question on the Leopard and Sulcata Care Guide pdf

westernstar

New Member
Joined
Jan 16, 2020
Messages
18
Location (City and/or State)
Phoenix, AZ
Hey all! I'm new to the forums and a new Sulcata Tort parent. S/he is 5 months old, so naturally I'm reading everything voraciously to learn.

Because of this, there is a lot of information that I need to string together into an overall "how to take care of him daily" guide.

My question is: is the leopard and Sulcata care guide : https://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/leopard-and-sulcata-care-guide.173020/ still relevant?

I'm specifically curious about the climate zones mentioned on that sheet. It says here that the night temp should be 65+, but I'm also reading a lot of posts that mention 80 being the minimum temperature (which might refer to minimum daytime temperature, I'm not sure).

Can anyone confirm? I'm one of those types that's prone to "analysis paralysis", and a forum chocked full of info like this one has got me in a bit of a whirlpool, LOL. Not a bad thing, I'd rather have too much info than not enough, I just need to sort out the loose ends.

thanks in advance !!
 

theTurtleRoom

Active Member
10 Year Member!
Tortoise Club
Platinum Tortoise Club
Joined
Nov 5, 2012
Messages
410
Location (City and/or State)
Lititz, PA
Yvonne knows her stuff so you are probably safe following what she outlines.

Sulcatas are desert tortoises and while deserts get very hot during the day they are also known for drastic temperature drops at night. In the wild a tortoise like a Sulcata would burrow to get beneath the cooler temperatures but I am guessing this little one is being kept indoors so I would err on the side of staying warmer as they will have less ability to regulate by digging etc. The 68f degree temperature is likely provided as an absolute basement to the temps they will comfortably withstand so I wouldn't attempt to reach that temp intentionally. Probably safer to split the difference and aim for a bit higher. Are you using a thermostat to regulate your temperatures?
 

Tom

The Dog Trainer
10 Year Member!
Platinum Tortoise Club
Joined
Jan 9, 2010
Messages
63,265
Location (City and/or State)
Southern California
I can't open the thumbnail, but if it says 65 for a sulcata, then no, it is not correct. They need warm temps, year round, day and night, and that is what they get in the wild too. They can sometimes survive lower temps than that, but its not "good" for them.
 

Tom

The Dog Trainer
10 Year Member!
Platinum Tortoise Club
Joined
Jan 9, 2010
Messages
63,265
Location (City and/or State)
Southern California
Sulcatas are desert tortoises...

No they are not. This one tid bit of incorrect info has been repeated for decades. It is wrong and it does sooooo much harm to this tropical species. They come from grasslands and forrest edges, NOT deserts. It takes a lot of annual rainfall to maintain grasslands and forrests. Yes there is a dry season, during which time they shelter underground in warm humid burrows, but the rainy season when it is very hot, wet, and humid is when the babies hatch, grow and thrive, and the adults come out and play in the marshes and puddles. No marshes and puddles in the desert.

I still love you man, but I can't let this incorrect statement stand. I've been fighting this incorrect notion for a decade now.
 

theTurtleRoom

Active Member
10 Year Member!
Tortoise Club
Platinum Tortoise Club
Joined
Nov 5, 2012
Messages
410
Location (City and/or State)
Lititz, PA
No they are not. This one tid bit of incorrect info has been repeated for decades. It is wrong and it does sooooo much harm to this tropical species. They come from grasslands and forrest edges, NOT deserts. It takes a lot of annual rainfall to maintain grasslands and forrests. Yes there is a dry season, during which time they shelter underground in warm humid burrows, but the rainy season when it is very hot, wet, and humid is when the babies hatch, grow and thrive, and the adults come out and play in the marshes and puddles. No marshes and puddles in the desert.

I still love you man, but I can't let this incorrect statement stand. I've been fighting this incorrect notion for a decade now.

You may be correct, I cannot say for certain as most information online indicates that "These tortoises inhabit deserts and semiarid regions in northern Africa. They are commonly found in grasslands, deserts, savannas, and thorn scrubland." and I have not been fortunate enough to see them in the wild myself! Most sites are still listing them as part of Geochelone though so obviously their information is not the best curated. If true I appreciate the correction, their range encompasses the Sahara so I guess the terminology has fallen into the vernacular.

