A few questions...

[TheBennillers]

I have a few questions,...

I currently live in Indiana (it's spitting snow here today - yuck!) and am curious about outdoor enclosures. Obviously it is too cold for them to go outside yet.. but I do like to think ahead.. in fact I am curious about long term, when these guys are huge. Do people in the midwest house these guys outdoors? even in the winter?? I know it might be far off, but we are shopping for a new house so I need to know to look for a tort room... or yard space.

Also, when they were dropped off to me, I was told it is a male and a female. Can you even tell at this age? One is 3 or 4 inches long... the other is 4 or 6 inches. will I need to separate them?

And a few questions about food too... I purchased some Mazuri as had been suggested but my torts wont eat it. Is there some trick to getting to eat this? I tried adding water to it to soften it up and they still are not interested. I also tried feeding them some cactus pads today (thinly sliced for their little mouths) and they don't seem very interested in that either... In fact today they have been grazing on dry timothy hay. I have some seeds started for them, grasses and weeds, but they are just now sprouting. They also get fed spring mix now but I just want to add variety.

Those of you that have read my intro post know that I am the new owner of 2 young sulcatas. I admittedly don't know much about these tortoises (thats why I came here!)... First let me explain how they came into my posession; I am known in my area for taking in unwanted animals and out of my own pocket I rehab and often find them new loving homes. Up until this point everything that has been sent my way has been warm blooded and furry.. cats, dogs, a ferret... a horse... and now these guys. I took them because I hate to turn anything away, and now I happen to be fond of the little guys/girls and have to learn all I can about caring for them properly. Please understand that if I would have been looking to get these as pets I would have done my research before hand.

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi Tomia:

I don't know about the mid west, but up in Oregon my sister keeps Bob (close to 100lb sulcata) in an outdoor heated shed. Before I post this I'll search for her thread so you can see Bob's shed.

My sulcata won't eat Mazuri either. He just give me the look, "Whadda ya think I am, stoopud?"

Sometimes when a tortoise is quite small one can look at the anal scutes (the part of the under shell on either side of the tail) and tell males and females. Its not always a good science, but sometimes its right (50/50 chance, huh???) If you'll post pictures where we can clearly see his bottom shell by the tail, we LOVE to play the guess my sex game.

http://www.tortoiseforum.org/Thread-Bob-s-shed--20710#axzz1GEvyBhE2

 

[CtTortoiseMom]

Regarding the Mazuri, my tort would not eat it at first either. I soak about 5 or 6 pellets with a little bit of warm water. When they are all swollen and mushy I smear it on the inside of endives and She eats it that way. Endives are her favorite so that's why I chose to do it that way. As far as your other questions the experts will be by to help.

 

[Laura]

my guys love mazuri.. i feed it dry.. BUT I suspect two of them were used to eating dry dog or cat food before me.. so???
As for a shed.. I would copy a Loafing shed design. Look of tuff sheds/ loafing shed or barn.

 

[TheBennillers]

Regarding the Mazuri, my tort would not eat it at first either. I soak about 5 or 6 pellets with a little bit of warm water. When they are all swollen and mushy I smear it on the inside of endives and She eats it that way. Endives are her favorite so that's why I chose to do it that way. As far as your other questions the experts will be by to help.

I followed your suggestion and waited until it was mushy... I made them a Mazuri- spring mix - prickly pear pad salad. The little one seemed to love it... the bigger one ate a few bites and then decided to switch to mulch. (Cypress mulch) Apparently this one is harder to please...

As soon as I find a camera I'll get some pics or thier scutes and post them.

 

[TheBennillers]

Sometimes when a tortoise is quite small one can look at the anal scutes (the part of the under shell on either side of the tail) and tell males and females. Its not always a good science, but sometimes its right (50/50 chance, huh???) If you'll post pictures where we can clearly see his bottom shell by the tail, we LOVE to play the guess my sex game.

Yvonne,
Here are thier little tushies for your guessing enjoyment!

well, First here they are being a couple of lazy bums.

And here is the first one (the larger of the 2)

sorry the flash kinda bleached out it's belly.
here is a closer view... best I could do and keep it in focus..

and now for the smaller one...

and it's closer view...

 

[dmmj]

my sulcata looks at mazuri like it is poison, won't touch it, my red foot loves it though, to each their own I guess. M sullie loves grape leaves and dandelions.

 

[Yvonne G]

I would GUESS that the larger is male and the smaller is female.

 

[Az tortoise compound]

I would say male and female (in order)as well.

 

[Maggie Cummings]

Those guys won't be living outside for a few years yet. I live in the Pacific North West and keep Bob. He's about 80 pounds now. So here's a link so you can see Bob's shed feel free to ask any questions you have and we will all be sure to answer them...All my tortoises eat Mazuri. I put some in a cup and pour boiling hot water over them then I stir it all around for a few seconds. I pour the water off just before it gets mushy, it's just soft. They will eat it if you don't feed them for a few days. Make them get hungry and they'll eat anything...


http://www.tortoiseforum.org/Thread-Bob-s-shed--20710#axzz1GG3AdDm7

 

[Tom]

Its too soon to know for sure, but it does look like the big one is a male and the smaller one female to me too. You probably won't have to separate them until they start reaching 12-14", and maybe not even then. Of course, if you start to see any problems with bullying or harassment, you might have to separate them tomorrow. Usually though, the youngin's get a long.

For an outdoor pen, I like to go big. Real big if you have the space. For winter housing in your area, it seems like a big shed like Maggie's or a dedicated room in the house is the only way to go. Just know that they are very messy and destructive. Plus they tend to get real antsy if housed inside like that for weeks or months at a time. So plywood reinforced walls will be a must.

They tend to be creatures of habit when it comes to food, especially if they've been well fed their whole lives. Whenever I introduce a new food, I like to feed them light for a day or two before introducing the new food, so they get a little hungry, and then mix a little of the new food with their favorite regular food. Sounds like you did this with the spring mix already. Believe me, if you let a sulcata learn what hunger is, that pickiness goes right out the window.