Hello, from Michigan

edgrr7

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Grand Rapids Michigan
Hello,
My name is Edgar and I am from Grand Rapids Michigan. I recently purchased a 6 month old sulcata from a Reptile Expo Show. I’ve had her for three days now and I have extensively researched/learned about the best ways to care for turtles. I’ve read some pretty good articles/posts regarding care for my tortoise especially from a folk named “Tom”. Thanks, I appreciate all the knowledge. Having a sulcata in Michigan is definitely a challenge especially with how cold it get’s here. Adjusting the perfect temperature for my sulcata is a challenge but I have bought the necesssary equipment to make it work. Anyways, looking forward to meeting some people, here’s a pic of “Raph” :)
A08E543B-7669-4D54-90C8-7856B388B99F.jpeg
A08E543B-7669-4D54-90C8-7856B388B99F.jpeg
 

Ray--Opo

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Welcome from a former Michigander. I lived in Ludington not to far from GR. Read all the care threads here for sulcata's. A better look at your enclosure will help us give you ideas with heat and lighting. The most important thing is that your enclosure is completely enclosed to hold humidity and temp. And soak your little buddy for 30 minutes a day with warm water up to where the top and bottom shell meets. Dont let the water cool down. This time of year just starting out you might have to go to store bought greens. NO FRUIT. You can get some wheatgrass seeds and grow 3 or 4 small pots. Read the diet sheet for sulcata's.
Good luck and read everything here on care for sulcata's. I wouldn't bother surfing the internet for other info. There are many members here that have tried and true methods that will help you give the best care for your sully.
There are many members here that live in cold weather states so you will get some great advice
Good luck and keep asking questions.
 

edgrr7

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Grand Rapids Michigan
This is currently my set up,
I have her on a 20 L aquarium (I know I know, working on getting something bigger) I currently have had one day and night bulb both at 100W for uva. I just bought a UVB lamp but hasn’t arrived yet. My hot side is about 90 during the day and cool side is about 70. It’s really cold like I said here in Michigan and having her in my basement doesn’t help (feels colder down here) at night the temps drop but I don’t have accurare temps, my laser gun will be arriving tomorrow and i’ll get a better idea. She is sitting on coco coir bedding, I plan to mix some reptile bark because it seems to be getting everywhere and soaks up the water from the water dish fast. The past two days she did great, ate & poop but today she spent all day burried under the hide. I hope she is doing okay, once I get my hands on more supplies that i’ve ordered I will have a better idea of what’s going on inside the aquarium.
 

TriciaStringer

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Hi Edgar! Welcome. Tom is a great source for information. Here are a few things to work on to help Raph. You need a lid for the tank to hold in humidity and keep your temperature stable. Nowhere in the tank should it go below 80. He needs the humidity to be 80+%. You can’t do that without a lid. You can use aluminum foil to achieve this. You don’t want the heat or humidity to escape. From his behavior, it sounds like he is too cold. They won’t eat or move around if cold. Do a search on the forum for “closed chamber.” You wlll get some great ideas on a new enclosure for him. It looks like you have a colored night time bulb, maybe. He needs complete darkness for nighttime. A CHE is what you need to provide heat at night. It gives off no light. His substrate looks very dry. It needs to be moist but it needs to be warm in there too. Also his water bowl has been known to be a flipping hazard. The bottom saucer of a terra-cotta pot works great. It gradually slopes down on the sides. There may be other things someone else can help you with.

I’m so glad you found this forum and seeking help to improve your baby’s life.
 
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TechnoCheese

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Give these a read-
How To Raise A Healthy Sulcata Or Leopard, Version 2.0 https://tortoiseforum.org/index.php...ealthy-Sulcata-Or-Leopard,-Version-2.0.79895/

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/

In addition to what Tricia said, you also need a digital thermometer with a probe or cheap digital temp gun, and a digital hygrometer. The thermometer you’re using now is very inaccurate.
 

