HELLO FROM N. CALIFORNIA

[jcha2013]

Hi Everyone!

My name is Julie and I am the new owner to Franklin (don't know if it's a boy or a girl, but going with that name for right now), my Sulcata Tortoise (~4 months old). I live in the Northern part of California and for those who live where I am, you all know it's rainy season + cold season. I've had Franklin for about 5 days now, and I believe he is adjusting just fine. He eats A LOT and walks a ton. He's super friendly and is very curious! I soak him about every day now for about 15 minutes just to make sure he is not dehydrated. I have his basking light at the side of his enclosure (95 degrees+) and another heat lamp (85 degrees -ish) about mid way to keep him warm because my apartment drops temperature really quickly. He lives in a storage tub as of right now with some reptile bedding as his substrate. I do spray his enclosure down a couple times a day to reduce it drying out too much. I got Franklin from a person on Craigslist (..I know..) and he's had a health exam and they said he was healthy. I do have a few questions for you all who are more experienced...

1. How do you keep his SKIN from being dry? Almost scaly looking? I know others must coconut oil from time to time. I bought Franklin a soap for his shell and it's worked fine, but more so for his skin.

2. I have plastic plants to make his enclosure "pretty" but he tries to eat them. Not successful, but I don't want it to be a health hazard.

3. Franklin looks so much smaller and different than other tortoises I've seen on the forum. Other's look really smooth in the face and have darker lines on the shell. Any tips on why Franklin might look a little different. It could just be me as a new tort mom and i'm just tripping out. I feel like he may be less than four months as well. You can check out his instagram @_itsfranklin_ to check out what he looks like.

So far, he eats a lot and walks a lot. He's very curious and is showing tort behavior such as digging, soaking himself when needed, eating when hungry, basking when necessary, sleeping in a cooler corner, etc. He just looks a little different........lol

 

[Markw84]

Hi Everyone!

My name is Julie and I am the new owner to Franklin (don't know if it's a boy or a girl, but going with that name for right now), my Sulcata Tortoise (~4 months old). I live in the Northern part of California and for those who live where I am, you all know it's rainy season + cold season. I've had Franklin for about 5 days now, and I believe he is adjusting just fine. He eats A LOT and walks a ton. He's super friendly and is very curious! I soak him about every day now for about 15 minutes just to make sure he is not dehydrated. I have his basking light at the side of his enclosure (95 degrees+) and another heat lamp (85 degrees -ish) about mid way to keep him warm because my apartment drops temperature really quickly. He lives in a storage tub as of right now with some reptile bedding as his substrate. I do spray his enclosure down a couple times a day to reduce it drying out too much. I got Franklin from a person on Craigslist (..I know..) and he's had a health exam and they said he was healthy. I do have a few questions for you all who are more experienced...

1. How do you keep his SKIN from being dry? Almost scaly looking? I know others must coconut oil from time to time. I bought Franklin a soap for his shell and it's worked fine, but more so for his skin.

2. I have plastic plants to make his enclosure "pretty" but he tries to eat them. Not successful, but I don't want it to be a health hazard.

3. Franklin looks so much smaller and different than other tortoises I've seen on the forum. Other's look really smooth in the face and have darker lines on the shell. Any tips on why Franklin might look a little different. It could just be me as a new tort mom and i'm just tripping out. I feel like he may be less than four months as well. You can check out his instagram @_itsfranklin_ to check out what he looks like.

So far, he eats a lot and walks a lot. He's very curious and is showing tort behavior such as digging, soaking himself when needed, eating when hungry, basking when necessary, sleeping in a cooler corner, etc. He just looks a little different........lol

Welcome to the forum. I also am in the Sacramento area and have sulcatas.

You are going to want a closed chamber for your tortoise to keep him most healthy as he grows the first two years. Have you read the post on raising a sulcata?
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00DMI62HM/?tag=exoticpetnetw-20

That will answer a lot of your quesitons.

Keeping humidity up and daily soaks will keep both shell and skin as they should be.

Plastic plants do not work as you have seen. I do use real plants in pots that the tortoise cannot tip over. With enough fronds hanging down, it creates a very natural secure place your tortoise will feel more secure and reduce stress. He sleeps in a corner now as he cannot find a suitable location he would normally choose - which is dug in under some plants. I use pothos and spider plants mainly as they do great in our enclosures with artificial lighting and have overhanging fronds and runners to create a natural hide. Also fine for a tortoise to nibble on. This also creates a place where the humidity remains much higher than the rest of the enclosure and the tortoise is protected from drying conditions from the basking lights and heating elements.

Once you get the right temps and humidity and a nice secure feeling setup, he should start growing rapidly. The darker look you are referring to is the new growth on a sulcata. Each year's new growth comes in much darker and creates bands as the scutes expand that tank a few years to gradually lighten. Kept indoors, the new growth will be even darker as he grows.

Post pictures here so we don't have to check elsewhere to offer advice for you. Very easy to do, and many folks do not have instagram accts.

 

[jcha2013]

Welcome to the forum. I also am in the Sacramento area and have sulcatas.

You are going to want a closed chamber for your tortoise to keep him most healthy as he grows the first two years. Have you read the post on raising a sulcata?
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00DMI62HM/?tag=exoticpetnetw-20

That will answer a lot of your quesitons.

