Need help i am beginner.

[wasan1739]

Hi all! I just go 2 baby sulcata last Sunday. They are about 4-6 month old. I am very concern about the health of my pet because they are so small. Since I got them I spent many hours read forum and many different information sources on internet about Sulcata care. This is what I end up doing daily for the last 3 days and I still seek more information so I can take care of them better.

About around 11 P.M. I take them out of their habitat and soak them into water about 15-20 mins. After that I put them on dry area which they can dry off, get sun light, and exercise. While they are in dry area I prepare their food. I feed them vegetable and pellet which I got from the seller. The seller says that the pellet will provides calcium for baby turtle. I put the pellet in water and wait until they melt then i use my hand squeeze it and separate them around vegetable. After that i rip vegetable apart into tiny pieces and I feed my turtle with hand one piece at a time. I put them back into their habitat after they dry off and finish with eating. During afternoon I come out and spray their habitat with fresh water every 2 hours. When sun is about to go down, I prepare another meal for them but without pellet. This time I do not feed them with hand. I just rip the vegetable apart and left it around their habitat because they might need food at night. I leave them outside 24/7 and I kidda worry about them. I ordered Turtle Table and bedding from internet and it will arrive around next week. I am planning to keep them inside at night. I live in California which have very suitable wheatear for turtle if compare with other State I guess. I been checking weather and the last 3 day’s average is about (78-85F/40% humidity for day) and (64-70F/80% Humidity during night). In their habitat I leave them with large bowl fill with water and small bowl fill with water and both of them are shallow. The big one is for humidity and small one as access of drinking water. The bedding is dry grass which I got from front yard and they don’t seem to keep water well. If u have knowledge about this turtle please feel free to provide me knowledge. Every advice will keep my turtle growth healthy and happy J Ty you all. Now I going to upload all the picture about things that I have described above so u can see exactly what I talk about.



The picture with wood around is the area where i put them after soaking

 

[wasan1739]

I have concern with couple things right now
1. Food Variety ( From many website i read the only best food i found for baby is Spring mix, but i hear that to growth a healthy turtle i have to feed them on variety food. Is there anything else that healthy for them and easy to find?)
2. Humidity Control (From information i gathered, if humidity drop below 80% the turtle will start to growth pyramiding and i would like to prevent that to happen)
3. Habitat: this habitat in picture is only temporally for them. Do you think it ok? If u think which part should be improve u can let me know. i ill change into the better one when i gathered enough information.

If u have answer or advice please feel free to explain. Thx you so much ^_^

 

[JoesMum]

Welcome to TFO.

There are some very experienced Sulcata keepers on here who will be able to help you more, but I will start by saying that they should be kept separately.

As a pair, one will become dominant and either physically or mentally bully the other leading to the bullied tort becoming withdrawn, not eating and becoming sick. They are not social and don't want or need company. They do need LOTS of space, especially Sulcatas as they grow fast

Some essential reading:
Tom's Beginner Mistakes http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/beginner-mistakes.45180/
Sulcata Diet Sheet http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/sulcata-diet-sheet.64290/
How to raise a healthy Sulcata http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/how-to-raise-a-healthy-sulcata-or-leopard-version-2-0.79895/
Things to know when buying a Sulcata http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/things-to-know-when-buying-a-sulcata.11012/

 

[Yvonne G]

Welcome to the forum!

As babies, they should be kept quite a bit more humid than what you have in that enclosure outside. Read this thread:

http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/how-to-raise-a-healthy-sulcata-or-leopard-version-2-0.79895/

 

[wasan1739]

That dishwashing tub idea is a really good idea. i will get that soon, thank you so much Yvonne !! ^_^


i also would to know how many time should i feed hatchling for each day. if i feed and make sure they get full, is it 1 time/day enough? i see many people talk about overfeed problem. they say that if we give them to much food the Sulcata will growth fast and it will leads to bone problem and that will make them become unhealthy.

 

[JoesMum]

Typically a mound of greens roughly the size of your tort's shell fed once a day is about right. Your tort is unlikely to overeat. The timing is not that important, but it makes sense to feed in the morning.

 

[wasan1739]

Thank you very much for advice!

I just upgrade their habitat this morning with live grass and bedding for humidity control. also their new shelter

 

[wasan1739]

I so surprise when i see my sulcata start to eat grass right away when i put them back in. People say hatcling don't usually eat grass but both of my tortoise do. I watch them when they getting to know their new habitat. It must be very hard day for the last 5 days since i got them, Now i feel a lot more comfortable and relieve ! )>^_^)>