Yvonne G

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Hi Edgar, and welcome to the Forum!

You've got a great start there, but you need to add and subtract a bit.

I would get rid of the screen cover. Sitting a UVB light on the screen negates the reason you're using a UVB bulb, as the screen filters out a good portion of the UVB rays.

If it were my tortoise, and because I see the start of pyramiding already, I would wet that substrate. I mean WET, not spritz a bit of water over it. I don't have sulcata babies, but I DO have leopard babies, and the substrate I have under my babies is a swamp. And speaking of substrate, I don't use coco coir because it's too messy. I like to use the fine grade orchid bark. It's small bark 'pebbles' and doesn't stick to everything like the coco coir does.

Another thing I would do is add a couple or three more plants. Baby tortoises are prey, and as such, they don't like to be out in the open. It's much less stressful on them to have a 'crowded' enclosure. More plants also offer some relief/shade from the harsh lighting.

Because baby tortoises live in a hard, non-bendable shell, and find it hard to reach up and over the straight sides of those reptile dishes, I use saucers for their water. When they're real small I use a regular saucer from a tea cup, and I put some small pebbles in the bottom of it. Then I 'smush' (scientific word) it down into the substrate so it's flush with the substrate. When the baby gets a bit bigger I use a clay plant saucer that I sink down into the substrate. If the saucer is deep I still add a layer of small pebbles. The sides of a plant saucer are sloped, so when the baby is trying to climb out, he goes up a hill instead of climbing the straight sides of those reptile dishes. They sometimes over compensate and end up on their back in the water when trying to climb a straight sided bowl
 

Ray--Opo

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Hi Edgar, I know you said your enclosure is temporary but for now use some tape and make a 4" border from the bottom of the aquarium up. It makes it so your little buddy cant see out the glass. When I first got Opo I didn't know this and Opo would wear a trench along the glass going back and forth trying to get out.
 

edgrr7

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Grand Rapids Michigan
Hi Edgar, and welcome to the Forum!

You've got a great start there, but you need to add and subtract a bit.

I would get rid of the screen cover. Sitting a UVB light on the screen negates the reason you're using a UVB bulb, as the screen filters out a good portion of the UVB rays.

If it were my tortoise, and because I see the start of pyramiding already, I would wet that substrate. I mean WET, not spritz a bit of water over it. I don't have sulcata babies, but I DO have leopard babies, and the substrate I have under my babies is a swamp. And speaking of substrate, I don't use coco coir because it's too messy. I like to use the fine grade orchid bark. It's small bark 'pebbles' and doesn't stick to everything like the coco coir does.

Another thing I would do is add a couple or three more plants. Baby tortoises are prey, and as such, they don't like to be out in the open. It's much less stressful on them to have a 'crowded' enclosure. More plants also offer some relief/shade from the harsh lighting.

Because baby tortoises live in a hard, non-bendable shell, and find it hard to reach up and over the straight sides of those reptile dishes, I use saucers for their water. When they're real small I use a regular saucer from a tea cup, and I put some small pebbles in the bottom of it. Then I 'smush' (scientific word) it down into the substrate so it's flush with the substrate. When the baby gets a bit bigger I use a clay plant saucer that I sink down into the substrate. If the saucer is deep I still add a layer of small pebbles. The sides of a plant saucer are sloped, so when the baby is trying to climb out, he goes up a hill instead of climbing the straight sides of those reptile dishes. They sometimes over compensate and end up on their back in the water when trying to climb a straight sided bowl

So no screen then? I had just bought a screen because I was told it be best for the humidity and heat to contain. I am okay with no screen but you make a good point with the uvb rays not going in through screen. Also, what kind of plants should I put in there? real/fake? Thanks for the advice, I just want the very best for my tort!
 

edgrr7

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Location (City and/or State)
Grand Rapids Michigan
Hi Edgar, I know you said your enclosure is temporary but for now use some tape and make a 4" border from the bottom of the aquarium up. It makes it so your little buddy cant see out the glass. When I first got Opo I didn't know this and Opo would wear a trench along the glass going back and forth trying to get out.
I noticed this right away hence why I put cardboard around the aquarium the only side I did not cover was the front since I rant out. I plan to put a border with sticks inside the tank that way he cannot look through. I feel like the heat might affect the tape on the outside.
 