I raised one quite happily outdoors most of the year in Florida, however, so sub-tropical conditions obviously agrees with them either way. We can at least agree that warmer is better with these guys! :D
 

Yvonne G

Old Timer
TFO Admin
10 Year Member!
Platinum Tortoise Club
Joined
Jan 23, 2008
Messages
93,405
Location (City and/or State)
Clovis, CA
Hey all! I'm new to the forums and a new Sulcata Tort parent. S/he is 5 months old, so naturally I'm reading everything voraciously to learn.

Because of this, there is a lot of information that I need to string together into an overall "how to take care of him daily" guide.

My question is: is the leopard and Sulcata care guide : https://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/leopard-and-sulcata-care-guide.173020/ still relevant?

I'm specifically curious about the climate zones mentioned on that sheet. It says here that the night temp should be 65+, but I'm also reading a lot of posts that mention 80 being the minimum temperature (which might refer to minimum daytime temperature, I'm not sure).

Can anyone confirm? I'm one of those types that's prone to "analysis paralysis", and a forum chocked full of info like this one has got me in a bit of a whirlpool, LOL. Not a bad thing, I'd rather have too much info than not enough, I just need to sort out the loose ends.

thanks in advance !!
I asked the owner of that chart if I could have permission to re-print it here on our Forum. She said ok. As it's not MY information, I can't make changes to it. I like it because it gives new people a pictorial for feeding, etc. But that part, the night time temperature part, is incorrect. I wish there were a way for me to change it, but I can't. When they say night temperatures 68F degrees, that would be a figure that you should NOT go below, not a figure that you should try to achieve. For baby tortoises I keep them 80-85F degrees day and night - no hot side, no cool side.
 

westernstar

New Member
Joined
Jan 16, 2020
Messages
18
Location (City and/or State)
Phoenix, AZ
Yvonne knows her stuff so you are probably safe following what she outlines.

Sulcatas are desert tortoises and while deserts get very hot during the day they are also known for drastic temperature drops at night. In the wild a tortoise like a Sulcata would burrow to get beneath the cooler temperatures but I am guessing this little one is being kept indoors so I would err on the side of staying warmer as they will have less ability to regulate by digging etc. The 68f degree temperature is likely provided as an absolute basement to the temps they will comfortably withstand so I wouldn't attempt to reach that temp intentionally. Probably safer to split the difference and aim for a bit higher. Are you using a thermostat to regulate your temperatures?


Thanks for your quick reply!

Currently I'm not using a thermostat or a nighttime heater, since that is another level of confusion for me at the moment. From what I've read, it seems that I can choose just about any CFE, but figuring out what hood to put it with, and what thermostat to couple it all with, and exactly where it sits is one of my higher priorities to solve. I am definitely open to suggestions on this.

Right now, he's in a 10 gallon tank, with a vented hood. I cover the vents in the hood apart from the area the mini dome light is sitting on. Inside the mini dome is a 100w basking light that is at one end of the tank. I have two thermometers inside the tank -- one on the basking side and the other on the opposite, cooler side. The basking side is getting up to about 96f, while the cooler side is at about 80f. At night, I turn off the light when he hides under his log. Throughout the night, I've checked the thermometers and they sit right about 66f.

As he's currently 70 grams and his carapace length is a bit over 3", He will eventually be outdoors, which again from what I'm picking up, he may be eligible when he gets to 4" (not sure about that though, to me that seems much too small).

So I'm at a juncture where on one hand, I could wait until he hits 4" and move him to a set-up outside, complete with the appropriate heat/shade/water elements he'd need outside, including whatever appropriate CFE/thermostat he'd need for outside life. I live in Phoenix, so it won't be too long before it starts getting warm here again (we're at about 70f in the day, 45f at night right now), so given their growth rate, he likely might be big enough to go outside when it gets warm enough.

