Introducing Meatball

ManAlive85

Member
Joined
Jan 13, 2020
Messages
68
Location (City and/or State)
London UK
Very handsome indeed and I love the name!

I’m in the UK too and have an Indian Star which is just about small enough to keep indoors in her own enclosure. I’ve always wondered how Sulcata owners in the UK and colder climates manage to keep their fully grown torts, especially in autumn and winter. I’d love one but I just don’t have the space. Out of interest, will you keep him/her indoors or do you have some kind of heated outbuilding?

Welcome to the forum anyway. You’ve come to the right place, I’ve learned so much here.
 

Meatball2020

New Member
Joined
Jun 28, 2020
Messages
5
Location (City and/or State)
Halifax uk
We have quite a while to go before he/she is too big to be indoors, while housed indoors we’re going to give him/her plenty of outdoor playtime and when the time does come for a permanent outdoor home we’re going to kit out a large shed with heating and light to keep him/her warm in the colder months. Still some design ideas being floated about but plenty of time to make final decisions ??
 

ManAlive85

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Joined
Jan 13, 2020
Messages
68
Location (City and/or State)
London UK
How old is your Indian Star ManAlive85

She’s (could well be a he but she was incubated to be female) coming up to a year in the next couple of months so she’s still pretty small. She didn’t gain a gram for the first few months until I really started following the guidance of the members of this forum. I built her a closed chamber at the start of lockdown and have kept the humidity super high. Since then she’s piling on the lbs and looking great!

Well worth checking out Tom’s care sheet for Sulcata, Leopard and Star hatchlings on this site if you haven’t already.
 

Meatball2020

New Member
Joined
Jun 28, 2020
Messages
5
Location (City and/or State)
Halifax uk
She’s (could well be a he but she was incubated to be female) coming up to a year in the next couple of months so she’s still pretty small. She didn’t gain a gram for the first few months until I really started following the guidance of the members of this forum. I built her a closed chamber at the start of lockdown and have kept the humidity super high. Since then she’s piling on the lbs and looking great!

Well worth checking out Tom’s care sheet for Sulcata, Leopard and Star hatchlings on this site if you haven’t already.

I think we had a look at the care sheet earlier, we’ve been looking at all sorts regarding Sulcatas, like any tort parent we want what’s best for our little shell with legs, he/she is brilliant, is eating and drinking and seems to enjoy “running” around the enclosure. He’s gaining around 5g per week, which doesn’t seem a lot considering the amount he eats. Wow a year, time flies when you’re having fun, what’s her name? We’re currently trying to get Meatballs humidity as high as possible, what’s the closed chamber
 

Maro2Bear

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5 Year Member
Joined
May 29, 2014
Messages
14,712
Location (City and/or State)
Glenn Dale, Maryland, USA
I think we had a look at the care sheet earlier, we’ve been looking at all sorts regarding Sulcatas, like any tort parent we want what’s best for our little shell with legs, he/she is brilliant, is eating and drinking and seems to enjoy “running” around the enclosure. He’s gaining around 5g per week, which doesn’t seem a lot considering the amount he eats. Wow a year, time flies when you’re having fun, what’s her name? We’re currently trying to get Meatballs humidity as high as possible, what’s the closed chamber

Greetings... a “closed chamber” is a tortoise enclosure that has a roof, is fully enclosed on all sides, top n bottom. Everything including lights & heating is inside. An arrangement like this, with a good moist substrate will help you maintain optimal humidity levels.

All the info here ✅ https://www.tortoiseforum.org/threa...se-a-sulcata-leopard-or-star-tortoise.181497/
 

ManAlive85

Member
Joined
Jan 13, 2020
Messages
68
Location (City and/or State)
London UK
I think we had a look at the care sheet earlier, we’ve been looking at all sorts regarding Sulcatas, like any tort parent we want what’s best for our little shell with legs, he/she is brilliant, is eating and drinking and seems to enjoy “running” around the enclosure. He’s gaining around 5g per week, which doesn’t seem a lot considering the amount he eats. Wow a year, time flies when you’re having fun, what’s her name? We’re currently trying to get Meatballs humidity as high as possible, what’s the closed chamber

As Maro2Bear said, it’s an enclosure that’s got four walls, a floor and a ceiling to minimise air transfer and keep the humidity up. Effectively a Vivarium, but usually a bit taller than a standard reptile viv to allow enough height for the various lamps. I tried all sorts with my tortoise table, even fitting a sliding Perspex lid, but I couldn’t keep the humidity above 40%. Since I built a closed chamber I’m laughing and it’s made a huge difference to Joni‘s well-being.

Here’s what I’m keeping her in for now:

2CF4D77D-0A2A-4AD8-87A1-305CF3EBD9F5.jpeg

She’s grown on quite a bit since I took this but here she is on a rare trip onto the floor.

0187891D-7532-474B-B5AC-BCDF347D2C89.jpeg
 

Meatball2020

New Member
Joined
Jun 28, 2020
Messages
5
Location (City and/or State)
Halifax uk
Loving her set up. Yes we have Meatball in a Vivarium, the place we got him from sent him with hemp substrate but after doing some reading on here we’ve changed his substrate and that’s helped raise the humidity significantly higher than it was before. Joni is a little beauty, we let Meatball out some nights to roam on the bed for 10 minutes or so. He seems to enjoy the exercise and loves exploring, he has quite a quirky personality.
 

Hutsie B

Well-Known Member
5 Year Member
Joined
Mar 24, 2013
Messages
471
Location (City and/or State)
NC
Meatball is so cute. They grow fast. Looking forward to more Meatball news.
 
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