Just got my first African Spurred!

[juliaasbury]

Hello! Ive always wanted a tortoise but couldn’t bare the price offered at petco/PetSmart. Someone made a FB post that they were selling 5 months old baby African spurs for $150 and my dad jumped on the offer and brought one for me! We stay in the eastern-central region of Texas.

I have read the How to care for Sulcata’s,…. Care sheet posted on here by Tom (I’m pretty sure!) and from what I’ve read, my baby sure hasn’t had a great start as the breeder was definitely raising it as a dry tortoise just from the information that he has given me to care for s/he and the only right thing I was told was to be soaking s/he.

My dad and I went and brought the tank and other needed stuff, but my research was based on the “internets version of caring for Sulcata’s” and I was going based off of that info before I was able to find this forum and the care sheet.

We brought a 20 gallon ZooMed glass reptile enclose ‘kit’ with the lights and domes, and a screen top. I was told to use hay as the substrate which I did, along with a reptile water dish, rock home, 2 different thermometer/hygometers, and calcium power. I’ve had s/he in this enclosure for about a week now and I’ve noticed that a. Keeping the humidity in the tank is very hard and b. The water I offered in the reptile dish ramp is always clean as in it doesn’t get used. After reading the care sheet, I went and picked up some Repti Bark and coconut fiber along with some Terra cotta dishes for food & water. The humidity is a little bit better, but I’m definitely thinking of picking up a better mister instead of a spray bottle

So I was wondering, is there any advice as to what my next step should be to keep getting the enclosure where I need it for my tortoise? I feel like my head is going to explode from all the information to be honest, especially the lighting part, which I am concerned about as I’m not sure if they’re the right bulbs because I didn’t get to look at it before my mom threw the trash away.. I took pictures of the new enclose I have set up and attached them here!

I take Morla (s/he’s name) outside everyday to get sunshine for 30 minutes and then bring s/he inside for a 30 minute soak. He has been eating romaine and lettuce leaves and I just picked up some flower blend for tortoises.

Thank you in advance! I look forward to be part of this forum!

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

Hello and welcome to the forum! So glad you’ve made your way here! I know first hand how overwhelming research can be online, rest assured this is the best place, too many sources elsewhere are giving incorrect outdated care information😣

I’m going to include some information below on a good starter set up that will tackle your humidity problem and the correct equipment to use🙂

Basking light should be an incandescent floodlight(example attached) on a 12 hour timer.

You may also wish to add ambient lighting on the same timer, providing shady areas with hides and safe plants.

Then CHE/CHE’s, always on a thermostat, for night heat if your house drops below 60’s at night. Set the thermostat for a night temperature place the probe in their cooler end, plug the che into it and the thermostat into the mains, it’ll be plugged in 24/7 but will only turn on when the temperature drops.

Uv should be a t5 fluorescent tube, avoid the compact and coil uv bulbs, they don’t give out enough uv and can hurt the tortoises eyes. The uv can be on a 4 hour timer from noon. I’ve attached examples of the two brands to go for.

With lighting always avoid anything labelled halogen or mercury vapour.

For substrates, either coco coir, dampened and packed down by hand as a base, with a layer of orchid(fir not pine) bark or forest floor on top, or just the orchid bark/forest floor. Never use anything with sand mixed in, no top soils and no kinds of moss.

You want to aim to have the bottom layer of substrate damp, to do this pour lukewarm water into the corners, not loads but enough to dampen the entire bottom layer. To stop that top layer getting a little too dry/dusty, mix the substrate now n then, which also helps boosting humidity or give the top a spray. Check your monitors and substrate to do the pours as and when needed. I don’t recommend misters or foggers, they get the air too wet and cause respiratory problems.

To maintain humidity you need a closed chamber set up, this can be provided with a greenhouse topper, If you can’t find an exact fit for your base then place it over like the one with the white base in the photo, I’d put lining down under the base and cover though to stop condensate getting on your floor.
When making your base, just make sure the material is safe some use flower beds or just make their own, for these options I’d line with cheap pond liner, making sure the liner goes up the sides too and make sure those sides are deep enough.

