I have quite a few questions. Found sulcata, no owner so far.

Tom

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Thank you very much! We started a covered burrow first thing for him and now have corrected the diet issues. I picked up Timothy, orchid, and oat hay as well as the mazuri ls. Does this seem sufficient until I can identify or grow healthy weeds and flowers?

Should I be giving him a calcium supplement? He will be outdoors full time so long as he seems to do well, from what I've seen that means I don't have to use D3? Thank you for your time 🙏

i have vetericyn (probably butchered the spelling) I use it on my mammals for an anticeptic it is a miracle worker, do you know if it is safe for torts?
Vetericyn would be my number one first choice to treat this with, but most people have never heard of it. It is safe for tortoises. I use it on myself too. Still clean it with betadine or hydrogen peroxide one time, and then use the vetericyn a couple or three times a day.

You do not need UV or D3 supplementation for a tortoise that lives outside full time.

Don't be discouraged if he doesn't use the burrow right away. It usually takes them a while to realize there is no tortoise eating monster down there, and that it is THEIR burrow.

Orchard hay is the best. Bermuda or teff is good too. Oat hay and Timothy are too tough and stemmy. Alfalfa is also too stemmy, and also too high in protein to feed all day every day. I feed my tortoises fresh grown alfalfa every once in a while as part of a mixture, but not as a staple.

Look around your neighborhood for spineless opuntia, hibiscus or rose of Sharon, fruitless mulberry trees, lavatera, grape vines, gazanias, etc... There is probably good tortoise food all around you.
 

Sarah2020

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Calcium essential for strong bones and shell. As yiuvf9 not know diet or wellbeing history I would provide what you can. Your aiming for smooth growth shell if things go wrong you get pyramids or soft rubber shell both to be avoided.
 

A.Vazquez

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Vetericyn would be my number one first choice to treat this with, but most people have never heard of it. It is safe for tortoises. I use it on myself too. Still clean it with betadine or hydrogen peroxide one time, and then use the vetericyn a couple or three times a day.

You do not need UV or D3 supplementation for a tortoise that lives outside full time.

Don't be discouraged if he doesn't use the burrow right away. It usually takes them a while to realize there is no tortoise eating monster down there, and that it is THEIR burrow.

Orchard hay is the best. Bermuda or teff is good too. Oat hay and Timothy are too tough and stemmy. Alfalfa is also too stemmy, and also too high in protein to feed all day every day. I feed my tortoises fresh grown alfalfa every once in a while as part of a mixture, but not as a staple.

Look around your neighborhood for spineless opuntia, hibiscus or rose of Sharon, fruitless mulberry trees, lavatera, grape vines, gazanias, etc... There is probably good tortoise food all around you.

Thank you! I was thinking of walking around with the photos from this app but I was worried about possible pesticide or fertilizer exposure. That's an issue with my hermit crabs, is it not something I need to worry about with Chuy?
 

A.Vazquez

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Calcium essential for strong bones and shell. As yiuvf9 not know diet or wellbeing history I would provide what you can. Your aiming for smooth growth shell if things go wrong you get pyramids or soft rubber shell both to be avoided.
Thank you! I'll get cuttlebone for him. I read somewhere chicken egg shells are not a safe source of calcium for these guys Do you know if that is true? I'll have a new phone this week but currently my screen doesn't work where the search button is so I can't search here to find out. 😅
He has slight pyramiding and a flat spot on the back of his shell. I read that it was due to conditions being too dry during a growth spurt, though I don't know that is accurate. Hopefully we can stop the pyramiding he currently has.
 

zolasmum

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Thank you! I'll get cuttlebone for him. I read somewhere chicken egg shells are not a safe source of calcium for these guys Do you know if that is true? I'll have a new phone this week but currently my screen doesn't work where the search button is so I can't search here to find out. 😅
He has slight pyramiding and a flat spot on the back of his shell. I read that it was due to conditions being too dry during a growth spurt, though I don't know that is accurate. Hopefully we can stop the pyramiding he currently has.
I think the problem with eggshells is that the shells might include traces of things included in chicken feed which might not be good for tortoises - or some possible infection - best not to risk it, probably. Calcium powder can be sprinkled on food easily - don't overdo it and put him off his food, obviously ! As for plants having pesticides or fertiliser on them, that is a problem - perhaps you could identify some possible plants, and then find out how they are cared for, before you risk it. And avoid anything growing close to a road, because of traffic fumes.
Angie
 