On the other hand, I could get him a larger tank/enclosure, again complete with the appropriate heat/shade/water elements he'd need until he's ready for the outdoors if he needs to be bigger than 4". In this case, I'm sure I would need a different CFE/Thermostat than I would need if he was going outside.


So yeah... lots of intricate decisions, which is why I'm getting quickly paralyzed as to what to do next!

I am very open to suggestions given that I'd like to get him outdoors as soon as it would make sense, as I'm very sure he'll love my backyard way more than anything I could set up inside.

Thanks again!
 

westernstar

New Member
Joined
Jan 16, 2020
Messages
18
Location (City and/or State)
Phoenix, AZ
I asked the owner of that chart if I could have permission to re-print it here on our Forum. She said ok. As it's not MY information, I can't make changes to it. I like it because it gives new people a pictorial for feeding, etc. But that part, the night time temperature part, is incorrect. I wish there were a way for me to change it, but I can't. When they say night temperatures 68F degrees, that would be a figure that you should NOT go below, not a figure that you should try to achieve. For baby tortoises I keep them 80-85F degrees day and night - no hot side, no cool side.


Yeah that would be great if that pictorial could get updated! It's a great "map" for me, so having the correct info is obviously a "must have"! I'm handy with pdf editing , photo shop, etc, so I can help update it if you'd like. If so, maybe we could get the pdf from the original owner emailed to me somehow, as working with the file directly would be a cleaner and more precise way to edit it. That said, I can still work with the embedded picture inside that thread if need be.

So with that said, if babies should stay above 80-85f at night, at what point in their life/growth cycle can they withstand lower temperatures, and what would that lowest suggested temperature be? I assume a lot of people here have outdoor adult sulcatas who live in regions that aren't like their African homelands, so I'm guessing they build a resilience to a certain degree, or am I wrong?

Thanks !
 

wellington

Well-Known Member
Moderator
10 Year Member!
Tortoise Club
Joined
Sep 6, 2011
Messages
49,655
Location (City and/or State)
Chicago, Illinois, USA
I asked the owner of that chart if I could have permission to re-print it here on our Forum. She said ok. As it's not MY information, I can't make changes to it. I like it because it gives new people a pictorial for feeding, etc. But that part, the night time temperature part, is incorrect. I wish there were a way for me to change it, but I can't. When they say night temperatures 68F degrees, that would be a figure that you should NOT go below, not a figure that you should try to achieve. For baby tortoises I keep them 80-85F degrees day and night - no hot side, no cool side.
Might be best to add a quote to the post to not follow the recommended temps or delete it altogether. If new members are looking at that and nothing else or questioning anything then they are getting for dangerous info. I cant see what is all there. For some reason on my phone it doesnt allow me to see what's all there.
 

theTurtleRoom

Active Member
10 Year Member!
Tortoise Club
Platinum Tortoise Club
Joined
Nov 5, 2012
Messages
410
Location (City and/or State)
Lititz, PA
Yeah that would be great if that pictorial could get updated! It's a great "map" for me, so having the correct info is obviously a "must have"! I'm handy with pdf editing , photo shop, etc, so I can help update it if you'd like. If so, maybe we could get the pdf from the original owner emailed to me somehow, as working with the file directly would be a cleaner and more precise way to edit it. That said, I can still work with the embedded picture inside that thread if need be.

So with that said, if babies should stay above 80-85f at night, at what point in their life/growth cycle can they withstand lower temperatures, and what would that lowest suggested temperature be? I assume a lot of people here have outdoor adult sulcatas who live in regions that aren't like their African homelands, so I'm guessing they build a resilience to a certain degree, or am I wrong?

Thanks !

Once you transition your Sulcata to outside you will need to look into outdoor heating options for when it gets cool or prep to bring them indoors. You will find lots of heated doghouse type structures on here from people who keep their tortoises outside year round. Being coldblooded they do not really have the ability to 'build resilience', generally speaking even adults wont do well below 70 for extended periods of time. As you said they are probably too small for that for a bit so you can afford to worry about that later! lol
 

theTurtleRoom

Active Member
10 Year Member!
Tortoise Club
Platinum Tortoise Club
Joined
Nov 5, 2012
Messages
410
Location (City and/or State)
Lititz, PA
Thanks for your quick reply!

