First time tortoise owner

Carlmoore21

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May 22, 2020
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Cleburne tx
My wife and I just got our first baby sulcata and I'm just paranoid about keeping it right. Does our enclosure, light set up, interior substrate etc look sufficient? Any helpful tips and hints are appreciated!

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franklin444

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May 6, 2020
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that looks good, what kind of lights are you using. also what are you feeding him and what kind of substrate is that.
 

Carlmoore21

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May 22, 2020
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Cleburne tx
I have a 100 watt ceramic heat emitter as well as a 20 watt fluorescent uvb/uva bulb in a large dome lamp. The food is rep cal tortoise pellets with a little kale and collard greens. The bedding is eco earth coconut fiber substrate. Also in the enclosed part we actually put some Aspen bedding down
 

franklin444

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light and substrate looks great. there diet should be mostly made up of weeds and greens like collards and mustard greens and some lettuces but if a tiny bit is made of pellets that is fine. Also mazuri and zoo med grassland species pellets are better pellets, but greens are the best.
 
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Carlmoore21

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Location (City and/or State)
Cleburne tx
Great, I've been freaking out all day because I just want to do right lol also it's been tucked off in the dark corner of its enclosed spot for a little while. Does it take them a little bit to acclimate to its new home?
 

TechnoCheese

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There are a handful of things that need to be changed.

-You need a closed chamber enclosure. There is no way to hold the 80-100% humidity you need with an open top. Try to cover the top with something like a shower curtain for now.

-compact/coil UVB’s are ineffective at emitting UVB and are known to cause eye burns. Turn it off ASAP, and get a 10.0 horizontal tube.

-clamp lights are huge fire hazards (speaking from experience), and light should not be coming at an angle. Your lamps need to be hanging straight down.

-remove the aspen. It’s too dry, and an impaction risk.

-your water bowl should be changed to a terra cotta saucer.

Please give these a read and come back with questions-
The best way to raise a sulcata, leopard, or star- https://www.tortoiseforum.org/threa...se-a-sulcata-leopard-or-star-tortoise.181503/

For Those Who Have a Young Sulcata... https://tortoiseforum.org/index.php?threads/For-Those-Who-Have-a-Young-Sulcata....76744/

Beginner Mistakes https://tortoiseforum.org/index.php?threads/Beginner-Mistakes.45180/
 

Yvonne G

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Hi, and welcome to the Forum!

It's really too bad that prospective owners of baby tortoises don't find our Forum prior to spending $$ on supplies. What you have there is really not suitable for raising a baby sulcata. Please read the threads that Techno Cheese has linked for you in her thread above. These threads will give you a better understand of what your new baby needs in order to thrive.

The first thing I noticed in your picture is that the open topped tortoise enclosure is sitting right next to a window. Even with dual or triple paned windows, if it's cold outside cold flows off the glass and down into your enclosure. It will be impossible to keep the overall temperature that your baby requires (80-85F degrees, day and night) in that open topped enclosure, right next to a window.

Please read those threads with an open mind. It's fairly new information that's been through trial and error and has been shown to work.
 

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