Added new misting system.

[Fastxturtle]

Hi my first post here. Got a two month old baby sulcata a week ago and added a misting system set to go off every two hours during day to bump up the humidity. It's really dry in SoCal and with this I was able to bump up humidity above 80%. So far my baby loves it and more active eating more daily.

 

[Yvonne G]

Your baby could use about 4" of moist substrate. That would also help your humidity. Also, the reptile feeders aren't safe for baby tortoises. Clay plant saucers, sunk into the substrate are better.

 

[Taylor T.]

Also, the temperature is rather low. It should not go below 80 degrees.

here is a good care sheet:
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/how-to-raise-a-healthy-sulcata-or-leopard-version-2-0.79895/

 

[wellington]

Ditto on all above. Paper is not a proper substrate and temps below 80 will make your baby very sick. Be sure it has 80 day and night all over with a basking spot of 95-100 and proper UVB. Get those things fixed and he will have a great home.

 

[Fastxturtle]

The breeder told me not to use substrate since baby can ingest it and news paper you can easily clean the poop. Do you guys have mold issue with the substrate being constantly wet? Her basking spot is at 100-105 and since I had other reptiles I felt that at night they need some cool time. Her temper never goes down below 70.

 

[Taylor T.]

The breeder was either uninformed about the substrate, or referring to sand which can be easily ingested and cause impaction. Substrate is very important to Sulcatas as they like to dig.

105 degrees is too high. You do not want the basking spot to go over 100 degrees. They should not have a cool side below 80 degrees. Remember, these tortoises hatch in monsoon season in Africa where it is very warm and very humid.

 

[tortdad]

Welcome to tfo. We don't mean to jump on you right out of the box with your first post but the current set you have will lead to a sick tort if you don't fix a few things.

Below 80 with high humidity will lead to a respiratory infection. Bump the temps a bit and add some substrate

Please read those care sheets that were linked and let us know if you have any questions.

 

[teresaf]

Actually very impressed that you knew that they were supposed to have high humidity and that you were able to do so. That's really hard for most people. The very perfect setup would be the changes mentioned above which are very easy fixes. I attached some pictures of things that are helpful. You can get Coco choir from Amazon. No most people are not seeing any mold on their substrate and I've used tanks as well. You might find a mushroom or two hahaha. It's very important to make sure your temperatures are above 80 everywhere in his enclosure when you have a high humidity situation or you're setting yourself up for a respiratory infection. Especially at night when you turn out the Basking light. We use ceramic heat emitters for nighttime heat since they put out no light. We've seen many respiratory infections and hatchlings in this forum and they all have the same thing in common... too low of temperature... It's only a matter of time in a high humidity enclosure with low temps in corners and at night.. Have attached a couple pictures below of the things that might be helpful for you. Thermometer/hygrometer is very accurate and I would get two or three of them and hang their probes in the corners of your tank and under the light. Maybe even one inside his hide. I like that you have one already and are not using the inaccurate button stick on ones. You're definitely ahead of the game there too. Kudos.
Mazuri food below is really yummy to sulcata babies. most of us use it only as a supplement and make sure you don't accidentally order the Mazuri LS which is a different kind of formula. The Clay Pot you can get at Walmart for a couple bucks. Sink it into the substrate so that he doesn't have a tipping hazard. The calcium can be sprinkled over the food a couple times a week. If you make the changes that everybody's mention here so far you will have a healthy smooth shelled sulcata.

 

[Fastxturtle]

I changed to mulch and she seems to roam around more and like it