Currently I'm not using a thermostat or a nighttime heater, since that is another level of confusion for me at the moment. From what I've read, it seems that I can choose just about any CFE, but figuring out what hood to put it with, and what thermostat to couple it all with, and exactly where it sits is one of my higher priorities to solve. I am definitely open to suggestions on this.

Right now, he's in a 10 gallon tank, with a vented hood. I cover the vents in the hood apart from the area the mini dome light is sitting on. Inside the mini dome is a 100w basking light that is at one end of the tank. I have two thermometers inside the tank -- one on the basking side and the other on the opposite, cooler side. The basking side is getting up to about 96f, while the cooler side is at about 80f. At night, I turn off the light when he hides under his log. Throughout the night, I've checked the thermometers and they sit right about 66f.

As he's currently 70 grams and his carapace length is a bit over 3", He will eventually be outdoors, which again from what I'm picking up, he may be eligible when he gets to 4" (not sure about that though, to me that seems much too small).

So I'm at a juncture where on one hand, I could wait until he hits 4" and move him to a set-up outside, complete with the appropriate heat/shade/water elements he'd need outside, including whatever appropriate CFE/thermostat he'd need for outside life. I live in Phoenix, so it won't be too long before it starts getting warm here again (we're at about 70f in the day, 45f at night right now), so given their growth rate, he likely might be big enough to go outside when it gets warm enough.

On the other hand, I could get him a larger tank/enclosure, again complete with the appropriate heat/shade/water elements he'd need until he's ready for the outdoors if he needs to be bigger than 4". In this case, I'm sure I would need a different CFE/Thermostat than I would need if he was going outside.


So yeah... lots of intricate decisions, which is why I'm getting quickly paralyzed as to what to do next!

I am very open to suggestions given that I'd like to get him outdoors as soon as it would make sense, as I'm very sure he'll love my backyard way more than anything I could set up inside.

Thanks again!

If they have a specific log they like to hunker down in for the night I would suggest at least getting an under-tank heatpad for during the night hours when your other heating elements are not on. A couple of $5 timers from any hardware store and you could set them to come on at opposite hours and take any manual intervention out of the process on your end. That's probably your easiest solution to keeping their body temps up. You could also look into CHEs (Ceramic Heat Emitters) which provide heat like a bulb but without the light. That would require a whole other dome though.

Just to confirm since I am not seeing a mention of it, do you have UV lighting in addition to heat?
 

theTurtleRoom

Active Member
10 Year Member!
Tortoise Club
Platinum Tortoise Club
Joined
Nov 5, 2012
Messages
410
Location (City and/or State)
Lititz, PA
I asked the owner of that chart if I could have permission to re-print it here on our Forum. She said ok. As it's not MY information, I can't make changes to it. I like it because it gives new people a pictorial for feeding, etc. But that part, the night time temperature part, is incorrect. I wish there were a way for me to change it, but I can't. When they say night temperatures 68F degrees, that would be a figure that you should NOT go below, not a figure that you should try to achieve. For baby tortoises I keep them 80-85F degrees day and night - no hot side, no cool side.

@Yvonne G I'm fairly handy with graphical software, if you ever wanted to create your own visual care sheets that have the most up-to-date and clear information I could see that being very valuable! Just let me know!
 

Tom

The Dog Trainer
10 Year Member!
Platinum Tortoise Club
Joined
Jan 9, 2010
Messages
63,265
Location (City and/or State)
Southern California
Thanks for your quick reply!

Currently I'm not using a thermostat or a nighttime heater, since that is another level of confusion for me at the moment. From what I've read, it seems that I can choose just about any CFE, but figuring out what hood to put it with, and what thermostat to couple it all with, and exactly where it sits is one of my higher priorities to solve. I am definitely open to suggestions on this.

