Hello from Arizona!

Tortlex

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Jan 3, 2019
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Phoenix, AZ
Hello everyone!

I am new here, but have learned a great deal of information from this knowledgeable community as a reader over the past couple of years. I have 3 African Sulcata tortoises (2 of which are a little over two years old and 1 baby four month old hatchling). Copper and Einstein are my older two, and my new baby's name is Fin. My older torts I rescued a couple years ago shortly after they hatched. My new hatchling I rescued from the mother's nest right after she laid her eggs this past summer on a ranch in Tucson where they had a small chance of survival due to predators that also live there. I incubated and hatched the entire clutch of eggs and rehomed most of them to serious tortoise owners.

I am looking forward to sharing my experiences as a tortoise owner as well as pictures of my tortoises and habitats. Thank you for having me here, I am excited to be a part of such an amazing place!

- Alex
 

Cowboy_Ken

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Hello everyone!

I am new here, but have learned a great deal of information from this knowledgeable community as a reader over the past couple of years.Thank you for having me here, I am excited to be a part of such an amazing place!

- Alex

Greetings Alex,
Welcome to the Forum. Ask your questions, share with us, and I know you know we always want pictures. !
Cowboy Ken
 

Yvonne G

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Hi Alex, and welcome to the Forum!
 

Tortlex

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Location (City and/or State)
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Thanks again for the nice comments everyone!

So to give you more of a background on how I became a very dedicated tortoise owner...

In September of 2016, I was fortunate enough to bring home two Sulcata hatchlings from my mother-in-law's dog ranch in Tucson, where she also has a good sized population of resuced adult sulcatas. Every year she gets a nest or two of hatchlings in the summer months and cares for them all until she can find them good homes. She let me take Copper and Einstein home that summer. Here they are as babies two 2 and a half years ago...

(they were SO SMALL)...
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I quickly got them everything they needed...(or so I thought)...
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I quickly learned from this great forum that first attempt above was not the ideal setup, they needed to be on a much better substrate, with a lot more moisture and humidity to ensure healthy growth, so I switched everything a fast as I could...
IMG_3669.JPG IMG_3670.JPG IMG_3671.JPG


I also learned what types of food they should be eating. Originally they were in a much dryer environment (for about their first month before I got them) until I did some research and a lot of reading here. I gradually changed everything to what you see above. I even purchased a mist humidifier and went to Home Depot to get some tubing for it so that their enclosure had a steady supply of moisture constantly flowing in. I made it a top enclosed tank to maintain the constant humidity and ensured that the temps were right on with a temp/humidity sensor and handheld infrared thermometer to check locations throughout their enclosure.

:tort::tort:
I think they liked it better... :)
IMG_3672.JPG IMG_3673.JPG


And over time they continued to grow of course, which made me more comfortable giving them some supervised outside time in a portable enclosure I built...
IMG_4066.JPG


It was fun to feed them and mist them outside in the summer time. I was learning more and more about them and they were getting to know me better and even greeting me with interest when I would come outside to feed them. They have great personalities.
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But as well fed Sulcatas do, they were quickly outgrowing their enclosure. I figured out how to build a very large custom tank and a table to mount it on. It took a bit of time while working full time but I gradually completed the project.
IMG_4298.JPG IMG_4329.JPG IMG_4355.JPG IMG_4356.JPG IMG_4357.JPG IMG_4377.JPG IMG_4378.JPG IMG_4381.JPG IMG_4384.JPG IMG_4385.JPG IMG_4438.JPG IMG_4781.JPG IMG_4855.JPG


I think they like their new larger space much better than the crammed smaller one. ;)
IMG_4438.JPG
 

KarenSoCal

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Welcome to TFO!

Where does Fin live? And have you started another large enclosure so you can separate Copper and Einstein?

I don't keep a sully, but my friend does. I just can't imagine having 3 bulldozers running wild in my back yard, even though it certainly would be a blast!
 

