Babies from Heaven?

[Arizona Sulcata]

I want you to be aware of a few things. Just trying to arm you with knowledge.

• Spraying the coco coir does very little. That will evaporate in minutes. You need to pour water into the substrate to keep it damp. How much and how often varies a lot. Temperature and ambient humidity have a big influence on how quickly the substrate dries out.
• I think you'll find that coco coir is too messy for little sulcatas. I prefer fine grade orchid bark.
• FL is a great place for a baby to grow up. AZ is not. Kidney damage from dryness can literally happen in one day. If this baby is 40 grams, it is more than a day old. Even just a coupe of weeks of dryness is enough to doom them. She is not too young to have been ruined, I am sorry to say.
• I have found a generality over time and it relates to many subjects. People with website and marketing skills are often not the best at producing a quality product. The converse is that the people who are most skilled at producing a quality product are often not very skillful at marketing or making a good website. Just a point to ponder.
• Grass hay is good for older larger sulcatas. Its too large, rough and coarse for babies.
• Go easy with spinach. High in oxalates. A small amount once in a while is okay, just not much and not frequently.
• Hibiscus leaves are great tortoise food, but the grocery store produce isn't. Read this for food suggestions: https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/for-those-who-have-a-young-sulcata.76744/
• Your baby needs to be soaked every day. In the wild they hatch into the hot, rainy, humid, monsoon season. There are puddles, marshes and green growing food everywhere. Hydration is key to their survival. Most websites, breeders, vets, and "experts" are not aware of this and will tell people the opposite. Some people are starting to get the message that water isn't the enemy and we are seeing advice that runs the spectrum from "they get all their water from food" to "soak once a week" to "every other day" to "daily". Daily is the right answer, but not everyone has caught on to this yet.

I sincerely hope your baby is one of the survivors and was well cared for by whoever you bought it from, but I've seen so many out of AZ that aren't. Here is more explanation on what goes wrong: https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/hatchling-failure-syndrome.23493/

Forgive me for being pushy, but I see new keepers making the same mistakes and having the same misunderstandings over and over. I'm just trying to lend some experience based insight. Knowledge is power. I'm happy to answer questions, but I don't intend to comment anymore unless you request more explanation.

Hey Tom, long time no talk!!!

Dianne purchased her hatchling from me and has been given the correct info and a baby that has been soaked daily since it popped out of the shell.

 

[Tom]

Hey Tom, long time no talk!!!

Dianne purchased her hatchling from me and has been given the correct info and a baby that has been soaked daily since it popped out of the shell.

Well in that case, she is golden and won't have any problems! Could have saved me a whole lot of typing if I'd known she bought from you.

 

[Dianne iin South Florida]

I'm reading and learning and "new Shelby," is very cooperative she understands the giant crane comes in and brings goodness nothing scary (that's my hand) With information I got to try to get her used to eating hay ( orchard grass/alfalfa crumbs) and the natural diet fewer fruits and veggies it will be easier to feed her in a few years when she is tremendous. I soaked her earlier and she was adorable at first holding her breath then she just let all her thoughts go and just floated in the warm water enjoying it, head up of course, I think I saw that. Can you all read your Tortoises like we do dogs and other pets? Then she navigated to the other end of her habitat around all the obstacles and went exactly where she wanted to go, back into her warm cave for her nap.

 

[Dianne iin South Florida]

to answer you Tom this is what I have been doing and learning

• Where I have the habitat on my patio it is never drying out, the humid weather of South FL keeps it moist at all times if to dry I add larger amounts of water, so far after the original soaking, it stayed pretty wet. I only had to add quantities of water once so far. its wet down about an inch or more, then it's moist. Is that not enough? I am a gardener so this medium is just like Peat Moss and I am familiar in keeping it moist.
• It is messy I can put the bark on top of it and having that below will help keep it wet too. I spray the tortoise off to get the coco off of its eyes. rchid bark will be on my shopping list.
• • I’m sure its fine. I trust the breeder and he gives a one year warranty. When I soaked her this morning I could tell this was far from her first soak, she just relaxed in less than a minute, legs straight out floating in the water and if I could see the relaxation in her face she just loved the water. Walked all over the habitat, ate little alfalfa crumbs and back into the cave for more napping. The heat lamp is on I am trying to keep her at about 100 degrees no hotter I don’t want to cook her so my thermometer is watched frequently. I have asked for its hatching date but with so many, I’m not sure that will be available. What should the temp be just at the opening of the cave and inside the cave I keep the thermometer low next to the opening.
  • • I gave her moist hay crumbs, also romaine and celery leaves. It’s only been one full day. I just bought literally a ton of fresh orchard grass/ alfalfa hay first cut of the season and its soft. I gave about a tablespoon full in two places and Shelby nibbled it along with the lettuce. I would not give this baby sticks to eat.
    • Yes, thank you. I read that about spinach and its rich in many oxidants and vitamins so I fed once a week a couple of small baby leaves as a treat not really a meal the gophers liked it. I read that too much is not good so I have been feeding the gophers like that, in a month I think they got Spinach maybe a few days along with romaine. Do they make a turtle food that is better for babies? I have not actually seen her mow down just nibbles, but it's a new environment. My friend who has a 2 yr old told me all she fed for the first 18 months was romaine but that is just basically water no nutrition. I was advised to keep the food wet so that I am sure it gets moisture to eat if it does note the drink from the 2 water bowls buried in the medium. Also, I have the calcium powder and I was using it twice a week on the lettuce and the gophers ate it no problem. I have a block the other old Tortoise had he never liked it much I used the calcium powder. Is there an amount of that I should give or should I not use at all? I think its necessary.
    • Hibiscus: I will read the site you included when I am done with this response I am sure I will learn a lot every day! And thanks for sending it to me. I have so much growing outside year round that I am it's it's like a buffet outside my house. Hibiscus flowers year round. I do have to be sure that nothing I feed has been sprayed with any type of insecticide ( I usually use soap and water)
    • 
      
    • Sir, I appreciate everything and anything you or the others here can teach me. I’m sure as I am proficient in taking care of the animals I have had for years but this is new for me and information is important so I don’t think you can give me too much of that.
      
      I bought this baby from Arizona Sulcatas, who I believe is a member here and you know. He seems to be a very nice guy and seems passionate about raising his torts. He gave me a feeling of getting a perfectly taken care of and healthy baby and with a warranty, I am sure it will survive. I just want to bring it up the way he would have wanted all his babies to end up healthy and happy.
    • Please keep telling me lots of information you think I should know, also I would like to get to know the people who love these strange prehistoric creatures.
      .

 

[Dianne iin South Florida]

Hey live and learn, I do have to totally wet down the coco coir, bottles of water daily. I have a 3-foot section covered and has condensation all the time with the heat lamp, I have a 3-foot section and the heat lamp reaches, not covered though, and my tortoise chooses where to be. If she is in the log she is near the end that the heat lamp reaches for basking. Mostly she is sleeping in the cave in the higher humidity section but some mornings I find her on the other side in her foot long log where she tends to drag food to eat in there. I find stems under the logs daily Tortoise is healthy happy and well cared for. Even my little service dog takes care of her, she tipped her bath water over (it was on the floor) with his sniffing help and when she came out he took her to his bed and hid it. When I asked him "Zorro where is the tortoise" he went into his bed with a big dog smile," I did good mom" and I saw tortoise in there with him. I have been feeding weeds, little flowers, grasses and a treat of romaine lettuce occasionally and only fed by hand so the treat idea might click in her tiny brain.