How To Raise Sulcata Hatchlings and Babies discussion thread

[Tom]

RE: How To Raise Sulcata Hatchlings and Babies.

Your questions are all answered in the care sheet...

1. Every day.
2. Calcium supplementation is debatable. I usually use a little pinch two or three times a week.
3. At 6 months I soak every second or third day. Every day won't hurt though. For duration 10 45 minutes is the norm for me. If its a hot, dry, sunny day and they were out in the sunshine for hours, I'll soak them for the 45 minutes.
4. They should have 12-14 hours a day of lighting. What are you using. Coil bulbs bad, mercury vapor bulbs good.
5. At 6 months old I leave mine out for most of any warm day. I bring them in when temps start getting above the high 90's or below the 70's. Sunshine and outside time in an appropriate enclosure is great for them.
6. Sand and rabbit pellets are the worst two possible substrates you could use in my opinion. My favorite choices are listed in the care sheet.

 

[Void1878]

RE: How To Raise Sulcata Hatchlings and Babies.

Sorry if I'm asking too many questions, I just want to give my Sulcata Pax everything he needs. There is so much info out there and from all the research I've been doing I'm getting a headache and flustered. You seem like you know what your talking about so I came to this thread. He is now on moistened coco husk, I did away with the sand and pellets. He has a bowl of water at all times, a slate to put his food on, a hollowed out cork log to hide in, a live Aloe Vera in one corner, over the end with his water bowl and feeding slate is his bulb. It is 25 inches above the substrate and is an Exo Terra self-ballasted mercury vapor bulb. It is 125 watts and provides "optimal" levels of UVA, UVB, visual light and heat. Under the "basking" section is an Exo Terra small heating pad to help get the heat to the 90's while the cooler section is in the low 80's. I have organic carrots and romain lettuce, grown locally, to feed him and a spring mix I picked up at my local Rouses. Is one hour a day in an outside habitat alright? For given my heavy work hours and my family getting ready to move I cant manage much more than that. Maybe an hour and a half. Please be patient with me, I'm just trying to give Pax everything he needs. Thanks very much for all your help.

-Matt

 

[Tom]

RE: How To Raise Sulcata Hatchlings and Babies.

Matt, your set up sounds good. Here are a couple of things for you to consider:
Thing 1: 25" is pretty high up there, but let your thermometer and your tortoise's behavior be your guide there. If he's under the lamp "all" the time, then it might not be a warm enough basking spot. If he avoids the hot spot and stays over on the cool side "all" the time, then it might be too warm. Usually right around 100 works for my torts in my reptile room.

Thing 2: The spring mix is pretty good. The carrots and romaine, not so much. Take some time and read about sulcata diets. There are lots of websites and lots of posts and threads on this site to help you there. There is a paragraph on post#1 of this thread that shares some of my opinion on the matter.

 

[Void1878]

RE: How To Raise Sulcata Hatchlings and Babies.

The reason for the 25" is that is what the bulb recommends, I'm going to try lowering it to get the temp right because he is under the lamp most of the time so it might not be quite hot enough. The spring mix contains green romaine, red romaine, red oak, green oak, tango, lolla rossa, red leaf baby lettuce, green leaf baby lettuce, mazuna, arugula, tatsoi, mache, red chard, baby spinach, endive, radicchio. Is this an alright mix?

 

[Tom]

RE: How To Raise Sulcata Hatchlings and Babies.

The spring mix looks good. I usually pick out some of the red chard and spinach since I don't want either of those fed too much or too often. The best foods for them are foods that are free. Grass, weeds, a few types of leaves, a few types of flowers. I also think some Mazuri tortoise chow a couple of times a week is a good idea. Mazuri is also a nice standby to have on hand for those times when life get busy or when your spring mix starts going bad earlier than anticipated. And don't forget spineless opuntia cactus. That's really good for them, easy to grow in pots or the ground, and it lasts a really long time.

This site is full of ideas on how to grow your own stuff or find it out in the world.

 

[Void1878]

RE: How To Raise Sulcata Hatchlings and Babies.

Tom, I thank you very very much for all your help and being so patient with me. Only two last things, he doesn't open his eyes a lot and when he does he tends to squint more than open them all the way. Finally, how do I start a new thread so I cant stop inundating you with all these questions. Again, thanks for everything,
Matt

 

[Tom]

RE: How To Raise Sulcata Hatchlings and Babies.

What kind of UV bulb are you using? Is it one of those coil types? Was he under one of those coil types before you got him? These can sometimes irritate or damage their eyes.

