New Baby Sulcata

[Stephanie Kalahurka]

I've been following this forum for several weeks before, and now after we obtained our new baby sulcata. Lots of good information. I can't believe how obsessed with this little guy I have become.

He turned himself over a couple of times during his first few days with us (we have since gotten rid of the high-walled water dish in his enclosure that was the problem). It made me a bit paranoid, however, and so I purchased a web cam so that I can keep an eye on him from work and notify my husband (who is at home) if he turns over. Since purchasing the camera, of course, he has been much better about turning himself over. Still, it has been fun to watch my little guy's adventures during the day. I hooked up a web feed so that I could share with friends and family. I thought this would be a fun place to share.

Meet Tyrion:
http://kalahurkakiddos.com/tyrion-cam/

 

[Tom]

Cool! I can't use your link from where I am right now, but I will check it out later.

Here is the latest sulcata info if you haven't seen these yet:
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/how-to-raise-a-healthy-sulcata-or-leopard-version-2-0.79895/
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/for-those-who-have-a-young-sulcata.76744/
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/beginner-mistakes.45180/

 

[Stephanie Kalahurka]

Thanks Tom. I have been reading your posts, in particular. We will be trading our smaller water saucer (slippery) for a terra cotta dish this weekend based on some of your recommendations. I have also eliminated all sand (pet store told us to use it) and we now have coco coir -- I have ordered some of the other substrates you recommend and will get those later this week. For the moment, he has just the coco and a small amount of timothy hay around his rocks (the hay seems to keep him from tipping over on his rocks because the timothy hay does not tamp down the way the coir does, creating a "ledge" for him to go upside down on). We will trade the hay for some moss or other appropriate substrate when it arrives.

Also, I have been reading about your humidity recommendations. We currently soak his log enclosure (you will see the corner of it when you access the link) each morning when I soak our little tortoise. Then we put it back in his enclosure. That seems to keep the humidity up to about 80-90% for a while, but then it drops back down to around 50% (where it stays). We have been misting, but I'm interested in any other ideas for keeping his home constantly humid. I believe it's more humid in his hide spot (under the log), but he doesn't spend a lot of time in there. Suggestions definitely welcome.

 

[Tom]

Maintaining adequate humidity with an open top is a losing battle. I suggest a closed chamber:
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/closed-chambers.32333/
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/2015-growth-experiment.119874/

 

[Stephanie Kalahurka]

Good information. Thanks!
We may experiment with the tin foil idea until we can/need to build a larger enclosure. I assume there needs to be SOME holes for airflow?

 

[Speedy-1]

Hi and welcome from the Desert !

 

[Careym13]

Welcome to TFO!! The more sealed your enclosure can be the better. Opening it once or twice to day to feed, etc. should be enough as far as air exchange goes. I use greenhouse tents for my enclosure then tape the edges to the base with gorilla tape to prevent air from escaping.

 

[Grandpa Turtle 144]

Hello Stephanie

 

[pam]

Welcome

 

[Tidgy's Dad]

Hello, Stephanie, and a very warm welcome to Tortoise forum to you and Tyrion.
Game of Thrones fan ?
We've even got a thread for that.
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/game-of-thrones-anyone.115974/
No holes necessary in your tin foil, no, not if you're accessing for feeding, cleaning, soaking, etc.

 

[Stephanie Kalahurka]

Hello, Stephanie, and a very warm welcome to Tortoise forum to you and Tyrion.
Game of Thrones fan ?
We've even got a thread for that.
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/game-of-thrones-anyone.115974/
No holes necessary in your tin foil, no, not if you're accessing for feeding, cleaning, soaking, etc.

Thanks for all of the good advice and warm welcome. It's good to know there is a place to come for answers. I tried the tin foil last night and was able to hold humidity at around 70-75%%. Not perfect, but much better. He also spent the night in his hide log, which we soak every day and so that area has higher humidity. If Mr. Tyrion starts spending more time in there, I think we will call this a temporary fix.

Yes -- We are Game of Thrones fans. Too funny about the thread here. I will check it out. Upon acquisition of our baby tortoise, my husband said, "If we are going to have a pet that could live to be 70-100 years, we should give him a name that dates him to this time, but not something totally obvious. Tyrion was the result -- our favorite character in Game of Thrones. I guess Tyrion may turn out to be a girl . . . . so hopefully the name works both ways.

 

[Yvonne G]

Welcome to the Forum, Stephanie!