Baby African Tortoises

Tom

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tom but aren't the African spur thighs tortoise, diff from leopard tortoises ?
Yes, different species entirely, but the care for them as babies is identical.

You have a brand new baby there. Babies are hardy, but there is less room for error. There is not time for you to learn all this on your own. PLease read these links. It will just take a few minutes and it will answer all these questions you are asking.
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/how-to-raise-a-healthy-sulcata-or-leopard-version-2-0.79895/
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/beginner-mistakes.45180/
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/for-those-who-have-a-young-sulcata.76744/


Your tank is much too small, they should not be housed as a pair, they need the right substrate, they need to be soaked daily, fed the right foods, and their temperature must be correct day and night. The solutions to these issue need not be expensive or difficult, but these things need to be addressed and corrected right now. Get crackin' mister!
 

brobrian

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Yes, different species entirely, but the care for them as babies is identical.

You have a brand new baby there. Babies are hardy, but there is less room for error. There is not time for you to learn all this on your own. PLease read these links. It will just take a few minutes and it will answer all these questions you are asking.
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/how-to-raise-a-healthy-sulcata-or-leopard-version-2-0.79895/
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/beginner-mistakes.45180/
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/for-those-who-have-a-young-sulcata.76744/


Your tank is much too small, they should not be housed as a pair, they need the right substrate, they need to be soaked daily, fed the right foods, and their temperature must be correct day and night. The solutions to these issue need not be expensive or difficult, but these things need to be addressed and corrected right now. Get crackin' mister!
the first pic is a sulcata raised with humidity and soaks. the second one have some bad pyramiding from being kept with low humidity and not enough soaks.


View attachment 106643 View attachment 106644
Thanks for all this info! The temp for my turtles is aroud 89 F is that good?
 

Maro2Bear

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All the info on humidity and temps etc is in the care sheets under African tortoises, sulcata:


Heat/Humidity

Until your sulcata reaches 4" Straight Carapace Length (SCL), you need to regulate ambient temperatures. As hatchlings in the wild, they likely spend much of their first year in burrows. The best rule of thumb is to provide them with an indoor habitat where temperatures range from 80F to at least 100F. The hottest being their basking spot. The coolest being their hide or burrow. Larger sulcata can bear temperatures as cold as 50F (in captivity) and as high as 150F (in the wild). Generally speaking, the 4" rule comes into play with humidity levels, as well. The key to proper humidity levels is relative to the temperatures. As long as temperatures are 80F or above, 100% humidty is acceptable, but anything 50% or above will promote a healthier animal. This can be achieved by keeping your substrate (except grass or hay) moist or by utilizing a humidifier or even a swamp cooler. Again, larger sulcata do quite well with minimal humidity.
 

brobrian

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All the info on humidity and temps etc is in the care sheets under African tortoises, sulcata:


Heat/Humidity

Until your sulcata reaches 4" Straight Carapace Length (SCL), you need to regulate ambient temperatures. As hatchlings in the wild, they likely spend much of their first year in burrows. The best rule of thumb is to provide them with an indoor habitat where temperatures range from 80F to at least 100F. The hottest being their basking spot. The coolest being their hide or burrow. Larger sulcata can bear temperatures as cold as 50F (in captivity) and as high as 150F (in the wild). Generally speaking, the 4" rule comes into play with humidity levels, as well. The key to proper humidity levels is relative to the temperatures. As long as temperatures are 80F or above, 100% humidty is acceptable, but anything 50% or above will promote a healthier animal. This can be achieved by keeping your substrate (except grass or hay) moist or by utilizing a humidifier or even a swamp cooler. Again, larger sulcata do quite well with minimal humidity.
so when they get older they need no more humidity? is it only when there babies that they need this type of humidity?
 
