How to have a Happy/Healthy Sulcata

Ramirezm2

Active Member
5 Year Member
Joined
Feb 5, 2017
Messages
120
Location (City and/or State)
Elk Grove CA
There are a number of great Sulcata topics explained in this site and based from my experience, i have been very successful on my Sulcata care.

One thing thing that i tell customers when it comes to tortoises is that you want to let your tortoise feel that that are doing everything what they want to do. This means that they can get warm when they feel like it. They can hide and eat as they please. They have the space to adventure around.

When it comes to babies then you want the biggest enclosure you can get your hands on (while they still a have easy access to food, water, heat, and hide). Grow grass in the enclosure!

Adults require a large amount of space which they need a place to hide and be warm, an area where they can graze on grass (pesticide free), and have a big enough shallow watering hole where they can soak their whole body in.

Sulcatas are grassland torts that are from closer to the equator so they need to avoid anything below 75 degrees or else they can easily develop respiratory infection.

Diet, supplements & calicum, hydration, UVB, Basking and Ambient, are the main priorities when caring for your Sulcata.

Sticky Tongue Miner-all indoor and Repashy Super veggie is an excellent combination of vitamins and supplements.

I use a 100 watt Mercury vapor bulb with a 22” arcadia dessert 12% uvb bulb during the day and my Sulcata shells grow perfectly!

There is so much you can do for your sulcata (juvenile or adult) just do your research, stay away from fruits and focus on a high fiber diet, and like i said let them do what they want to do. They are the kings of the house or yard ;)

If anybody has questions regarding Sulcatas, then let me know. I am more than happy to answer them!
 

Markw84

Well-Known Member
10 Year Member!
Platinum Tortoise Club
Joined
Jan 17, 2012
Messages
5,042
Location (City and/or State)
Sacramento, CA (Central Valley)
There are a number of great Sulcata topics explained in this site and based from my experience, i have been very successful on my Sulcata care.

One thing thing that i tell customers when it comes to tortoises is that you want to let your tortoise feel that that are doing everything what they want to do. This means that they can get warm when they feel like it. They can hide and eat as they please. They have the space to adventure around.

When it comes to babies then you want the biggest enclosure you can get your hands on (while they still a have easy access to food, water, heat, and hide). Grow grass in the enclosure!

Adults require a large amount of space which they need a place to hide and be warm, an area where they can graze on grass (pesticide free), and have a big enough shallow watering hole where they can soak their whole body in.

Sulcatas are grassland torts that are from closer to the equator so they need to avoid anything below 75 degrees or else they can easily develop respiratory infection.

Diet, supplements & calicum, hydration, UVB, Basking and Ambient, are the main priorities when caring for your Sulcata.

Sticky Tongue Miner-all indoor and Repashy Super veggie is an excellent combination of vitamins and supplements.

I use a 100 watt Mercury vapor bulb with a 22” arcadia dessert 12% uvb bulb during the day and my Sulcata shells grow perfectly!

There is so much you can do for your sulcata (juvenile or adult) just do your research, stay away from fruits and focus on a high fiber diet, and like i said let them do what they want to do. They are the kings of the house or yard ;)

If anybody has questions regarding Sulcatas, then let me know. I am more than happy to answer them!

Many new folks come to this forum to find advice on proper care. I appreciate your efforts to share and desire to help, but, Please be careful about offering advice based upon limited experience. Some of the statements (advice) above could easily lead to problems for the inexperienced. some of your newer posts now seem more defensive of practices you have heard of elsewhere and not advice I would give.

You have a beautiful sulcata, and seem to be interested in learning as much as possible about proper care. I remember your first post when you still lived in Colorado, and it seems your experience is just the one sulcata you have had just over a year. Many of your first posts seemed like you were eager to learn, but recently you have started to offer advice instead of asking questions. From your posts, I am lead to believe you now probably work for the Serpentarium. I know and have dealt with the previous owner over the years, but he was the first to admit he was not strong on tortoise knowledge. I can assure you the current owners are even less so. Please do not rely on them as a source of your learning. Continue to learn here on the forum and help spread that knowledge to your customers.

Personally, I joined the forum in 2012 and had been working with tortoises for 50 years. Hatched 100's and raised a lot of them personally in efforts to study techniques. I bring that up as comparison for you as I also did not post on the forum for 4 years after joining. I studied and read as many threads as possible and learned. I then tried some of the newer (some controversial to me) knowledge to get more personal perspective. Only then, 4 years later, did I start to offer my opinion on my experiences. I did so, looking for feedback and seeing what peer review from those I respected would be. Still realizing I was still learning.

Continue your learning and help spread good husbandry and knowledge about tortoises. Where you work needs you to help them. They are not a source of the best information you are seeking. The customers you will serve needs your help.
 
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