Right now, he's in a 10 gallon tank, with a vented hood. I cover the vents in the hood apart from the area the mini dome light is sitting on. Inside the mini dome is a 100w basking light that is at one end of the tank. I have two thermometers inside the tank -- one on the basking side and the other on the opposite, cooler side. The basking side is getting up to about 96f, while the cooler side is at about 80f. At night, I turn off the light when he hides under his log. Throughout the night, I've checked the thermometers and they sit right about 66f.

As he's currently 70 grams and his carapace length is a bit over 3", He will eventually be outdoors, which again from what I'm picking up, he may be eligible when he gets to 4" (not sure about that though, to me that seems much too small).

So I'm at a juncture where on one hand, I could wait until he hits 4" and move him to a set-up outside, complete with the appropriate heat/shade/water elements he'd need outside, including whatever appropriate CFE/thermostat he'd need for outside life. I live in Phoenix, so it won't be too long before it starts getting warm here again (we're at about 70f in the day, 45f at night right now), so given their growth rate, he likely might be big enough to go outside when it gets warm enough.

On the other hand, I could get him a larger tank/enclosure, again complete with the appropriate heat/shade/water elements he'd need until he's ready for the outdoors if he needs to be bigger than 4". In this case, I'm sure I would need a different CFE/Thermostat than I would need if he was going outside.


So yeah... lots of intricate decisions, which is why I'm getting quickly paralyzed as to what to do next!

I am very open to suggestions given that I'd like to get him outdoors as soon as it would make sense, as I'm very sure he'll love my backyard way more than anything I could set up inside.

Thanks again!


I'm very glad you've found us, and your tortoise will be too. You've gotten a lot of the old, incorrect wrong info that still pervades the culture. Please give these a read through. This will correct most of the wrong stuff you've found:
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/


There are four elements to heating and lighting:
  1. Basking bulb. I use 65 watt floods from the hardware store. I run them on a timer and adjust the height to get the correct basking temp under them. You can mount a fixture on the ceiling, or hang a dome lamp from the ceiling. Go lower or higher wattage if this makes the enclosure too hot or not warm enough. Do not use "spot" bulbs, mercury vapor bulbs or halogen bulbs.
  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 or leopards. I like this thermostat: https://www.lllreptile.com/products/13883-zilla-1000-watt-temperature-controller. Put the probe in the coolest corner away from all heating elements. You may need more than one heating element to spread the heat out for a given enclosure.
  3. Light. I use florescent tubes 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. I've been using LEDs lately and they are great, and run cooler than a florescent. This can be set on the same timer as the basking bulb.
  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. I like the ZooMed 10.0 HO, and the Arcadia 12% HO. Which type will depend on mounting height. It helps to have a UV meter to test and see what your bulb is actually putting out at your mounting height. Plexi-glass or screen tops will filter out some or all of the UV produced by your bulb.
A 10 gallon is way too small for even a tiny hatchling. Minimum size should be 40, but bigger than that is much better. You cannot maintain the correct conditions in something so small. They need room to roam in their warm humid enclosure. Once you put in the bowls, a humid hide, and any decorations, there is no room to walk in a little enclosure. GO BIG! Large closed chambers work best and they also make it very easy and efficient to heat them and keep humidity where you want it.

They MUST have night heat. 66 is likely to make them sick, and then your vet is likely to kill your baby with their "treatment" of the sickness. Size of the CHE depends on the room temp, enclosure size and enclosure type. Your thermometer will tell you if you need a bigger one, or an additional one. To run your CHE, you need a ceramic based hood that is rated to larger wattage than your CHE. I recommend this one: https://www.homedepot.com/p/Woods-2...0-5-in-Reflector-and-Bulb-Guard-165/204667675

4" is much too small for them to live outside full time. I prefer to wait until they are 8-10". When they do get moved outside full time, you will need a heated, sealed, insulated night box for them to live in. I had a thread for this, but the pics have disappeared. Here is a bigger box for reference. Half this size, and heated with a Kane mat and radiant heat panel will do it, instead of the mini oil-filled radiant heater in the pics:
https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/double-door-night-box.129054/

Too much time outside is babd for babies, regardless of climate or temperature. It slows their growth tremendously and causes some pyramiding. My general rule of thumb is one hour of outside time in a safe enclosure for each inch of tortoise. It is important to soak them on the way back in to rehydrate them after their time outside in the dry air.

