Hey everybody New Sulcata Owner here!

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lobovasco

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Hey everyone , just wanted to say hello. I recently got 2 great 4 month old sulcatas. i keep them in a kids wading pool on my balcony they get sunlight all day. i bring them in if it gets below 74 but i was wondering if i could leave them out? im feeding them arugula and shredded carrots with radish. clovers from a nearby creek are a snack. i soak them 2x a week should i do it more? im also giving them calcium powder without D3.
i have them on sand but will be switching to eco earth soon.
i spray them 3 times a day too. is that too much?
they love strawberry!
they are Attila and Ghengis

ill post pics when i can resize them
 

Laura

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welcome...
they need to be humid.. changing the substrate is good.. spraying is good, make them a hide with moss..
kept outside at nite or cooler days is fine IF you have a place they can warm up in.. and if its safe to leave them out. No raccoons?
Diet needs to be a bit better too. Spring Mix is a good start. its a good mixure of dark greens. very little fruit should be fed. Clover grasses.. good if not sprayed.
sounds like you are off to a good start.
 

jensgotfaith

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Welcome! You'll find lots of good information here and everybody has the common goal of educating new tort parents and wanting the best environment for the torts. Laura has great advice. Mine loves the spring mix without baby spinach, opuntia, and Mazuri. He also likes mustard greens and romaine. You mentioned balcony- are you currently in an apartment? Whereabouts are you?

It's great to have you here!
 

lobovasco

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jensgotfaith said:
Welcome! You'll find lots of good information here and everybody has the common goal of educating new tort parents and wanting the best environment for the torts. Laura has great advice. Mine loves the spring mix without baby spinach, opuntia, and Mazuri. He also likes mustard greens and romaine. You mentioned balcony- are you currently in an apartment? Whereabouts are you?

It's great to have you here!

Hello! and yes i am currently in an apartment in downtown orlando, its safe from ground predators, however the first day they were outside there were some curious blue jays but they never came back. they get sun all day but have some humid caves to hide in.
 

Yvonne G

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Hi Lobovasco;

Welcome to the forum!! May we know your name?
 

Tom

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Hello and welcome. Sounds like you are off to a great start.

Outdoors is great for them as long as they have access to shade and cool enough temps all the time. Here in CA its very dry, so it might be different there with all the humidity, but I put mine out in their kiddie pools even when the temps are in the low 60's, as long as its good and sunny. My dark colored substrates usually temp 85-90 on those days in the kiddie pools. The torts all move in and out of the shade to thermoregulate and their carapaces usually temp in the mid to low 90's on those cool days. Sunshine is amazing, Huh? Just use a temp gun and be careful using those pools when things really start to warm up in the spring. They can overheat very quickly and the results can be tragic.

Here's how I like to keep babies:
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/Thread-How-To-Raise-Sulcata-Hatchlings-and-Babies

You need more variety in the diet, as was already mentioned, and I'd cut the fruit, carrots and radishes out almost entirely. They just don't need it and it can be detrimental. Kind of like candy for children. They sure like it, but its not very good for them.

I like to soak them everyday, but since its humid where you are and they are already 4 months old, they should be okay with every other day. Still no harm in soaking every day. It really can't be done too much in my opinion. Also, I try to spray mine a MINIMUM of 3 times a day. More is better, especially if they are out in the warm sun drying out all day.

Good call on ditching the sand. I like the eco earth just fine.

Hope this helps and I'm looking forward to some pics. :)
 

lobovasco

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emysemys said:
Hi Lobovasco;

Welcome to the forum!! May we know your name?

Hey! sorry i forgot to say my name is Alan.

Tom said:
Hello and welcome. Sounds like you are off to a great start.

Outdoors is great for them as long as they have access to shade and cool enough temps all the time. Here in CA its very dry, so it might be different there with all the humidity, but I put mine out in their kiddie pools even when the temps are in the low 60's, as long as its good and sunny. My dark colored substrates usually temp 85-90 on those days in the kiddie pools. The torts all move in and out of the shade to thermoregulate and their carapaces usually temp in the mid to low 90's on those cool days. Sunshine is amazing, Huh? Just use a temp gun and be careful using those pools when things really start to warm up in the spring. They can overheat very quickly and the results can be tragic.

Here's how I like to keep babies:
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/Thread-How-To-Raise-Sulcata-Hatchlings-and-Babies

You need more variety in the diet, as was already mentioned, and I'd cut the fruit, carrots and radishes out almost entirely. They just don't need it and it can be detrimental. Kind of like candy for children. They sure like it, but its not very good for them.