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ImageUploadedByTortoise Forum1417051052.204621.jpg
This is what I made. It stays at 60-70% humidity while the light is on. And 70-90% when the light is off. My set up cost me some cash and some major time. I would recommend what others have said about the storage bin. They are cheap and made of plastic so they won't mold like wood does if not treated. ImageUploadedByTortoise Forum1417051184.118128.jpg it was about $10. And it's a huge bag.
Good luck with your new tortoises.
 

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brobrian

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View attachment 106657
This is what I made. It stays at 60-70% humidity while the light is on. And 70-90% when the light is off. My set up cost me some cash and some major time. I would recommend what others have said about the storage bin. They are cheap and made of plastic so they won't mold like wood does if not treated. View attachment 106658 it was about $10. And it's a huge bag.
Good luck with your new tortoises.
Thanks bro.. just want the best for these guys :)
 

Dizisdalife

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so when they get older they need no more humidity? is it only when there babies that they need this type of humidity?
This is probably not a valid assumption. My of us have found that when we need to provide heating or artificial lighting for our adult sulcata, we also need to provide humidity to mitigate the drying effect that these have on their shell regardless of their age or size.
 

Tom

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Thanks for all this info! The temp for my turtles is aroud 89 F is that good?

Bro,

Read the threads. All of this is in there.

There are four temps to know. Warm side, cool side, basking area and overnight low. Where is it 89? In a 10 gallon tank the whole thing is probably 89. They need a larger enclosure so you can create a thermal gradient across the tank. It should be warmer on side than the other, so they can move around and regulate their own temperature. When they feel too cool, they can get over near the light to warm up. When they feel to warm they can move away from the light. When your tank is only 10x20" they can't get away from the heat source.

They should not be housed as a pair. It is very stressful on one or both of them.
 

brobrian

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Bro,

Read the threads. All of this is in there.

There are four temps to know. Warm side, cool side, basking area and overnight low. Where is it 89? In a 10 gallon tank the whole thing is probably 89. They need a larger enclosure so you can create a thermal gradient across the tank. It should be warmer on side than the other, so they can move around and regulate their own temperature. When they feel too cool, they can get over near the light to warm up. When they feel to warm they can move away from the light. When your tank is only 10x20" they can't get away from the heat source.

They should not be housed as a pair. It is very stressful on one or both of them.
Yea i only have on heat source which is use to warm one side
 

Tom

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Yea i only have on heat source which is use to warm one side

In such a small tank, there is not enough room to move away from the heat source. So either your ambient is good, but there is not a warm enough basking site, or your basking site is good, but the whole tank is that temperature.

They also need it dark at night, but still warm. What are you using for night heat?

I don't know how to impress upon you the urgency of this situation. Babies are not going to survive being housed incorrectly for very long. You can get away with it for a while with an older one, but not babies. C'mon Brian. You found the right info, now you just gotta do it. If budget is an issue we can tell you how to do it really cheap.
 

brobrian

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In such a small tank, there is not enough room to move away from the heat source. So either your ambient is good, but there is not a warm enough basking site, or your basking site is good, but the whole tank is that temperature.

They also need it dark at night, but still warm. What are you using for night heat?

I don't know how to impress upon you the urgency of this situation. Babies are not going to survive being housed incorrectly for very long. You can get away with it for a while with an older one, but not babies. C'mon Brian. You found the right info, now you just gotta do it. If budget is an issue we can tell you how to do it really cheap.
I was busy. Yea im going to petsmart or petco today. I was thinking of buying a heat mat for.night use and a subsrate. Can.u use both coco and cypress?
 

Zeko

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I was busy. Yea im going to petsmart or petco today. I was thinking of buying a heat mat for.night use and a subsrate. Can.u use both coco and cypress?

Don't use heat mats. Tortoises can't register heat temps properly from their bottom side. Heat is supposed to come down at them, like a sun. I'd recommend picking up a Ceramic Heat Emitter (CHE) and a thermostat with a probe. That way you can set it to 80-85~ and let it be for the night.

Good luck!
 

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