Almost everyone starts out with bad advice. I sure did. Took me decades to figure what worked and what didn't. You get the info for free, right up front. :)
 

theTurtleRoom

Active Member
10 Year Member!
Tortoise Club
Platinum Tortoise Club
Joined
Nov 5, 2012
Messages
410
Location (City and/or State)
Lititz, PA
Once you transition your Sulcata to outside you will need to look into outdoor heating options for when it gets cool or prep to bring them indoors. You will find lots of heated doghouse type structures on here from people who keep their tortoises outside year round. Being coldblooded they do not really have the ability to 'build resilience', generally speaking even adults wont do well below 70 for extended periods of time. As you said they are probably too small for that for a bit so you can afford to worry about that later! lol

Here are some links for when you DO start thinking about moving them outside since I just saw them posted in another thread:
https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/double-door-night-box.129054/
https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/what-youll-need-to-build-a-night-box.171435/
https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/h...g-of-toms-night-box-with-exploded-view.97697/
 

Tom

The Dog Trainer
10 Year Member!
Platinum Tortoise Club
Joined
Jan 9, 2010
Messages
63,265
Location (City and/or State)
Southern California
If they have a specific log they like to hunker down in for the night I would suggest at least getting an under-tank heatpad for during the night hours when your other heating elements are not on. A couple of $5 timers from any hardware store and you could set them to come on at opposite hours and take any manual intervention out of the process on your end. That's probably your easiest solution to keeping their body temps up. You could also look into CHEs (Ceramic Heat Emitters) which provide heat like a bulb but without the light. That would require a whole other dome though.

Just to confirm since I am not seeing a mention of it, do you have UV lighting in addition to heat?
Anthony, undertank heaters should NEVER be used for tortoises. When they get warm, they dig down (Away from the "sun" and surface heat) to cool off. This gets them closer to the heat source and makes them hotter, which makes them dig down deeper in a futile effort to get away from the heat. They either over heat or get burned. Undertank heat is not safe for tortoises in general, but especially not for the diggers like Russians, sulcatas, and DTs...

Have you been reading the sulcata books? They are full of the wrong info. We've made great strides in refuting this wrong info over the last few years. Why are you bringing it back? Do you keep sulcatas now? Are you using undertank heaters under your sulcatas? Where is this coming from?
 

westernstar

New Member
Joined
Jan 16, 2020
Messages
18
Location (City and/or State)
Phoenix, AZ
I'm very glad you've found us, and your tortoise will be too. You've gotten a lot of the old, incorrect wrong info that still pervades the culture. Please give these a read through. This will correct most of the wrong stuff you've found:
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/


There are four elements to heating and lighting:
  1. Basking bulb. I use 65 watt floods from the hardware store. I run them on a timer and adjust the height to get the correct basking temp under them. You can mount a fixture on the ceiling, or hang a dome lamp from the ceiling. Go lower or higher wattage if this makes the enclosure too hot or not warm enough. Do not use "spot" bulbs, mercury vapor bulbs or halogen bulbs.
  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 or leopards. I like this thermostat: https://www.lllreptile.com/products/13883-zilla-1000-watt-temperature-controller. Put the probe in the coolest corner away from all heating elements. You may need more than one heating element to spread the heat out for a given enclosure.
  3. Light. I use florescent tubes 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. I've been using LEDs lately and they are great, and run cooler than a florescent. This can be set on the same timer as the basking bulb.
  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. I like the ZooMed 10.0 HO, and the Arcadia 12% HO. Which type will depend on mounting height. It helps to have a UV meter to test and see what your bulb is actually putting out at your mounting height. Plexi-glass or screen tops will filter out some or all of the UV produced by your bulb.
A 10 gallon is way too small for even a tiny hatchling. Minimum size should be 40, but bigger than that is much better. You cannot maintain the correct conditions in something so small. They need room to roam in their warm humid enclosure. Once you put in the bowls, a humid hide, and any decorations, there is no room to walk in a little enclosure. GO BIG! Large closed chambers work best and they also make it very easy and efficient to heat them and keep humidity where you want it.