If his eyes are bothering him, it is not a good sign. Check your four temps and watch them closely with the winter weather setting in.

 

[Void1878]

RE: How To Raise Sulcata Hatchlings and Babies.

He is not under a coil bulb now nor was he under one before I got him

 

[ShadowRancher]

RE: How To Raise Sulcata Hatchlings and Babies.

Hello, I just wanted to thank you profusely for this wonderful post. I have been researching for several days and there is an unbelievable amount of contradictory information on the web for adult Sulcatta care let alone hatchling care. I'm a new mom and I've been very nervous ever since I realized the info the breeder gave me (despite my million questions I'm sure he was annoyed with) was really inadequate. Luckily I've only had my little guy a few days so i can correct myself early and he seems pretty happy and healthy so far. Thanks again, Ana.

 

[Yvonne G]

RE: How To Raise Sulcata Hatchlings and Babies.

Luckily I've only had my little guy a few days so i can correct myself early and he seems pretty happy and healthy so far. Thanks again, Ana.

Hi Ana:

Won't you take a few moments to start a new thread in the "Introductions" section and tell us a bit about yourself?

 

[ShadowRancher]

RE: How To Raise Sulcata Hatchlings and Babies.

Hi Ana:

Won't you take a few moments to start a new thread in the "Introductions" section and tell us a bit about yourself?

Hi thanks, I just noticed the introductions page after I posted here, I guess I should have added that my mom loves russians so I grew up with torts and am familiar with their general care but Sulcattas are a league of their own ( I've been scaring myself reading about pyramiding, and it's myriad supposed causes, that where the nerves came from, so it was nice to find a post here pointing to humidity... That I can deal with

 

[y4433264336]

RE: How To Raise Sulcata Hatchlings and Babies.

HI Tom.. does zoomed powersun mvb 100W provide enough D3 for baby sulcata??? do i still need calcium-D3 for him??

 

[Tom]

RE: How To Raise Sulcata Hatchlings and Babies.

HI Tom.. does zoomed powersun mvb 100W provide enough D3 for baby sulcata??? do i still need calcium-D3 for him??

There too many variables for me to answer that with a yes or no. The powersun will give him more UV than if you didn't use one, and it should be enough to get you through the winter until he/she can get back in the sun. For an indoor tortoise I would use calcium with D3, regardless of lighting.

 

[kastalarial]

RE: How To Raise Sulcata Hatchlings and Babies.

My tortoise prefers to eat in the wee hours of the morning like 1 or 2 am. Is this normal?

 

[Tom]

RE: How To Raise Sulcata Hatchlings and Babies.

No its not. It should be dark and he should be sleeping. How does he see the food?

 

[kastalarial]

RE: How To Raise Sulcata Hatchlings and Babies.

I leave on an incandescent bulb because the wet coco fiber gets cold.

 

[kastalarial]

RE: How To Raise Sulcata Hatchlings and Babies.

Also, Tom. If my first sulcata goes well, I'm planning to buy at least 2 more and GPPs as well. My question is the younger the better when buying a baby sulcata? Is it ok to get a hatchling 2 or 3 weeks young?

 

[Tom]

RE: How To Raise Sulcata Hatchlings and Babies.

You need a ceramic heating element or a "black" incandescent bulb for night time. They need it warm AND dark.

Most of us agree that babies have a smaller margin of error. But if set up correctly, I find them just as easy as older ones. I've never lost a single one. For most people you will have a greater chance of success with an older one. Say 6-12 months old, but those are harder to come by and more expensive. A huge part of this equation is HOW they were kept and raised for those initial 6-12 months. If they were kept in the tradition dry, beef-jerky maker style enclosure with rabbit pellets and no water bowl, then you might be better off with a hatchling that has been started "right" by one of the many good breeders here on the forum.

 

[Zamric]

RE: How To Raise Sulcata Hatchlings and Babies.

My tortoise prefers to eat in the wee hours of the morning like 1 or 2 am. Is this normal?

All this Summer WalkingRock was mostly nocturnal. I contributed it to the exceptionally hot summer we had here in Texas. With the daily highs above 100 deg and the nighly lows in the 90's and high 80's, He stayed in his house during the hotest part of the day and did most of his basking in the early morning and all of his walking in the dark.

 

[kastalarial]

RE: How To Raise Sulcata Hatchlings and Babies.

The "black" light is the one the UV one (the one that emits violet light and makes neon colors glow) right? So i just point it at my enclosure (36 x 24 sweater box) for the rest of the night?