MrT for me

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New Mexico
Hello,
My name is Edgar and I am from Grand Rapids Michigan. I recently purchased a 6 month old sulcata from a Reptile Expo Show. I’ve had her for three days now and I have extensively researched/learned about the best ways to care for turtles. I’ve read some pretty good articles/posts regarding care for my tortoise especially from a folk named “Tom”. Thanks, I appreciate all the knowledge. Having a sulcata in Michigan is definitely a challenge especially with how cold it get’s here. Adjusting the perfect temperature for my sulcata is a challenge but I have bought the necesssary equipment to make it work. Anyways, looking forward to meeting some people, here’s a pic of “Raph” :)
View attachment 261669
View attachment 261669
I can relate to your concern for the extreme temperatures. With some prudent planning it’s definitely possible. It’s definitely worth it and very rewarding. I’m at 6000 ft. and it’s been below zero for a couple weeks now where I live. I did have a scare last week though. Luckily I caught him in time.o_O You’ve probably already noticed the saturation of expert advice and experience from the amazing members here, and if you ever have questions as your friend gets bigger and makes his/her way to the outdoors please don’t hesitate to ask.

3E8950C9-AD54-4972-8C3E-BF31CFA5F438.jpeg BA082FDC-55EA-43D3-BB60-58F4F8F38058.jpeg
 

TechnoCheese

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So no screen then? I had just bought a screen because I was told it be best for the humidity and heat to contain. I am okay with no screen but you make a good point with the uvb rays not going in through screen. Also, what kind of plants should I put in there? real/fake? Thanks for the advice, I just want the very best for my tort!

Actually, screen lets out all of the heat and humidity. You need the make a closed chamber enclosure with very little ventilation. You can cut a hole in the lid the size of the uvb light, and cover the entire lid in tin foil and/or plastic wrap.
 

JLM

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Hello! I lived in Grand Rapids for 20 years. We moved to Florida 2.5 years ago. I don’t keep that species so no advice but wanted to say hi, welcome, and you found the best resource place.
 

Maro2Bear

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Greetings.. @TriciaStringer really hit upon a lot of great points/adjustments to drill down on.

Lid/Covered Enclosure: You need a lid for the tank to hold in humidity and keep your temperature stable.
Temp & Humidity: Nowhere in the tank should it go below 80. He needs the humidity to be 80+%. You can’t do that without a lid. You can use aluminum foil to achieve this. You don’t want the heat or humidity to escape. From his behavior, it sounds like he is too cold.
No Night Bulb/Use CHE on a Thermostat: You wlll get some great ideas on a new enclosure for him. It looks like you have a colored night time bulb, maybe. A CHE is what you need to provide heat at night. It gives off heat but no light.
Substrate: substrate looks very dry. It needs to be moist but it needs to be warm in there too.
Water Bowl: Also his water bowl has been known to be a flipping hazard. The bottom saucer of a terra-cotta pot works great. It gradually slopes down on the sides.

Good luck! And Happy Torting

And if you get overwhelmed with too much advice - just follow this great care guide. It pretty much covers everything one needs to know. https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/how-to-raise-a-healthy-sulcata-or-leopard-version-2-0.79895/
 

Ray--Opo

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I can relate to your concern for the extreme temperatures. With some prudent planning it’s definitely possible. It’s definitely worth it and very rewarding. I’m at 6000 ft. and it’s been below zero for a couple weeks now where I live. I did have a scare last week though. Luckily I caught him in time.o_O You’ve probably already noticed the saturation of expert advice and experience from the amazing members here, and if you ever have questions as your friend gets bigger and makes his/her way to the outdoors please don’t hesitate to ask.
There's a pic of Mr. T in the snow. Did he like it or wasn't sure what he was walking on?
 

