Does my 10 month old Sulcata look healthy?

Nicholas Sampson

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Hi! I was wondering how my 10 month old Sulcata looks at this point in time. I purchased her in January, she gets a varied diet of weeds/grasses and produce. I am mostly concerned about the pyramids, I am not sure if these look bad for her ageIMG_1687.JPG IMG_1688.JPG IMG_1689.JPG IMG_1690.JPG . She gets misted multiple times a day and now since its warm here, goes outside and roams and grazes. Any tips or advice is greatly appreciated. Thank you!
 

motero

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She looks ok, How is her hydration? Regular soaks and a nice shallow water dish we hope.
 

Sara G.

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Pics of the enclosure would also help.
But I can see it looks like she did have some pyramiding at one point. Not sure if it's smoothed out entirely yet or not.
 

Blakem

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How long have you had him? The pyramid shell was caused from a dry environment. Your sulcata would benefit from an enclosure that's warm, well hydrated (soaked everyday) and humid. The shell will eventually smooth out. His eyes are nice and clear, so that's good.

Don't worry, it will reverse if you follow the care sheets provided on the forum. As mentioned already, post pictures of the enclosure
 

Waltumus

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I think your sully looks great, follow the advice from our senior members with the most sulcata experience on this forum and you will have a healthy tortoise in my opinion. I recently joined but I've been reading from this forum for a long time now, and my lil guy is eating grass and loving life.
 

Speedy-1

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His pyramiding is minimal , with daily soaks and a warm humid environment it wont get any worse . Reading the suggested links will help your tort ! :)
 

Nicholas Sampson

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Thank you all for the responses. I appreciate the feedback. This is my first Sulcata (I have 2 Russians, and have had Redfoots in the past), so I want to make sure I raise her up well. I believe the minimal pyramiding on her was a result of the previous owner. Regardless, I will ensure it will not go any further! Here is a picture of her indoor enclosure. Once again, tips are always appreciated! IMG_1691.JPG Thank you all again and I'm happy to be a part of this forum.
 

Gillian M

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You tort looks fine.

And a very warm welcome to the forum to both of you!
 

JoesMum

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Hi and welcome

Please do read these threads posted by @Tom. They will help you give your tort the best care.

That reptile bowl is a danger - tortoises flip in them. You should replace it with a terracotta plant saucer as recommended earlier.

Feed your tort off a piece of flat rock, slate or tile rather than from a bowl. The bowl is just as much a flipping hazard as the big water bowl. It will help to abrade the beak while he eats and keep it in good shape.

Your tort needs some plant cover in there so it can browse and so it can hide under them. Sink plants in pots into the substrate so you can swap them out easily when they get a bit past their best. Have more plants growing on your windowsill so you can rotate them :)
 

Tom

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The red bulb, the food dish and the water dish need to be removed ASAP. Its all in the care sheet I linked for you.
 

JoesMum

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What exactly is the issue with the red bulb? Bad for her eyes?
Your tort needs darkness at night. It isn't nocturnal.

The problem with red bulbs is that they color decor red and torts live red food.

Unfortunately they don't always use the intelligence they're born with and they start trying to eat the red decor or substrate. I have seen my tort try to eat red circles printed in a newspaper!

Given that you won't be watching your tort at night, a Ceramic Heat Emitter is much safer for supplementary heat at night. You should use it with a thermostat to control temperature.

By day you use the basking lamp to provide heat. That is on continuously and must not be on a thermostat
 
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Nicholas Sampson

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Oh that makes sense. My tort is in a small confined room with all my other reptiles/amphibians that stays 78-85 degrees 24/7, so I shut off all of the lights at night. I will be sure to change the red bulb though. Thanks for the tip!
 
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