Tortlex

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Fin is in a separate tank because he is so young (almost 5 months old). I actually have an outdoor enclosure where Copper and Einstein live now. I converted my backyard into a home for them this last year.
 

KarenSoCal

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I'd love to see a picture of your back yard.

I'm concerned about them living together. As they grow, you most likely will have problems with bullying, and maybe even fighting. Eventually you will need 3 separate outdoor enclosures.

As I understand it, sometimes a group will work, but only if it is 1 male with 2 females. And even then it depends on the torts' individual personalities.

I'm going to tag an expert or two...I don't want you to suddenly have a disaster in a couple years.

@Yvonne G
@Tom
@JoesMom
 

Blackdog1714

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I am concerned that your new table top enclosure needs a NEW HOME! WOW I don't know if it is the construction (Metal & Glass) or the design that wins it for me. That is art and a whole lot of work!
 

Tortlex

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Thank you @KarenSoCal. Yes I have been concerned with that as well for quite some time and am taking the proper precautions to ensure the safety of my torts. I believe Einstein is female. Copper is now much larger than Einstein and Einstein's underside is showing signs of possibly being female. I would love to get some feedback on this if I were to take pictures of them both side by side. They are only 2 and a half years old though, so it may still be too early to tell. Am I correct on this?

If they both turn out to be male, I will make sure to divide the yard. I would hate for either of them to get seriously hurt or beat up in any way due to being territorial or just one of them roughing up the other.

Fin will not be with the large ones at all due to being much younger and smaller.

Thank you Blackdog1714! Yes it took some time, precision and careful planning to be able to create such an enclosure. Fin will be in that enclosure shortly. I can give you some pointers on how to make something like that if you were interested in creating one yourself.
 

Yvonne G

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I loved seeing all those bags of substrate stacked up against the wall. Where did you find that product?
 

Tortlex

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I buy my coconut fiber substrate and fir bark from Chewy. Best deals I have seen. Those large bags (24 qt) are around $12 and change per bag. They are double that if not more at any pet store. I just purchased coconut fiber on sale from Chewy for about $10.70 per bag. I'll be needing a bunch for when I house Fin in the large custom tank I made.
 

KarenSoCal

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@Tortlex
I am so happy that you are already making contingency plans. So many folks come on here and don't have a clue about bullying and having to separate.
And yes, I believe they are way too young to determine gender. There might be someone on here willing to guess.
 

Blackdog1714

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Thank you @KarenSoCal. Yes I have been concerned with that as well for quite some time and am taking the proper precautions to ensure the safety of my torts. I believe Einstein is female. Copper is now much larger than Einstein and Einstein's underside is showing signs of possibly being female. I would love to get some feedback on this if I were to take pictures of them both side by side. They are only 2 and a half years old though, so it may still be too early to tell. Am I correct on this?

If they both turn out to be male, I will make sure to divide the yard. I would hate for either of them to get seriously hurt or beat up in any way due to being territorial or just one of them roughing up the other.

Fin will not be with the large ones at all due to being much younger and smaller.

Thank you Blackdog1714! Yes it took some time, precision and careful planning to be able to create such an enclosure. Fin will be in that enclosure shortly. I can give you some pointers on how to make something like that if you were interested in creating one yourself.

Thanks for the offer but welding skills are way less than yours. I love seeing when art meets function!
 

Tortlex

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Location (City and/or State)
Phoenix, AZ
Thank you both for the kind words! Yes my number one priority is the safety and health of the animals I care for. Whenever I foresee an issue or notice something that may be a problem, I try to correct it as soon as possible to prevent harm.

@Blackdog1714 Believe it or not, no welding was done on that large enclosure. I was aluminum tube cutting and screw assembly for the lid. The cool part is that the lid can be removed for cleaning, and is ideal for full UVB coverage. Additionally, it can be covered to maintain the proper temps and humidity.

More pics coming soon of the backyard project in progress...and I'll include pics showing the difference in sizes of Copper and Einstein.
 

Ray--Opo

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