Some people even hang their lighting from the greenhouse frame! Simply wrap the wire round so it’s at the height you need(check with temp gun/put thermostat in, 18-21 for uv) and secure with cable ties. I’ve also included examples of stands people make/buy.

If sticking with the tank temporarily, perhaps you could fashion some sort of lid like I’ve attached in one of the photos, doesn’t have to be that roof shape. Bare in mind this tank size won’t last long and you may find it tricker getting a good temperature gradient.

For a water dish the shallow terracotta saucer you’re using is considered safest, they have grip in the event your tortoise flips themselves, most pet store options are a known hazard.

Ignore whatever else is in these enclosures in the photos, they’re just to give you an idea👍

I’d also always recommend getting your hands on a temp gun, they’re SO handy when setting up a new environment or for checking your monitors are correct🙂

I’m including a link below you might find helpful looking at for the diet side of things😊

The Tortoise Table - Home

The Tortoise Table plant database and resource site for Tortoise owners

www.thetortoisetable.org.uk

 

[Alex and the Redfoot]

Hello and welcome!
Some quick suggestions:
1. 30 minutes of sunlight daily, around 10AM (as of July) is really good, because your UVB lamp unlikely gives enough. Turn it off for now and plan to get T5 long tube before the next cold season. Make sure Morla has access to shade when outside. Optimal time to get outside vary with season, check the weather forecast in what hours the UV Index is between 3-5.

2. There should be marks or label on the basking bulb. If there are, can you post a photo here? If you can't find any labels, then just two photos of the lamp removed from the dome (side and front).

3. A quick and "band-aid" solution for humidity - cover or wrap the mesh with a tin foil precisely cut around lamp domes. !!! Watch tank temperatures for 3-4 hours after that.

4. Get cheap digital (with a display) thermometers/hygrometers from a hardware store. With will be far more accurate than gauges you have now.

5. You will need a ceramic heat emitter, and a simple on/off thermostat to maintain ambient temperature 80F night and day in the tank. Baby sulcatas should be kept warm all the time. For the start, you can install ceramic heater in the double dome, instead of your UVB bulb.

 

[Tom]

Hello! Ive always wanted a tortoise but couldn’t bare the price offered at petco/PetSmart. Someone made a FB post that they were selling 5 months old baby African spurs for $150 and my dad jumped on the offer and brought one for me! We stay in the eastern-central region of Texas.

I have read the How to care for Sulcata’s,…. Care sheet posted on here by Tom (I’m pretty sure!) and from what I’ve read, my baby sure hasn’t had a great start as the breeder was definitely raising it as a dry tortoise just from the information that he has given me to care for s/he and the only right thing I was told was to be soaking s/he.

My dad and I went and brought the tank and other needed stuff, but my research was based on the “internets version of caring for Sulcata’s” and I was going based off of that info before I was able to find this forum and the care sheet.

We brought a 20 gallon ZooMed glass reptile enclose ‘kit’ with the lights and domes, and a screen top. I was told to use hay as the substrate which I did, along with a reptile water dish, rock home, 2 different thermometer/hygometers, and calcium power. I’ve had s/he in this enclosure for about a week now and I’ve noticed that a. Keeping the humidity in the tank is very hard and b. The water I offered in the reptile dish ramp is always clean as in it doesn’t get used. After reading the care sheet, I went and picked up some Repti Bark and coconut fiber along with some Terra cotta dishes for food & water. The humidity is a little bit better, but I’m definitely thinking of picking up a better mister instead of a spray bottle

So I was wondering, is there any advice as to what my next step should be to keep getting the enclosure where I need it for my tortoise? I feel like my head is going to explode from all the information to be honest, especially the lighting part, which I am concerned about as I’m not sure if they’re the right bulbs because I didn’t get to look at it before my mom threw the trash away.. I took pictures of the new enclose I have set up and attached them here!

I take Morla (s/he’s name) outside everyday to get sunshine for 30 minutes and then bring s/he inside for a 30 minute soak. He has been eating romaine and lettuce leaves and I just picked up some flower blend for tortoises.

Thank you in advance! I look forward to be part of this forum!

More info here. This one explains the lighting and heating too:

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