Hunters shell concerns

[JoshRiess]

Here is Hunter









Still young, was told only a few months.
I have been reading about MBD and Pyramiding
Do you think he has the start of something?
The dark areas look kind of deep if that's the word?
We have only had Him/or Her a week.
Doing all the stuff Tom says he does , I hope.
Hunter gets lots of sun everyday, and daily soaks for about 10min, in Luke warm water.
and eats like a horse. and poops like one too.
Thanks for your time !
JOSH...............and Hunter !

 

[oknursedana]

Welcome!!! I'm new here too but I know some of what the experts are going to ask. What type of enclosure does he have? What lights and heat source? What substrate are you using and what are the temps on the warm, cool, and basking spots? Humidity? He's a cutie by the way.

 

[wellington]

He's looking good. Keep up the humidity, 80% and soakings every day. I don't think he's pyramiding. Just so you do know though. If they were started out hot and dry before you got him, he may still pyramid a little. If you keep him like in Toms closed chamber threads, you will put a stop to it before in keeps really noticeable and when he's a lot bigger, you won't even know he ever had any. Btw, Toms threads are below in my post incase you need a refresher

 

[JoshRiess]

Thanks guys and gals !
10 gal glass tank with humidity around 50 -70 percent .
My daughter is designing a multi room habitat for this winter
Cypress mulch substrate 90+ to 105+ UVA UVB Heatlamp pointed down as his hot spot on the right side of tank
Left side is much cooler 78-85 with shallow water dish with fresh water 3 times a day , more if it get stuff in it.
His shell is always 87+ anywhere he goes. ( I love temps guns )
Out side we have built him a basking playground of sorts up off the ground away from the dogs.
4' x 4' with cypress mulch in it too!
He gets a min of 2 hours of sun a daY and boy does he love to run around , maybe we should race him LOL
At night the hot side is about 89-95 with the heat source coming from a under tank stick on reptile heater, it works wonderfully and he nests in the corner every night.
He eats like a horse and poops like one too.
Seems to be in good spirits and seems to like my daughter (his Mommy) he always goes right over to her voice when we take him out to the play ground we built. weird I think, but hey it makes her happy.
I soak him, well he sits there, in warm water about 88-90 degree water hope it not too hot , at least once a day and spray his shell with clean room temp water when he looks a bit dry not too often but more than 5 times a day.
oh buy the way he has a long tail in the back that he likes to let it all hang out when hes running around out side
I find it some what odd I see pics of baby Sulcatas and have yet to see a tail.
JOSH

 

[mikeh]

89-95F at night in sleeping quarters is bit too high. Aim closer to 80F.

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You don't want his metabolism running wide open day and night

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[Tom]

Your humidity is too low. Does he have a humid hide box?

I agree with Mike about the night temps and I don;t like heating pads. Seen them malfunction or just get hot spots and burn tortoises. I refer to use ceramic heating elements or radiant heat panels set on a thermostat instead.

I know you are working on it, but a 10 gallon is way too small. The outside enclosure sounds great though.

I don't know where you are, but if its a dry climate, I would not leave him outside more than an hour or two until he gets bigger.

Lastly, I prefer to soak for 20-30 minutes and your water temp sounds great.

 

[JoshRiess]

Tom I'm in southern california Area Bakersfield where its 100+ in the days with 50 - 60 humidity sometimes more .
I will try and build his bigger enclosure sooner than later .
Tom do you think I need that power sun on him all the time in the house he gets lots of sun daily , just wondering if that is what is lowering our humidity maybe I could get away with a smaller wattage bulb just to supply a hot spot for him .

 

[Dizisdalife]

If you are taking him outside on a regular basis you don't need the Power Sun. You still need a basking spot for him that is about 100F. Lights and heating elements do dry the air in an enclosure. To stop the the loss of moisture (and heat) you'll need to cover the top of the enclosure. When you do that you will need a thermostat to help keep the enclosure from over heating. It helps to keep the night time temp steady as well. Since you are going to need a larger indoor enclosure soon I recommend looking into a "closed chamber" that will suit your needs for the next 18 months or so. You will be really pleased with the results.

 

[JoshRiess]

thanks Diz and links to a thermostate to shut off the heat ?
JOSh

 

[Dizisdalife]

thanks Diz and links to a thermostate to shut off the heat ?
JOSh

Here is one that is similar to the ones I have been using for a couple of years. Same features, just a different brand.

http://lllreptile.com/store/catalog...ors/-/zilla-1000-watt-temperature-controller/