sevenup2006
New Member
Good morning!
I was gifted a small Sulcata tortoise on November 4th. I have raised some turtles and tortoises before, but this is my first Sulcata. Luckily, I found this community last week as everything I was told by pet stores, my vet, and library books was quite outdated. For the last 8 days, I have been following Tom's excellent guide "The Best Way to Raise a Sulcata."
Morla seems quite happy: active, eating well, pooping/peeing daily during her soaks, and gaining weight. 11 days ago she was 2 7/16" SCL and 49g, and this morning weighed in at 64g. She eats mostly weeds and grass (dandelion greens are her favorite), with some (<20%) collard greens, kale, and Zoo Med Natural Grassland Tortoise food. I sprinkle her greens lightly with Miner-All twice a week. Also, I gave her a spoonful of pumpkin as a treat last week which she devoured. For substrate I have 1" of Fir bark on top of 3" of Coco Coir. Her 4x4x2' (LxWxH) enclosure is 80-83°F 24/7 with a basking area reaching 99°F during the day. Humidity ranges from 82-93%. I use a CRE on a thermostat with an Exo Terra Sun-Glo (not Solar/Mercury Vapor) for her basking light on a 12-hour timer. I purchased a Zoo Med Reptisun Desert Compact Florescent prior to finding this group, but never installed it due to vision concerns. I am still looking for a local UVB option that meet the guide recommendations. Would this Zoo Med Reptisun florescent be considerably better than the long compact I purchase originally? I was hoping to get the Arcadia that seems so highly recommended but can find only the Zoo Med locally.
My only real concern right now is the color changes I have noticed in her face. When I got her, her face was very light, but it has darkened considerably, see picture below. Is this normal and okay?
Should I switch out the basking bulb for a regular incandescent flood bulb? It was on sale for $1 and emits no UVB so I thought it would be okay. Is the UVA from the bulb causing the darkening? She spends a majority of the day napping under the bulb. Also, I have never once seen her in her humid hide box.
Lastly, I am guessing she is about 3.5 months old based on her size. Does that sound reasonable?
Thank you all so much for sharing your expertise!
I was gifted a small Sulcata tortoise on November 4th. I have raised some turtles and tortoises before, but this is my first Sulcata. Luckily, I found this community last week as everything I was told by pet stores, my vet, and library books was quite outdated. For the last 8 days, I have been following Tom's excellent guide "The Best Way to Raise a Sulcata."
Morla seems quite happy: active, eating well, pooping/peeing daily during her soaks, and gaining weight. 11 days ago she was 2 7/16" SCL and 49g, and this morning weighed in at 64g. She eats mostly weeds and grass (dandelion greens are her favorite), with some (<20%) collard greens, kale, and Zoo Med Natural Grassland Tortoise food. I sprinkle her greens lightly with Miner-All twice a week. Also, I gave her a spoonful of pumpkin as a treat last week which she devoured. For substrate I have 1" of Fir bark on top of 3" of Coco Coir. Her 4x4x2' (LxWxH) enclosure is 80-83°F 24/7 with a basking area reaching 99°F during the day. Humidity ranges from 82-93%. I use a CRE on a thermostat with an Exo Terra Sun-Glo (not Solar/Mercury Vapor) for her basking light on a 12-hour timer. I purchased a Zoo Med Reptisun Desert Compact Florescent prior to finding this group, but never installed it due to vision concerns. I am still looking for a local UVB option that meet the guide recommendations. Would this Zoo Med Reptisun florescent be considerably better than the long compact I purchase originally? I was hoping to get the Arcadia that seems so highly recommended but can find only the Zoo Med locally.
My only real concern right now is the color changes I have noticed in her face. When I got her, her face was very light, but it has darkened considerably, see picture below. Is this normal and okay?
Should I switch out the basking bulb for a regular incandescent flood bulb? It was on sale for $1 and emits no UVB so I thought it would be okay. Is the UVA from the bulb causing the darkening? She spends a majority of the day napping under the bulb. Also, I have never once seen her in her humid hide box.
Lastly, I am guessing she is about 3.5 months old based on her size. Does that sound reasonable?
Thank you all so much for sharing your expertise!
