My first Sulcata is coming home Sunday, help me plan pls

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Blessed3x

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I'm thrilled to announce my first Sulcata is coming home Sunday.
Sure would appreciate folks here helping me make a list of things
to get and be prepared for for her arrival.
I asked what she was eating, was wondering if I should
change her diet slowly. Add or take away things.
They have her on a pellet they said was similar to rabbit pellets
and they give her alfalfa and grass hay and sometimes luttuce.

Wanting to give her the best I can, your advice and help to prepare is
much appreciated.

Is 12 to 14 inch small or normal for a 9 y/o?
In her pics she looks good. But I'm no expert.

CJ

Who is thrilled and very excited.
 

Greg T

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We really need an idea of how you plan on housing it. Have a box, aquarium, container? What type of substrate are you going to use? sand/dirt, eco-earth, etc.? Let us know if you have any of that set up already.

Food should be kept the same as what they are feeding at first and then slowly mix in better stuff. If the rabbit pellets are actually mazuri food, then you are doing good. If they are actually rabbit pellests then you need to switch off them. Get some spring mix lettuce and some red or green leaf lettus at the grocery store and feed that also. Unless you are able to let him graze outside now, you may have to hold off on the grasses/hay. If you are picking it up then ask for a bunch of food/hay from the supplier to help keep you going for several days.

The size sounds good, but I'm not a sulcata expert. Can't wait to see pictures and let us know how it is going. :)
 

jobeanator

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yeah i hope you have a big enclosure for your sulcata, he will need it. defently change its diet, alfalfa is not good for them, has way too much protein and not enough fiber. lettuce is ok with a combination of other foods, not alone. id try to feed it weeds, hay, spring mix, endive, escarole etc. for its substrate, id use a eco earth/ sand mixture, or cypress mulch or orchid bark. you will need a source of light for him also, id reccomend a zoo med powersun bulb or a trex megaray. very important. congrats on your new sulcata!
 

Blessed3x

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Thank you Greg and Jobeanator,
For now indoors would a large round livestock water tank work?
One that is 5 ft across? But large and round?
We were going to build a wooden 4 x 8 with plywood but
with wood I worry about sealing it for moisture.
What kind of bedding should I use? That I can get from a source in winter time?
 
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Maggie Cummings

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It sounds to me like he is small for his age. That's only 2 years different then Bob and he's 70 to 80 pounds. I can't imagine keeping a 9 year old inside, so he must be really small for his age. But reading what they were feeding him, I guess that's not surprising. You already gotten some great advice about food. If he's that small a tort table would be good and you can either use a sealer or staple a shower curtain liner in like I did for mine. That was 3 years ago and it's still in use, but that was for a colony of box turtles not destructive Sulcata.
Be sure to continue to ask questions and you have to post pictures Sunday night, that's a rule!!!:p
 

Tom

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What part of the country are you in? You really ought to be thinking of a large outdoor enclosure with a heated den box of some sort, unless its frozen all winter where you are. 4x8 is fine for temporary indoor housing, but sulcatas are just not a good indoor pet. I think the 5' round one is too small if he will be in it more than overnight. I'm using a 6' trough for my little Daisy, but she's only 2 years old and just over 4". And she spends most days outside in a 15'x30' pen.

The size seems a bit small, but this is a matter of debate. Mine are also a little small, because I intentionally fed them light in an attempt to grow them slowly and avoid pyramiding. It may just be that some of them grow slower or stay smaller. Good health is the most important thing. I concur with all of the above diet info. I prefer to switch diets slowly too. Nobody above mentioned sunshine, so I will. As much as possible, as often as possible, as soon as possible. Its VERY VERY good for them.

Looking forward to pics and good luck.
 

Blessed3x

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I'm in central Washington State. There's still a little bit of snow on the ground and only January. We still have Feb and March to go.
Nights anywhere from 20 to 35 degrees and days anywhere from
30 to 45. I assume from all I've read that was way to cold for a Sulcata.
What I read said in my climate expect to have them indoors in the winter.
They have a wonderful 10 ft diameter water troft but it's to big to roll in the doorways. So the 5 ft diameter round will have to do.

As to the zoo med powersun bulb or a trex megaray, I went to the pet shop to buy one today and they wanted to know what wattage?
Can anyone here tell me what wattage?

Maggiefan, yours being a male wouldn't he be larger than a female?
Since I have not see (other than pictures) the tort I can
I don't know her weight, all I know is they guess her to be 12 to 14 inches long.
only go on what they tell me and they're guessing 12 to 14 inches.
No guess on it's weight. She looks pretty healthy and from my inexperienced eye I see no pyramiding.
I'll be reading this evening as many of the back posts on the board
pertaining to care and feeding as I can.
 

jobeanator

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what i have for mine is a 100 watt, even though my sulcata is 2-3 yrs old. you will pay top dollar in stores for those bulbs, id suggest looking online since there sooooo much cheaper. is she healthy? the enclosure your building sounds good for her.
 
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Maggie Cummings

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Yes males are bigger. I live in Oregon so our weather is close, but we only got snow once this year. Your Sulcata will need to stay inside until it warms up. I have a heated insulated shed for Bob you might consider something like that for yours.
 
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