Buying a tortoise

talal

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There is a slight issue i am about to go get my tortoise but i don't have any coco peat or chunk or available the one i ordered will be delivered tomorrow what should i do can i use any other thing like straw for the time being
 

MenagerieGrl

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There is a slight issue i am about to go get my tortoise but i don't have any coco peat or chunk or available the one i ordered will be delivered tomorrow what should i do can i use any other thing like straw for the time being
News papers should do, in a pinch
 

talal

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News papers should do, in a pinch
Nvm i just bought it from a shop 2 hrs away frm my house😅
But i dont have a uv bulb i have ordered it but it will take a month to be delivered so can i use a filament bulb for the time being or any other alternatives
 

Alex and the Redfoot

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Nvm i just bought it from a shop 2 hrs away frm my house😅
But i dont have a uv bulb i have ordered it but it will take a month to be delivered so can i use a filament bulb for the time being or any other alternatives
You may take him under the natural sunlight for 10-15 minutes around midday (set up a temporary fencing and shade in the garden, for example). He should be supervised when outside. After the walk give him warm soaking to rehydrate. With 2-3 hours a week of such walks you may not need UVB lamp at all.

Filament bulbs (aka incandescent) are great for basking zone, but they don't provide any UV.
 

talal

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You may take him under the natural sunlight for 10-15 minutes around midday (set up a temporary fencing and shade in the garden, for example). He should be supervised when outside. After the walk give him warm soaking to rehydrate. With 2-3 hours a week of such walks you may not need UVB lamp at all.

Filament bulbs (aka incandescent) are great for basking zone, but they don't provide any UV.
Ok amd should i keep the filament lamp on at night?
 

talal

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I have got the sulcata but he isn't eating much he ate a piece of apple i gave him just to get him going but he isn't eating any greens he did try to eat the grass in my garden but its was treated with pesticides a few weeks ago so i am avoiding it and i took him back to his enclosure any tips?
 

Alex and the Redfoot

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I have got the sulcata but he isn't eating much he ate a piece of apple i gave him just to get him going but he isn't eating any greens he did try to eat the grass in my garden but its was treated with pesticides a few weeks ago so i am avoiding it and i took him back to his enclosure any tips?
Well, he might be stressed because of changes. Keep temperatures and humidity as recommended.
Of course, no pecticide treated grass. Fruit are also not suitable. You may try to grow some grass without pesticides in the meanwhile.
Also, you can ask the breeder what did he feed him, tortoises prefer familiar foods. Add variety little by a little.
 

talal

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Well, he might be stressed because of changes. Keep temperatures and humidity as recommended.
Of course, no pecticide treated grass. Fruit are also not suitable. You may try to grow some grass without pesticides in the meanwhile.
Also, you can ask the breeder what did he feed him, tortoises prefer familiar foods. Add variety little by a little.
Well i asked him he said he fed him spinach and Coriander mostly i tried it but he isn't eating it aswell
 

zovick

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Well i asked him he said he fed him spinach and Coriander mostly i tried it but he isn't eating it aswell
Most tortoises will not eat normally for at least a couple of weeks after being moved to new surroundings. Just keep soaking it daily and offering the foods recommended on this site for baby sulcata tortoises (note that spinach is NOT one of them, and is actually bad for tortoises).

Good luck with the tortoise.
 

Alex and the Redfoot

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Should i keep the filament lamp on at night it gets like 70f at most
No. You need another heat source for the night time. Ceramic heat emitters are relatively inexpensive. And I strongly suggest to use them with a thermostat.
 

wellington

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Should i keep the filament lamp on at night it gets like 70f at most
Temps should never go below 80F day and night. No light at night. You need a ceramic heat emitter or radiant heat panel for night heat.
Do not feed a baby fruit. Give him a warm water soak every morning for 20-30 minutes, keeping him and water warm the whole time. Then place him in his enclosure in front of the food. Spinach should only be fed very sparingly. Go for whatever you can get like endive, water cress, bok choy, arugula, escarole, cactus, dandelion, mulberry leaf, hibiscus flower and leaf.
 

talal

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Is Egyptian clover ok for baby tortoises? And about the ceramic heat emitter like i told you guys before such supplies are available from china and they take like a month to ship and i will order it but for the time being what should I do
 

Alex and the Redfoot

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Egyptian clover is okay, not as a staple food, but for variety.

On heating... I understand the situation. I see two options:
1. Make an opaque hide in the enclosure, place it where you can get 80F inside the hide when the basking lamp is on. Ensure he sleeps inside every night, you may close the entrance with a rock or any suitable cover (so it will be dark in the hide). And leave the lamp on through the night.
2. Use what's available to heat enclosure from outside (room heaters and such). This is a less precise and harder method.
 

talal

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Egyptian clover is okay, not as a staple food, but for variety.

On heating... I understand the situation. I see two options:
1. Make an opaque hide in the enclosure, place it where you can get 80F inside the hide when the basking lamp is on. Ensure he sleeps inside every night, you may close the entrance with a rock or any suitable cover (so it will be dark in the hide). And leave the lamp on through the night.
2. Use what's available to heat enclosure from outside (room heaters and such). This is a less precise and harder method.
What i was thinking was maybe to cover the tortoise enclosure with a cloth so light doesn't pass through and turn the bulb on then
 

Alex and the Redfoot

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What i was thinking was maybe to cover the tortoise enclosure with a cloth so light doesn't pass through and turn the bulb on then
Cloth near the hot bulb perhaps isn't safe. And if you put cloth between the lamp and enclosure - the heat will not pass through as well.

So blocking/covering the night hide entrance is probably the best option.

Maybe you can make a photo of the enclosure? It will be easier to think out something.
 

talal

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Ok
Cloth near the hot bulb perhaps isn't safe. And if you put cloth between the lamp and enclosure - the heat will not pass through as well.

So blocking/covering the night hide entrance is probably the best option.

Maybe you can make a photo of the enclosure? It will be easier to think out something.
Ok i will once i reach home
 

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