New African Sulcata 2 years old

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

Thanks to y’all!!! Thank you so much I had absolutely no idea obviously what I was doing and I appreciate the 13 pages of information I received. Thanks i’ll definitely send pictures when she is all moved in

No problem at all! I’m so glad we were able to help you!🐢💚

 

[MandyV]

Y’all did more than help it felt like we were doing it together lol

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

Y’all did more than help it felt like we were doing it together lol

That’s what I love about this forum, it felt the same when we were getting our red foot upgraded🥰

 

[MandyV]

Here is our Sammy she has just been walking around for like 5 minutes

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

Here is our Sammy she has just been walking around for like 5 minutes

Aw yay!! Looking very content there🥰❤️

 

[MandyV]

She really does, she is still walking around

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

She really does, she is still walking around

Bless her, exploring the new digs❤️she’ll sleep well tonight lol, big day for little Sammy🐢💚

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

How have you and sammy been getting on?😊

 

[Myakoda]

Hi everyone my name is Mandy from Texas. I recently adopted an African Sulcata Tortoise. I am new to the tortoise world and I did do my research or so I thought to give her a good home. I have read the introduction post which was very informative but also very alarming. The information is so so contradictory from site to site. I finally chose here to depend on because it seems this site is truly people who care and are not motivated by selling products. That said all I want is for Sammy to have a safe happy healthy life and I’m confused about a few things. The light I have is the mega ray mercury vapor light and I just bought her a new home on Amazon attaching picture. I am using top soil in her cage and put some orchid hay around in there too. I give her romaine lettuce from the store ugh I already know but I don’t have a garden. And I soak these pellets attached pic and feed her. I bought the stupid ramped water bowl I already ordered the one you recommended and took that out. I do have a back yard but I don’t have an outside enclosure yet anyway. The instructions regarding the lights was so confusing to me I’m still unsure what to get as well as the substrate. When you say to soak or bathe her every day can you explain that a little she is getting more comfortable with me but when I pick her up she goes in her shell how would I soak her without harming her. I want to provide her with what she needs but I feel after reading your introduction I’m failing her. Please help me and Sammy!

Hi Mandy, I know what you're going through. Humidity is very important. I bought a humidifier for Myakoda's nursery when she was inside. I had 2 medium ones on each side of her enclosure. Also small rocks, so she could climb over. I used a great substrate that held humidity. I'd need to think, it was 4 years ago or so, It was organic, and Tom recommended it. A hide shelter is good to have as well. We made a plastic tub, cut a hole in it, and turned it upside down. Also spraying it in there as often as possible. I closed off the AC vent into her nursery, because AC dried the room out. The humidifiers helped tremendously. We soaked her one to 2 times a day. Also, we put a soaking dish in her enclosure for her to use to drink and soak herself when she wanted. Tom helped me out a lot. If you have any questions, I'm here. I've been off for almost 4 years. I just did an update on Mya. I hope your baby is doing well. This is a photo of her when she was about 14 months old. She was still in her nursery.

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

Hi Mandy, I know what you're going through. Humidity is very important. I bought a humidifier for Myakoda's nursery when she was inside. I had 2 medium ones on each side of her enclosure. Also small rocks, so she could climb over. I used a great substrate that held humidity. I'd need to think, it was 4 years ago or so, It was organic, and Tom recommended it. A hide shelter is good to have as well. We made a plastic tub, cut a hole in it, and turned it upside down. Also spraying it in there as often as possible. I closed off the AC vent into her nursery, because AC dried the room out. The humidifiers helped tremendously. We soaked her one to 2 times a day. Also, we put a soaking dish in her enclosure for her to use to drink and soak herself when she wanted. Tom helped me out a lot. If you have any questions, I'm here. I've been off for almost 4 years. I just did an update on Mya. I hope your baby is doing well. This is a photo of her when she was about 14 months old. She was still in her nursery.

Generally we say to stay away from humidifiers now because of the respiratory problems they can cause unfortunately

 

[Myakoda]

Generally we say to stay away from humidifiers now because of the respiratory problems they can cause unfortunately

That was a concern of mine as well, so I was very vigilant while using them. Also, I only used them when the area fell below 60 in humidity. I was very hands on while she was indoors. It was a lot of work phew! I thought if she was in a tent, this could cause respiratory issues as well. I was always on here asking questions, short of panicking.🤪 However, she's a healthy young lady, and I'm glad for that indeed. When I started using the humidifiers, that's the same time we started taking her outside for natural sun. It was a balance for sure.🌞🐢

 

[Myakoda]

Glad you found this forum but unfortunately most everything is wrong
Enclosure is way to small for her and not appropriate for any tortoise. When hatched, they need high humidity, 80% until around 3 years old.
This can only be done easily in a closed chamber enclosure. Get a pop up greenhouse to use, they are cheap. Add a tarp for the floor and you have a closed chamber
The vapor bulb will also cause pyramiding. Replace it with a 65 watt incandescent FLOOD bulb for basking under temps that range from 95-100.
The rest of the enclosure needs to be 80-85 never lower than 80 day or night
Remove the hay, it's not good for substrate. Molds to easily too.
Diet must be greatly improved. Grass, arugula, escarole, dandelions, cactus pads, to name a few.
Here is the greenhouse I'm talking about
View attachment 374216View attachment 374214

Wow, the green house is a great idea. I wish I had that for Mya when she was indoors.There were other options then, however it was plastic infused with other materials. The heat inside with plastic bothered me, regarding a toxic issue. I'm so happy she is doing great now in her outdoor enclosure outside. We built a starter enclosure when she was less than 2 years old. It was time to get her outside quickly, and more humidity. We kept her enclosure outside around 90.

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

Wow, the green house is a great idea. I wish I had that for Mya when she was indoors.There were other options then, however it was plastic infused with other materials. The heat inside with plastic bothered me, regarding a toxic issue. I'm so happy she is doing great now in her outdoor enclosure outside. We built a starter enclosure when she was less than 2 years old. It was time to get her outside quickly, and more humidity. We kept her enclosure outside around 90.

As long as greenhouse enclosures have been off gassed, there’s no worries with fumes or anything😊