Baby Yoda

[LaSunshine]

Hi, I’m Lesley in Southern CA. I have a hatchling that’s about 8 months. I’ve already read and learned so much from all of you! Thank you. Please review my set up. I welcome constructive and kind criticism. Humidity around 80% cool side between 79- 84 degrees and hot side about 90-95 depending if light is on during day: a have a Che on hot side and a flood light on during day. He gets daily baths between 20-30 min and he gets about 30-45 outside, I enclosed a large flower pot so he’d be safe and I’m growing grasses in the pot, shade always available.
am I missing anything? He doesn’t look like he’s pyramiding, does he ????
Thank you!

 

[Tom]

That looks pretty good, but a little on the small side. An 8 month old is really getting too big for a small tank, and in good conditions, your is going to grow fast. You'll need a large closed chamber to grow your new baby to outdoor size. And I don't see a water dish in there. Is it hidden in the corner that we can't see in the pic?

 

[LaSunshine]

There is a water dish, a saucer for a pot, he drug some leaves on top of it. It is hard to see. As far as size. I just can’t do anything bigger right now. I was hoping to get through another year and then transition him outdoors next Spring/summer. He’s still smaller than my palm and he gets outside exercise daily in sunlight. How horrible is this plan ?

 

[LaSunshine]

It’s a pretty big tank. Not sure you can see relative size in picture. He still fits in his hide out... if you can see how small that opening is.. Maybe that will give you more of a reference. What do you think?

How do you transition housing for a yearling Until he’s big enough to go outside? It’s hard to keep humidity up in a closed enclosure if it’s any bigger than this! What enclosure size do you have for a one year old? I’m assuming humidity is still crucial until they are two. Right ?

Thanks for the info!

ps is two years old a good outside age for southern ca?

 

[LaSunshine]

Hi, I’m Lesley in Southern CA. I have a hatchling that’s about 8 months. I’ve already read and learned so much from all of you! Thank you. Please review my set up. I welcome constructive and kind criticism. Humidity around 80% cool side between 79- 84 degrees and hot side about 90-95 depending if light is on during day: a have a Che on hot side and a flood light on during day. He gets daily baths between 20-30 min and he gets about 30-45 outside, I enclosed a large flower pot so he’d be safe and I’m growing grasses in the pot, shade always available.
am I missing anything? He doesn’t look like he’s pyramiding, does he ????
Thank you!

See any signs of pyramiding?

 

[Yvonne G]

I can't see the lights. I hope you're not depending upon the light from the window to provide his UVB?

No, he doesn't look like he's pyramiding to me.

 

[Toddrickfl1]

Hi, I’m Lesley in Southern CA. I have a hatchling that’s about 8 months. I’ve already read and learned so much from all of you! Thank you. Please review my set up. I welcome constructive and kind criticism. Humidity around 80% cool side between 79- 84 degrees and hot side about 90-95 depending if light is on during day: a have a Che on hot side and a flood light on during day. He gets daily baths between 20-30 min and he gets about 30-45 outside, I enclosed a large flower pot so he’d be safe and I’m growing grasses in the pot, shade always available.
am I missing anything? He doesn’t look like he’s pyramiding, does he ????
Thank you!

View attachment 288701View attachment 288702View attachment 288703

He looks good, great growth. He will outgrow that tank in probably less than a year though.

 

[Tom]

How horrible is this plan ?

If by horrible you mean: "Will it work?", the answer is no it won't work. When properly cared for sulcatas normally reach 800-1000 grams in their first year. Yours won't reach that since its already 8 months old, but it will grow a lot and quickly. You will need a larger enclosure in the next few months, and hopefully that one will last until he/she is big enough to be outside with a heated night box full time. They need to be at least 8-10 inches before you move them outside full time. You can't keep an 8 inch tortoise in that little tank.

The growth isn't perfect, but its pretty good. Few people get them to this size looking that good. This looks like a baby that has spent some time outside.

There is no set-in-stone rules for this, but a hatchling is under 6 weeks. Once they lose their egg tooth, then I call it a baby up until one year. After one year, I call them yearlings, then juveniles or subadults after two years, depending on the size. Over 14" is a subadult and they can reach that size in 2 years in the right conditions, but most don't. Once they reach about 18 inches, I just call them adults, even though they still have some growing to do.

 

[LaSunshine]

I can't see the lights. I hope you're not depending upon the light from the window to provide his UVB?

No, he doesn't look like he's pyramiding to me.

I have a CHE and a flood light. I take him outside for about 30 minutes a day, sometimes longer. I am not relying on the window at all. Thank u for your answer.
how long does a young Sulcata need to be in a high humidity enclosure?

 

[LaSunshine]

If by horrible you mean: "Will it work?", the answer is no it won't work. When properly cared for sulcatas normally reach 800-1000 grams in their first year. Yours won't reach that since its already 8 months old, but it will grow a lot and quickly. You will need a larger enclosure in the next few months, and hopefully that one will last until he/she is big enough to be outside with a heated night box full time. They need to be at least 8-10 inches before you move them outside full time. You can't keep an 8 inch tortoise in that little tank.

The growth isn't perfect, but its pretty good. Few people get them to this size looking that good. This looks like a baby that has spent some time outside.

There is no set-in-stone rules for this, but a hatchling is under 6 weeks. Once they lose their egg tooth, then I call it a baby up until one year. After one year, I call them yearlings, then juveniles or subadults after two years, depending on the size. Over 14" is a subadult and they can reach that size in 2 years in the right conditions, but most don't. Once they reach about 18 inches, I just call them adults, even though they still have some growing to do.

thank you for your advice. What size enclosure will be sufficient until he goes outside? im assuming that it also need high humidity until he goes outside, about two years of high humidity? ... is that right?

 

[LaSunshine]

thank you for your advice. What size enclosure will be sufficient until he goes outside? im assuming that it also need high humidity until he goes outside, about two years of high humidity? ... is that right?

Oh, and Tom, was it you that said sweet potato leaves are safe? I can’t seem to find where I read that... and there’s a ton of conflicting advice about that plant. just curious? what Made you say that he spent some time outside? Is this a bad\good thing? I don’t have a uva\b light... so I do take him out for 30 min about five times per week. Good?

 

[Tom]

thank you for your advice. What size enclosure will be sufficient until he goes outside? im assuming that it also need high humidity until he goes outside, about two years of high humidity? ... is that right?

4x8' will last until its time to move outside full time. I like to have the outdoor enclosure set up and running early. My general rule of thumb is an hour of sunshine per inch of tortoise, followed by a soak on the way back in. Your 30 minutes a day should be fine. And don't worry if you have to skip a week or two due to bad weather. Its not a big deal. They store D3 in their fat cells, so they have a good reserve if they are getting sun most of the time. Once they are 5-6", I just leave them outside all day, weather permitting, and bring them in at night. This makes that little 4x8' enclosure not so bad. They get plenty of exercise in their larger outdoor pen.

Pyramiding is caused by growth in conditions that are too dry. There is no time limit on this. I keep them as humid as possible for as long as possible. Once its time to move outside, there isn't much we can do about the air out there, but we CAN humidify the night box where they sleep and spend a lot of time. I find that this helps and I even do it for adults. Helps prevent dehydration and also simulates the more humid conditions of a wild sulcata burrow.

The growth that is showing on your baby is typical of babies that are outside a fair amount. Its good for them to get sunshine and exercise, but its not good to be outside too much for little babies. Yours seems fine.

I don't feed sweet potato leaves to mine and don't know about them. It had to have been someone else that mentioned those previously.