Keeping humidity up and daily soaks will keep both shell and skin as they should be.

Plastic plants do not work as you have seen. I do use real plants in pots that the tortoise cannot tip over. With enough fronds hanging down, it creates a very natural secure place your tortoise will feel more secure and reduce stress. He sleeps in a corner now as he cannot find a suitable location he would normally choose - which is dug in under some plants. I use pothos and spider plants mainly as they do great in our enclosures with artificial lighting and have overhanging fronds and runners to create a natural hide. Also fine for a tortoise to nibble on. This also creates a place where the humidity remains much higher than the rest of the enclosure and the tortoise is protected from drying conditions from the basking lights and heating elements.

Once you get the right temps and humidity and a nice secure feeling setup, he should start growing rapidly. The darker look you are referring to is the new growth on a sulcata. Each year's new growth comes in much darker and creates bands as the scutes expand that tank a few years to gradually lighten. Kept indoors, the new growth will be even darker as he grows.

Post pictures here so we don't have to check elsewhere to offer advice for you. Very easy to do, and many folks do not have instagram accts.

AWESOME. Thanks. His tub is open now, but I'll take the initiative to make it a closed enclosure. I'm going through a bit of a transition where I'm moving into a home, so I have yet to make his enclosure super nice. I'll definitely look nto the pothos and spider plants. I joined this forum because there is waaaay too much information on tortoises which are a little biased. But I truly appreciate your response! Will definitely start researching more and getting him as healthy as possible. Much thanks, xoxo.

 

[LaLaP]

Welcome to the forum Julie and Franklin!

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi Julie and welcome!

My first thought when reading your description was that Franklin isn't a sulcata. So if you'll post picture here, we can be sure we're giving you the correct info for your species.

 

[Tom]

Hello and welcome.

Here is all the current correct care info for sulcatas. Most of what you find while doing research will be old, out-dated and wrong.
https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/beginner-mistakes.45180/
https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/how-to-raise-a-healthy-sulcata-or-leopard-version-2-0.79895/
https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/for-those-who-have-a-young-sulcata.76744/

I didn't see any mention of night heat. This is super important for a baby sulcata. Do you have something?

Questions and conversation are welcome. Do post a pic so we can verify the species.

 

[jcha2013]

Hello and welcome.

Here is all the current correct care info for sulcatas. Most of what you find while doing research will be old, out-dated and wrong.
https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/beginner-mistakes.45180/
https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/how-to-raise-a-healthy-sulcata-or-leopard-version-2-0.79895/
https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/for-those-who-have-a-young-sulcata.76744/

I didn't see any mention of night heat. This is super important for a baby sulcata. Do you have something?

Questions and conversation are welcome. Do post a pic so we can verify the species.

Hi Tom! I've read many of your posts, already, haha! For night heat, I have a portable going on low to maintain his enclosure heat and a 50W nocturnal bulb for the night time making sure to keep his night temp around 85 in cooler spots and 90 -ish under the bulb. I started foiling the top of his enclosure and it maintained some of the humidity, but I have yet to make it permanent. I've added more plants, today to help maintain humidity and started to water his substrate (not soaking, but damp in wetness). I'll post a pic of my Franklin here! Cheers! )

 

[Tom]

Check this out Julie:

There are four elements to heating and lighting:

1. Basking bulb. I use 65 watt floods from the hardware store. I run them on a timer and adjust the height to get the correct basking temp under them.
2. Ambient heat maintenance. I use ceramic heating elements or radiant heat panels set on thermostats to maintain ambient above 80 degrees day and night for tropical species. I don't like colored bulbs. They burn out at the most inopportune times and the make the tortoise's world look funny. You'd only need day heat for a temperate species like Testudo or DT.
3. Light. I use florescent tubes or LEDs for this purpose. Something in the 5000-6500K color range will look the best. Most tubes at the store are in the 2500K range and they look yellowish.
4. UV. If you can get your tortoise outside for an hour 2 or 3 times a week, you won't need indoor UV. If you want it anyway, get one of the newer HO type fluorescent tubes. Which type will depend on mounting height.

 

[jcha2013]

Hi Tom! My basking bulb is a heat + UV light. I have it in one area where he likes to hang out as well. It's usually 95 degrees +. So, they don't necessarily need a heat night light (the one I have is adjusted to give off about 90 degrees where its placed and it keeps the container about an ambiance of 85-87). But Just as long as it's an ambient of 80 degrees, is okay? Unfortunately, I can't take him outside yet. I'm up in Sacramento, CA and it's super rainy season at the moment and it's really REALLY cold. During the summer time though would be absolutely perfect for him as our temps go from 85-100+ degrees outside. Thanks.

 

[Carol S]

Welcome to the Forum.

 

[Ray--Opo]

Welcome Julie, have you had a chance to cover the top of your enclosure? It really is a must and will help with keeping humidity at 80%+ and maintain heat.
I couldn't really tell but your lights look like they have the spring clamps on them. Dont use those clamps. It could get bumped accidentally and fall in. If you're there when it happens and it doesn't fall on Franklin then no harm. If you're not there. Then you have a fire. Try to suspend them from above.
There are many ideas here on covering and suspending lights.
Good luck keep asking questions.