MrT for me

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There's a pic of Mr. T in the snow. Did he like it or wasn't sure what he was walking on?
It was hard to tell what he thought of it. When I took the pic he looked like he was just froze up. If he could have talked I’m sure it would have been-“what the heck is this?!” I watched the playback on my security camera and he was moving right along after he left the warmth of his condo but about the time he figured out that this was something he wanted nothing to do with his pace slowed to a crawl then he just stopped. Took a little more than a minute for the entire event to unfold. He’s a curious friend. Needed to know what all this white stuff was about. Lol;)
I will say that since his little adventure I have cleared a section of his area of all snow and used a forced air bullet heater to dry the ground up (facing away from his house so he wouldn’t have to inhale the fumes=always looking out for my friend) and left the other half of his land covered with snow to see if he would venture back on the snow. He steers completely clear of the snow and sticks to his dry part of the habitat. So I think he learned his life lesson about snow. I’m just glad I was around to rescue him. That said I have a good friend and neighbor that is retired and stays at home and if I am ever away and find something awry using my security cameras I can call him and he’s over there in just over a second to resolve the issue. Always have to have a plan a/b/c/d...
 
Last edited:

Yvonne G

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So no screen then? I had just bought a screen because I was told it be best for the humidity and heat to contain. I am okay with no screen but you make a good point with the uvb rays not going in through screen. Also, what kind of plants should I put in there? real/fake? Thanks for the advice, I just want the very best for my tort!
I have a combination of used and real. For 'real' I generally use pothos. Sometimes, when checking out at the pharmacy, they have tiny containers of fake plants sitting next to the register. Even though, for the size, they are quite expensive, I buy a couple to have on hand. Here's a picture of some of the fake ones:

fake plants a.jpg fake plants.jpg

@Markw84 mentioned a while ago that he likes to use overhanging plants for his hiding places and he showed a picture of a clump type grass with over hanging fronds with the tortoise hiding under the fronds. I'm going to steal this idea as soon as I can find the correct plants.
 

edgrr7

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Messages
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Location (City and/or State)
Grand Rapids Michigan
I have a combination of used and real. For 'real' I generally use pothos. Sometimes, when checking out at the pharmacy, they have tiny containers of fake plants sitting next to the register. Even though, for the size, they are quite expensive, I buy a couple to have on hand. Here's a picture of some of the fake ones:

View attachment 261793 View attachment 261794

@Markw84 mentioned a while ago that he likes to use overhanging plants for his hiding places and he showed a picture of a clump type grass with over hanging fronds with the tortoise hiding under the fronds. I'm going to steal this idea as soon as I can find the correct plants.
Thanks for the info! Any idea where I can find that fine grade Orchid Bark? I’ve searched everywhere today, checked my local lowes and tractor supply but they didn't’ have any.
 

edgrr7

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Messages
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Location (City and/or State)
Grand Rapids Michigan
I can relate to your concern for the extreme temperatures. With some prudent planning it’s definitely possible. It’s definitely worth it and very rewarding. I’m at 6000 ft. and it’s been below zero for a couple weeks now where I live. I did have a scare last week though. Luckily I caught him in time.o_O You’ve probably already noticed the saturation of expert advice and experience from the amazing members here, and if you ever have questions as your friend gets bigger and makes his/her way to the outdoors please don’t hesitate to ask.

View attachment 261749 View attachment 261750
WOW turtle roaming in the snow?! That is one brave turtle!
 

edgrr7

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Grand Rapids Michigan
Hello! I lived in Grand Rapids for 20 years. We moved to Florida 2.5 years ago. I don’t keep that species so no advice but wanted to say hi, welcome, and you found the best resource place.
Thanks! I just moved here 5 years ago from Texas! It is completely a different scenery for me! I still can't get use to the cold.
 
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