Baby Sulcata in California!

[kennyg]

Hey guys just got my first tortoise today and I am really excited. 6month old Sulcata Ernie! I wanted to get you guys opinion on the set up. Im going to get coconut coir to mix into the bedding and I know ill need a new hide box but I haven't decided what I want to use yet (any suggestions?). Also can I mix Sphagnum moss into the bark to keep it moist or is that bad? I put some in his hide box already. Also I just put the plant in there for decoration because it looked a little empty is there any reason I should take it out? Thanks guys!

 

[kennyg]

Also forgot to mention for size reference this is a 3 foot diameter kid pool.

 

[Eduardo Hernandez]

What kind of plant is that? It has to be safe for when the tort wants to eat it. Also, with baby sulcatas you need to have them in a closed chamber, to avoid pyramiding. They need pretty high humidity, close to 80% or even more, as well as temps ranging from 80F to about 100F, never dropping under 80F even at night. I am not a sulcata owner however, so you should wait for the experts on them to give more feedback

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi, and welcome!

There's probably no way for you to get the humidity the tortoise requires in that open enclosure. While we are always stressing make your habitat BIG, and this certainly fits that bill, we also stress that baby sulcatas need to be raised in warm, humid conditions. And that open enclosure is going to be much to cold and dry for him. If you could figure out a way to tent it to keep the cooler house air out and the warm, moist air inside, that would be good.

We tend to shy away from using the clamp feature on the light because we have seen many times when they have failed, causing or almost causing a fire. So, maybe you can make a framework to hang the lights from, and your framework would also make it easier to tent the enclosure.

 

[Grandpa Turtle 144]

Hi

 

[RosemaryDW]

Welcome to the forum! Please do ask for more help in the sections specific to enclosures and to raising baby sulcatas:http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/how-to-raise-a-healthy-sulcata-or-leopard-version-2-0.79895/.

The sulcata thread is a long one but getting the lighting and tempuratures right is critical if he is going to survive.

 

[Tom]

Hello and welcome. Congrats on the new tortoise!

That enclosure will be great for some outdoor time if you can find a spot in the yard where it will be about half shaded.

A closed chamber will serve you better indoors.