Just A Few Questions... Questions That Need Answering!

NBCMad92

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Hello everyone

Great to be a part of this site :).

I'm a relatively new tortoise owner, I've had my tortoise for just over a year now. Name is Master Oogway (please tell me you know what that is reference to!).

I just have a few questions if someone could answer them, that would be great.

First

And this is the main one because it would probably answer a lot of my other questions. I know this may sound silly but can someone tell me what breed Master Oogway is. When I got him/her, I was told he/her was a Mediterranean spur-thighed but upon further research and looking at him/her, I'm not too sure what type he/her is. I've attached a few photos if someone could have a look and tell me. This would also be helpful as I am building an outdoor enclosure and want to know what his/her natural habitat is like and how big he/she will get to match it.

Second

For anyone who has an outdoor enclosure, do you have a heat lamp in the shed/housing area? Nowhere tells me whether I should or not. It simply isn't mentioned and I want to give Master Oogway everything that he/she needs. I live in the UK and temperatures somewhat vary, sometimes it's nice a warm and sometimes it's raining. Our weather cannot decide what it wants to do!

Thanks in advance for reading this!

XX25593929_10154996531156806_2995768658404726186_n.jpg 16143338_10154145231581806_722223379773838502_n.jpg 16105791_10154123478356806_2081043452894144713_n.jpg
 

Tom

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Hello and welcome. One of the common names for the species you have (Not breed…) is the African Spur Thigh. Here is the correct care info:
https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/beginner-mistakes.45180/
https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/how-to-raise-a-healthy-sulcata-or-leopard-version-2-0.79895/
https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/for-those-who-have-a-young-sulcata.76744/

This is a giant tropical species. They need warm temperatures day and night year round. Care for a Mediterranean spur thigh would be very different in many ways.
 

wellington

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Hello and Welcome. I second and third the above posts. You will need a very big heated outdoor enclosure for your sulcata when he gets big enough that he can no longer be housed indoors. That will be soon, maybe another year or two. In the mean time he will need a very large indoor enclosure. Read the threads that Tom linked for you and come back with any questions that wasn't answered in the threads.
 

NBCMad92

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Oh my GOSH! That is a massive shock to me as he/she was sold to me as a Mediterranean! Not that I mind, but still, isn't that bad that they are selling species under the wrong title?

Thank you so much for your help guys! I better get going on more research as all my knowledge is for Mediterraneans!!!
 

TechnoCheese

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I would also like to add that you need 80% humidity. He’s pretty severely pyramided, which can’t be reversed, but if you get the humidity to the correct levels now, it should be less noticeable when he’s 150-200 pounds ;)
Definitely read those links Tom gave you, ASAP!
 

wellington

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Oh my GOSH! That is a massive shock to me as he/she was sold to me as a Mediterranean! Not that I mind, but still, isn't that bad that they are selling species under the wrong title?

Thank you so much for your help guys! I better get going on more research as all my knowledge is for Mediterraneans!!!
Yes, it is very bad that they don't know what they are selling. You should let them know this. Everyone needs to do more home work when selling and buying an animal.
 

Yvonne G

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I want to correct what Tom said - some people mistakenly refer to the sulcata tortoise as the "African spur thigh," however, "spur thigh" is totally reserved for the Greek species. The correct common name for a sulcata is the African spurred tortoise.
 

NBCMad92

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I feel so bad, I did so much research on Mediterranean before I bought him/her and thought I knew exactly what to do. I feel awful that I've been caring for Oogway the wrong way and now have to relearn everything :(
 

TechnoCheese

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I feel so bad, I did so much research on Mediterranean before I bought him/her and thought I knew exactly what to do. I feel awful that I've been caring for Oogway the wrong way and now have to relearn everything :(

It’s fine, because now that you joined here, you can give the care he needs. Believe me, you aren’t doing terrible compared to some of the other people who join with sulcatas :)
 

Tom

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I want to correct what Tom said - some people mistakenly refer to the sulcata tortoise as the "African spur thigh," however, "spur thigh" is totally reserved for the Greek species. The correct common name for a sulcata is the African spurred tortoise.
Its not a "mistake". It is one of many common names used regionally round the world. When the species was introduced to me in the early 90's it was universally called "the African Spur thigh" in my part of the world and in the reptile world circles that I associated with. It is from Africa and it does have spurs on its thighs. Many species have multiple common names like this and it leads to confusion like this on a regular basis.

This discussion does illustrate why it is important to know and use the latin names to avoid any of this type of confusion.
 

NBCMad92

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It’s fine, because now that you joined here, you can give the care he needs. Believe me, you aren’t doing terrible compared to some of the other people who join with sulcatas :)

Thank you! I should be getting on with some work but looks like I have some reading to do!
 

daniellenc

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I'm sorry I'm laughing because it's not really funny but I'd be so mad, lol. Definitely going to need to start daily soaks, adjust diet, and buy a large plot of land (sorta kidding and sorta not). For now his indoor housing will need to be humid and preferable a closed top enclosure to keep heat and humidity in.
 

NBCMad92

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I'm sorry I'm laughing because it's not really funny but I'd be so mad, lol. Definitely going to need to start daily soaks, adjust diet, and buy a large plot of land (sorta kidding and sorta not). For now his indoor housing will need to be humid and preferable a closed top enclosure to keep heat and humidity in.

I gave Oogway weekly soaks as I read that that helps them go to the toilet and helps in general but daily soaks it is. My brother has lizards and he's going to have a look at Oogway's tank to check the humidity of it.

I'm more scared about telling my dad to be honest. I told him it wouldn't get as big as the cat... XD
 

TechnoCheese

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I gave Oogway weekly soaks as I read that that helps them go to the toilet and helps in general but daily soaks it is. My brother has lizards and he's going to have a look at Oogway's tank to check the humidity of it.

I'm more scared about telling my dad to be honest. I told him it wouldn't get as big as the cat... XD

I would definitely start soaking daily, seeing how dry his enclosure is. Be sure you change the substrate to fine grade orchid bark, coco coir, peat moss, or cypress mulch.
 

daniellenc

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He'll be able to eat the cat lmao!! Also, on a serious note he will need a substantial amount of indoor and outdoor room.......like an entire large spare bedroom that can be covered in hay and dirt, burrowed in, and kept moist with temps in the 80's and basking spots of 100-105 degrees Fahrenheit. I have a feeling your Dad is probably not going to permit that. May need to trade him in for a more appropriate sized tort.
 

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