i have been doing everything wrong.

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calamity

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i have had my sulcata, bunny, for a little less than a year now. although i keep a number of other reptiles and should have enough experience to know better, i made the mistake of following the advice of the reptile store where i got him. i did do research before buying him, the usual google searches, and had a relatively hard time coming up with consistent answers. i live in northern florida and soon after i brought him home i called the place he was purchased from and asked them if i should take him in for a fecal. the owner of the store recommended against it.

i changed bunny to a playsand substrate soon after we got home. in the reptile store he lived on alfalfa pellets. after 10, 000 nervous calls from me one of the stores employees stressed that romaine lettuce would be a perfectly fine diet, with apples, carrots and calcium supplements. i did more research and added collards to his diet as well as petals from my rose bush. tonight i found your forum and i have debated on even posting for fear of being flamed or criticized for not doing the proper amount of research. i know i have criticized people myself for this concerning other reptiles.

currently bunny lives in a 20 long aquarium and his lights are about the only thing i have gotten right. he is still on playsand. he has a flower pot hide. i soak him once a week for thirty minutes in warm dechlorinated water. his diet consists of rose petals, collards, occasional romaine and very few apples and carrots. thus far i have not noticed any pyramiding and actually dragged him out at 4:32 am to compare him to the pictures i found online and on here. on sunny days i place him in my backyard in a rubbermaid container for sunshine.

what can i do ASAP to improve his conditions? my yard is pesticide-free but i have no idea what the grass is. it is also especially weed-y. i have no problem at all purchasing what it will take to make his life a better one. i think pitching the 20 long will be a step in the right direction and i could purchase a rabbit cage like to the one i saw on here in just about a week. as for a grazing-type cage... i suppose i could flip the top on the rabbit cage and allow the grass to poke through....

part of me thinks the best thing to do would be find a better home. i feel woefully inadequate and incredibly ashamed.

thank you for any and all help.
 

Crazy1

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Calamity, don’t beat yourself up too much. Some of us have done some pretty unknowing things when he first got our torts I know I did.
Just remember the learning curve starts now.
Substrate, Diet, temp & humidity are big ones.
Glass is frowned upon because they can see through it (grass is always greener on the other side of the glass fence). Also it does not allow for good air circulation and tend to hold humidity higher.
Substrates can also increase or decrease humidity.
Diet-few carrots and kale. Sulcata are grazing torts think of them more as cows. Grasses, weeds like dandelion, mallow and mulberry leaves. Few if any fruits. And Cactus they love spineless prickly pear cactus.
I have included some sites that may help. And I am sure you will get help from Sulcata owners on this site.
Good luck and long life to both you and bunny.
http://forums.shelledwarriors.co.uk/viewforum.php?f=9
http://www.tortoisetrust.org/care/care.html
http://www.wnyherp.org/care-sheets/turtles/african-spur-thigh-sulcata.php
 
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Bansh88

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Get him outside. That is number 1.
Any grass or weeds will be better for him to eat than anything you could buy.
He's only a year or so old? get him out of the sand. they can ingest it whole they are small and cause serious problems.
If he is still small, you don't need a large enclosure, but the bigger, the better. Just screw a few 2"x8"s together. If there is danger from predators, make a screen cover or keep a good eye on him.
Get him outside.
 

Stephanie Waltman

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I did the same thing at first. We live in Arizona and I thought the winters were too cold. I had my two 7 year old (hatchlings at the time) in a 40gal long, The weren't growing as fast as I thought they should. A vet tech told me to use an old screen door for a lid on a2 x 10 frame for an enclosure that way my neighbors cats couldn't take them away:D
 

JustAnja

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Kendall Im not sure how I missed this when you originally posted it but I think this forum is one I recommended when we first talked on myspace. lol

How is Bunny's setup now? And his diet?
 
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