lot of factors, the current weather and season being two big ones. I soak more often when its hot and dry. If you live in a warm, humid, rainy climate, and your tortoise is exposed to these conditions, soaking less often is probably fine, but it still wont hurt anything to do it.


Id suggest removing the straw/hay that you have in their “hide”. It’s supposed to be dark, warm and very humid in the hide (even cozy). Your substrate will easily mold/mildew.

You enclosure for today is large, but bullying still might be going on at feeding, sleeping, following, pushing, etc.

From Toms Sully Care Sheet

Humid Hide Boxes:

This offers the tortoise a more humid place to retreat to and sleep and can simulate some of the more damp micro-climates they might utilize in the wild. It is as simple as getting a $2 black dishwashing tub from Walmart, flipping it upside down and cutting out a small door hole. I keep the substrate under the tub more damp than the surrounding substrate and it works great. You can also use plastic shoe boxes. Some people like to put sphagnum moss in their hides or attach a sponge to the top. This is all fine, but I usually don't bother. This is a short paragraph, but this is a very important detail that should not be overlooked.

Substrate: I recommend coco coir, orchid bark, cypress mulch, plain additive free soil, or yard dirt if yours is suitable. All of these can be purchased in bulk at most hardware or garden center stores at a tremendous savings. I recommend against wood shavings or chips, ground walnut s


Good luck.

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• 17 is WAYYYY too cold at night. This species should never drop below 26-27. They need some sort of night heat. You are lucky they are still alive. Where this species comes from there is no cold time of year. Ground temps are always 80-85 F for this species in the wild. They avoid the extreme heat of the day and the occasional cool "winter" night by staying in underground burrows.
• 28 is okay for a daytime ambient, but warmer would be better. I like daytime ambient to creep up to 33-34.
• The basking area helps, but they should have a basking area available for 12 hours a day.
• The type of basking lamp you are using is infamous for carapace desiccation, which is what causes the pyramiding. Try measuring humidity directly under that bulb and you'll find that its much too low.
• They should never live as a pair. They need to be separated ASAP.

Tom said:

You've got a few problems going on there, but that is a super cool place to raise them. Let me spell out the issues one at a time.

• 17 is WAYYYY too cold at night. This species should never drop below 26-27. They need some sort of night heat. You are lucky they are still alive. Whee this species comes from there is no cold time of year. Ground temps are always 80-85 F for this species in the wild. They avoid the extreme heat of the day and the occasional cool "winter" night by staying in underground burrows.
• 28 is okay for a daytime ambient, but warmer would be better. I like daytime ambient to creep up to 33-34.
• The basking area helps, but they should have a basking area available for 12 hours a day.
• The type of basking lamp you are using is infamous for carapace desiccation, which is what causes the pyramiding. Try measuring humidity directly under that bulb and you'll find that its much too low.
• They should never live as a pair. They need to be separated ASAP.

I think to solve these problems, all you need is another separate enclosure and couple of heated night boxes for them to be kept in at night and during the cool days.

Here is all the sulcata info in one place for you:
https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/beginner-mistakes.45180/
https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/how-to-raise-a-healthy-sulcata-or-leopard-version-2-0.79895/
https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/for-those-who-have-a-young-sulcata.76744/

Questions and conversation are welcome.

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Tom said:

You've got a few problems going on there, but that is a super cool place to raise them. Let me spell out the issues one at a time.

• 17 is WAYYYY too cold at night. This species should never drop below 26-27. They need some sort of night heat. You are lucky they are still alive. Where this species comes from there is no cold time of year. Ground temps are always 80-85 F for this species in the wild. They avoid the extreme heat of the day and the occasional cool "winter" night by staying in underground burrows.
• 28 is okay for a daytime ambient, but warmer would be better. I like daytime ambient to creep up to 33-34.
• The basking area helps, but they should have a basking area available for 12 hours a day.
• The type of basking lamp you are using is infamous for carapace desiccation, which is what causes the pyramiding. Try measuring humidity directly under that bulb and you'll find that its much too low.
• They should never live as a pair. They need to be separated ASAP.

I think to solve these problems, all you need is another separate enclosure and couple of heated night boxes for them to be kept in at night and during the cool days.

Here is all the sulcata info in one place for you:
https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/beginner-mistakes.45180/
https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/how-to-raise-a-healthy-sulcata-or-leopard-version-2-0.79895/
https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/for-those-who-have-a-young-sulcata.76744/

Questions and conversation are welcome.

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Charlotte_r said:

Would you advise a UV strip light and then a heat bulb that stays on day & night?

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1. Basking bulb. I use 65 watt floods from the hardware store. I run them on a timer for 12 hours and adjust the height to get the correct basking temp under them.
2. Ambient heat maintenance. I use ceramic heating elements or radiant heat panels set on thermostats to maintain ambient above 80 degrees day and night for tropical species like sulcatas. You'd usually only need day heat for a temperate species like Testudo or DT.
3. Light. I use florescent tubes or LEDs for this purpose. Something in the 5000-6500K color range will look the best. Most tubes at the store are in the 2500K range and they look yellowish. This one is optional depending on how bright the room is and what other lights you are using. Seems like you wouldn't need this one for your situation.
4. UV. If you can get your tortoise outside for an hour 2 or 3 times a week, you won't need indoor UV. If you want it anyway, get one of the newer HO type fluorescent tubes. Which type will depend on mounting height. Do not use a cfl type. Some of them are dangerous, and all of them are ineffective as a UV source.

Charlotte_r said:

View attachment 270346
The girls enjoying the warm sun

View attachment 270348

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