They MUST have night heat. 66 is likely to make them sick, and then your vet is likely to kill your baby with their "treatment" of the sickness. Size of the CHE depends on the room temp, enclosure size and enclosure type. Your thermometer will tell you if you need a bigger one, or an additional one. To run your CHE, you need a ceramic based hood that is rated to larger wattage than your CHE. I recommend this one: https://www.homedepot.com/p/Woods-2...0-5-in-Reflector-and-Bulb-Guard-165/204667675

4" is much too small for them to live outside full time. I prefer to wait until they are 8-10". When they do get moved outside full time, you will need a heated, sealed, insulated night box for them to live in. I had a thread for this, but the pics have disappeared. Here is a bigger box for reference. Half this size, and heated with a Kane mat and radiant heat panel will do it, instead of the mini oil-filled radiant heater in the pics:
https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/double-door-night-box.129054/

Too much time outside is babd for babies, regardless of climate or temperature. It slows their growth tremendously and causes some pyramiding. My general rule of thumb is one hour of outside time in a safe enclosure for each inch of tortoise. It is important to soak them on the way back in to rehydrate them after their time outside in the dry air.

Almost everyone starts out with bad advice. I sure did. Took me decades to figure what worked and what didn't. You get the info for free, right up front. :)




WOW !! Thank you so much! I love step by steps like this, especially when it's new and overwhelming info! Now that I have my marching orders, I'm on it!! I'll keep you posted on the progress.

BTW: If you haven't written a book on this subject already, you should. :)
 

Yvonne G

Old Timer
TFO Admin
10 Year Member!
Platinum Tortoise Club
Joined
Jan 23, 2008
Messages
93,405
Location (City and/or State)
Clovis, CA
Tortoise care/diet/housing is always evolving. It's not a good idea to 'write a book' as the information would be out of date before the pages of the book rotted and blew away.
 

Quadro

Active Member
Joined
Jan 8, 2020
Messages
116
Location (City and/or State)
SC
Hey all! I'm new to the forums and a new Sulcata Tort parent. S/he is 5 months old, so naturally I'm reading everything voraciously to learn.

Because of this, there is a lot of information that I need to string together into an overall "how to take care of him daily" guide.

My question is: is the leopard and Sulcata care guide : https://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/leopard-and-sulcata-care-guide.173020/ still relevant?

I'm specifically curious about the climate zones mentioned on that sheet. It says here that the night temp should be 65+, but I'm also reading a lot of posts that mention 80 being the minimum temperature (which might refer to minimum daytime temperature, I'm not sure).

Can anyone confirm? I'm one of those types that's prone to "analysis paralysis", and a forum chocked full of info like this one has got me in a bit of a whirlpool, LOL. Not a bad thing, I'd rather have too much info than not enough, I just need to sort out the loose ends.

thanks in advance !!
Hello and welcome this is the place to be! This forum will help all tort babies or older torts not just survive but to thrive if the information given is applied to yours , which is what everyone should want for their torts especially since these methods are tested and approved. I have already learned a lot by being here and as much as I hate to admit I work at a pet store from now on I will be telling people all the information I learn here and applying it to my job and at home ! Which we don’t sell tortoises but I get a lot of customers that impulse buy at reptile shows and do not know anything about what they just got !
 

Sue Ann

Well-Known Member
Joined
Mar 19, 2019
Messages
436
Location (City and/or State)
chapin , South Carolina
WOW !! Thank you so much! I love step by steps like this, especially when it's new and overwhelming info! Now that I have my marching orders, I'm on it!! I'll keep you posted on the progress.

BTW: If you haven't written a book on this subject already, you should. :)
I agree Tom should write a book or at least pamphlets on newbie care,one on building an outdoor enclosure, etc. I would gladly pay for these.
 

New Posts

Top