Intro of 80 pound female sulcata

Mimimeme

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I found your forum through a Facebook post that someone had made. We rescued an 80 pound female sulcata tortoise in November. Charlie has been a great addition to our home in Southern California. She came with her house but not much direction from the previous owners. They told us that she ate lettuce and apples and carrots and loved strawberries and that she free roamed on the grass. Before we took her we had her checked out by the vet and the vet said that she was fine. For the first two months it was cold and rainy here so she barely came out of her house. Now, she is completely familiar with us and our routine. I give her lettuce that I mix with her hay because I read on a site that Timothy hay was good. She hates it. However I can see that she's eating it because it comes out in her poop. She will do everything she can to eat around the hay, though! She grazes all day on the lawn. I still give her an occasional apple or strawberry especially when she breaks into the dog run and I have to get her out because she's way too heavy to lift. It seems to be a symbiotic relationship, she does anything she can to get to the dog poop and he does anything he can to get to the tortoise poop. Yuck! Speaking of the dog, he is 80 pounds...same as her... and I never leave them alone but they do seem to like each other.
Charlie came with her house which unfortunately is getting too small for her. She's at the point where she only has about an inch on either side to get through the door. I came to the site because I'd love to get some ideas on the new house. Right now it is just on the dirt and rocks where she lives and she has dug out some of that. I have seen on many sites that some people don't have dirt floors. I'm wondering if she's going to like this though because she tends to move the dirt around often. She has a red heat light that is above her in the house. Now that it's summer I'm wondering if I should turn it off. What is the temperature that it should get down to that I need to have the heat lamp on her in the evenings? Her house is made of wood now. It has a top that lifts off so that I can clean it. Does anyone use a plastic shed and heat lamp at the same time? I'm worried about the plastic melting.
She tends to have a routine. She comes out in the morning, she grazes on the grass, and then around 5 o'clock she heads back toward her house. Very smart tortoise we got! Do I need to provide any other sort of entertainment for her? We have balls in the yard that she tends to ignore. She does like to have her back and her neck and her head rubbed though. She seems very social and pokes her head in the window anytime she can to look in the house. If we leave the door slightly ajar she even will come in the house and then we have to figure out a way to get her out. It seems like this is a game to her because since she's gotten in she wants to attempt to try again. Same goes for the dog run!
Final questions I have. I've read online that some people don't feed their tortoises every day. Is this okay? Is it okay to feed her every other day since she has full run of the yard? Also, I leave water in the yard but have never seen her drink. I like to hose her down with a watering can while she's eating. She is 80 pounds. Must I soak her once a week? Is just hosing her down from the top and the bottom for five minutes enough? How long do people soak their large tortoises?
Thanks so much for all the input. I look forward to hearing from many of you experts.
 

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Blakem

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Jan 17, 2012
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California
I do not feel experienced enough to answer your questions. Your housing question can be answered by navigating to the housing section of the forum. Keep reading! In my signature you'll find websites that are great for plant identification tht your tortoise will enjoy. Don't grab anything that you don't know if it's been sprayed with poisons or pesticides. Your tortoise is beautiful. Good luck!


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Here's some great plant identification websites I use.

http://www.tlady.clara.net/TortGuide/diet.htm#plantlist

http://africantortoise.com/edible_landscaping.htm

http://m.thetortoisetable.org.uk/m/plants_19.asp
 

Mimimeme

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Jul 7, 2014
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Here is a picture I just took. The white on the top of her shell is a sticker with my contact info if she gets out.
 

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Yvonne G

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Hi, and welcome to the Forum!

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bouaboua

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Hello and Welcome. She is a beauty for sure. This is a great place to learn and share. In the enclosure section you will find lots thread with great ideas for her new house. Happy reading.
 
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