I like to soak them everyday, but since its humid where you are and they are already 4 months old, they should be okay with every other day. Still no harm in soaking every day. It really can't be done too much in my opinion. Also, I try to spray mine a MINIMUM of 3 times a day. More is better, especially if they are out in the warm sun drying out all day.

Good call on ditching the sand. I like the eco earth just fine.

Hope this helps and I'm looking forward to some pics. :)


Hello and thanks for the welcome. today i fixed the humidity in the wading pool, even though i ordered some eco earth from amazon so as soon as it gets here ill be switching.

what do you recommend i use for the MAIN diet. i tried timothy hay but they dont seem to like it. just some romaine and collard greens?
2011-03-07 12.53.59.jpg


im having trouble uploading pics bc they are too large as soon as i figure it out ill post some.

Alan
 

lobovasco

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Pictures!

hey everyone here are some pics of my Sulcatas in their wading pool.
2011-03-07%2012.53.01.jpg



Here is one of them eating ( cut up carrots and radish as a treat with calcium on top)

2011-03-07%2012.53.40.jpg


and one of my basenji Ramses eyeing the cuttlebone in the tortoise area

2011-03-07%2012.53.59.jpg


ill post more pics later in the week when i change the sand for eco earth.

Alan
 

Jacqui

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Welcome Alan! They are cute and their enclosure is pretty neat for a starter one. Between the jays, the dogs, and me just being a bit of a worrywart, I would think about making a cover for them.
 

tortoisenerd

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Welcome! Great advice here. I would 100% make a cover of something sturdy like hardware cloth (a very thick mesh with holes large enough for the UVB rays to get through). I would not under any circumstances let the dog near the torts...99 times they can be fine, and on the 100th time it can end in a tort's death. Too many sad stories here on this forum for me not to warn you.

A tort should not have a main diet....I'd aim for more along the lines of 15-20+ food items over the course of a few months. Have an area in your yard that is chemical free (for at least 6 months before feeding) and plant weeds and greens and such...you need for get it started now on your tort graze before they get huge and eat you out of house and home. I would avoid carrot...too starchy and sweet. No radish, but radish greens are good as part of a varied diet. Spring mix, dark lettuces, weeds, grasses, greens (dandelion, turnip, radish, dandelion, collard, kale, watercress, etc), chemical free edible flowers, and small amounts of cactus pads, pumpkin, and butternut squash are all great.

They won't eat hay until older, if ever. You can however keep trying with a salad style (soft) timothy hay or orchard grass, shredded and moistened over food, especially when they get closer to a year or two old. Carolina Pet Supply has a salad type hay at a minimum you can look at the photo so you can see what it looks like (they are pricey but very high quality and most of their stuff is organic). Romaine is ok, but the leafier the better...the baby leaves are the best, like in spring mix, and only as part of a diet. Spring mix has a large variety of greens if you get a good brand (pick out any spinach, or better yet, buy a brand without it)--oak, endive/frisee, romaine, arugula, tango, lolla rosa, mizuna, etc. Collard greens are good as part of a varied diet. Learn to visit different grocers in different areas to find variety until you get your yard going (planting seeds). I buy organic because I think its a better choice for a hatchling especially, since they eat 100% produce and can be more sensitive.

Avoid feeding only greens higher in oxalic acid (dandelion, radish, collard, watercress), or a bunch of kale (its a goitrogen), and avoid the ones highest in content (spinach and chard). Avoid starchy stuff like cabbage and bok choy. Over time you will get the hang of it. As a start to a diet, buy a good brand of spring mix (organic without spinach, rotating brands for variety if you can), plus 1-2 other greens a week, plus a bit of treats like cactus, pumpkin/squash, and chemical free flowers (you basically have to grow them yourself...don't feed a plant from a nursery unless it has sat for 6 months or somehow you find organic...they put way more pesticides on nursery plants than anything in the produce section at the store), and start growing weeds, grasses, and greens and such you can't find at the store.

In addition to the article Tom posted (very good), here is a food list:
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/Thread...ed-Greeks-Russians-Sulcatas-etc#axzz1FyZc6oB5
 

jensgotfaith

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I'm with Jacqui-I would definitely make a cover for them. And maybe another type of hide. Some plants would be great too and would help break up their line of sight. I'd be careful with the substrate so high up over the hide.
 
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