A.Vazquez

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I think the problem with eggshells is that the shells might include traces of things included in chicken feed which might not be good for tortoises - or some possible infection - best not to risk it, probably. Calcium powder can be sprinkled on food easily - don't overdo it and put him off his food, obviously ! As for plants having pesticides or fertiliser on them, that is a problem - perhaps you could identify some possible plants, and then find out how they are cared for, before you risk it. And avoid anything growing close to a road, because of traffic fumes.
Angie
Thank you! I'll avoid egg shells. I hadn't even considered traffic fumes 😅
 

sandrarz

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Also, what is the best substrate for our new big guy?
Thank you! This chart definitely helps. I don't understand how people think you can take anything that's been domestically raised and release it, let alone one that's not even close to being native. We feel pretty lucky ourselves. He is such a sweetheart.
We just found some hatchlings. Went to the house next to the job site that had huge sulcata. They refused that their sulcata bred. Even though you could see baby tracks in the sand coming out through the chain link. I live in az. Not only is this bad for the baby sulcata but our native tortious also. Of course I kept one of these sweeties. Lol
 

Maddoggy

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We just found some hatchlings. Went to the house next to the job site that had huge sulcata. They refused that their sulcata bred. Even though you could see baby tracks in the sand coming out through the chain link. I live in az. Not only is this bad for the baby sulcata but our native tortious also. Of course I kept one of these sweeties. Lol
Wow anybody who wont own up to a baby Sulcata is not a good person to me . Congrats on your new tort he will be a handful.
 

A.Vazquez

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Lots of good info from previous posters, but I still want to take a crack at it:
Grass and grass hay, like orchard grass hay, should be the main foods for one this size. No fruit at all. Weeds, leaves, spineless opuntia pads, and occasional other greens are great. I do like green beans and other legumes once in a while as part of a varied diet, but do ensure that Chuy is well hydrated with regular and frequent soaks two or three times a week. You can use a horse trough as a soaking tub for larger tortoises.

I have a few ways I introduce hay to young grass eaters:
1. Just set out a flake of hay. Eventually they learn to eat it. Hunger helps.
2. Feed them all their other foods on a bed of grass hay. This gets them used to the sight, smell, and texture of the hay, and eventually, they start eating it with the other stuff.
3. Chop up the hay with scissors or cutters of some sort, wet it to rehydrate it a bit, and thoroughly mix it with their other foods. Start with just a tiny amount at first, and gradually add more and more over a period of weeks and months. I think #3 is best because it gets their gut flora and fauna used to it gradually, but I often do all three.

Soaking twice a day will do no harm, but its not necessary. If you like doing it that way, keep doing it.

I'd do as others suggested with the cracked scute. Clean it once, and then keep some triple antibiotic on it for a while.

What is most important is an insulated temperature controlled shelter. Here are two examples:


In your climate it would be good to encourage Chuy to dig a burrow where you want one in summer. Just start a hole with a sloped entrance and once he discovers it, he should take over. Its too hot above ground for them in summer. Underground is the best way to go. In fall when night temps start dropping, I cover the burrow entrance and make the tortoise use its heated night box until late spring when temps warm up again.

Questions are welcome! :)
What size plywood do you reccomend for the nightbox? Buying and building today. He doesnt like it inside our house 😅.
 

Tom

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What size plywood do you reccomend for the nightbox? Buying and building today. He doesnt like it inside our house 😅.
Plywood comes in sheets that are 4x8 feet. Both of the two boxes linked in post number 17 on page one of this thread are based off of that 4x8 foot measurement. Here is more info:

 

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