Is my baby Sulcata's shell okay?

[Pahtli23]

This is my baby sulcata that I recently purchased from a pet store a week ago today . Like many novice I didnt do my research as I should have because I was so excited to have one of these previous creatures in my home. I was doing some research and it could be from hard water? They seem like dry cracks ,What do you all think. Other than that baby Yolli is seems healthy. I give him a varieties of greens and grasses ,tortoise food and bathe him every other day. Because I though it was hard water I even bough smart water to bath him in .

 

[Ink]

How often do you soak it?

 

[Aunt Caffy]

The lines around each scute (think of a scute as one of the “tiles” comprising your tort’s shell) are growth lines. Kind of like the growth lines on a tree trunk cross section. My tortoise’s new growth showed up as whitish then would turn dark.

 

[Tom]

View attachment 308874


This is my baby sulcata that I recently purchased from a pet store a week ago today . Like many novice I didnt do my research as I should have because I was so excited to have one of these previous creatures in my home. I was doing some research and it could be from hard water? They seem like dry cracks ,What do you all think. Other than that baby Yolli is seems healthy. I give him a varieties of greens and grasses ,tortoise food and bathe him every other day. Because I though it was hard water I even bough smart water to bath him in .

That could be hardware stains or it could be left "schmutz" from hatching as this baby looks very young.

Use tap water for drinking and soaking, but use distilled, reverse osmosis, or collected rainwater in a spray bottle to rinse each day after the soak.

Also, most of the care info given and products sold for this species in pet stores is all wrong and will lead to the death of the baby. Read this for the current and correct care info:

The Best Way To Raise A Sulcata, Leopard, Or Star Tortoise

I chose the title of this care sheet very carefully. Are there other ways to raise babies? Yes. Yes there are, but those ways are not as good. What follows is the BEST way, according to 30 years of research and experimentation with hundreds of babies of many species. Babies hatch during the...

tortoiseforum.org

 

[Pahtli23]

How often do you soak it?

So I recently purchased Yolli about a week ago it wasnt until Sunday I started soaking Yolli in warm water. I would make sure to splash water on his shell too. He doesnt seem distressed so Im hoping its something that will go away now that im soaking him daily for about 10 minutes

 

[Pahtli23]

That could be hardware stains or it could be left "schmutz" from hatching as this baby looks very young.

Use tap water for drinking and soaking, but use distilled, reverse osmosis, or collected rainwater in a spray bottle to rinse each day after the soak.

Also, most of the care info given and products sold for this species in pet stores is all wrong and will lead to the death of the baby. Read this for the current and correct care info:

The Best Way To Raise A Sulcata, Leopard, Or Star Tortoise

I chose the title of this care sheet very carefully. Are there other ways to raise babies? Yes. Yes there are, but those ways are not as good. What follows is the BEST way, according to 30 years of research and experimentation with hundreds of babies of many species. Babies hatch during the...

tortoiseforum.org

Thank you Tom! What do you mean by hardware stains? Also I read your notes it was very helpful. I have another question regarding lighting as I want to get everything perfect for my baby. Would u recommend a night light bulb that is black I believe its at 65 watts. Usually Yolli just goes into his little cave after hes done eating and sleeps

 

[Tom]

So I recently purchased Yolli about a week ago it wasnt until Sunday I started soaking Yolli in warm water. I would make sure to splash water on his shell too. He doesnt seem distressed so Im hoping its something that will go away now that im soaking him daily for about 10 minutes

Soak daily for 30-40 minutes. Keep the water warm for the entire soak.

 

[Tom]

Thank you Tom! What do you mean by hardware stains? Also I read your notes it was very helpful. I have another question regarding lighting as I want to get everything perfect for my baby. Would u recommend a night light bulb that is black I believe its at 65 watts. Usually Yolli just goes into his little cave after hes done eating and sleeps

Sorry. Spell check got me again... It should have said hard water stains. In heavily mineralized water, the water evaporates and leaves the minerals behind to collect over time. Using a non-mineralized water source for a quick rinse after soaks will prevent this. Don't use non-mineralized water for drinking or soaking. Only for rinsing or spraying the enclosure and tortoise.

I do not recommend any colored incandescent bulbs for day or night. They need it dark at night. A ceramic heating element or radiant heat panel is the best way to accomplish this. They give off heat, but no light. Either needs a thermostat to control it. All of this and more is explained in the care sheet.