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barb121375

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Hello,
I am Barbara and we have recently adopted a Sulcata. We obviously have no idea if it's actually a boy or girl but we have picked "boy" and named him Norman.
Norman is about a year and a half old but he is very undersized due to being kept in very poor conditions. He lived in an aquarium indoors in a smokers house and was only fed romaine lettuce and an occasional strawberry. The other hatchlings from the same birth are 4 times Norman's size.
With extensive internet research on diet and habitat and advice from the vet, we are sure we can get Norman's health back on track.
My current concern is that we have a cat who is VERY interested in Norman. So far all she has done is look and follow him during his daily exercise, but we are worried what she might try to do when we are not around. Norman has a tortoise table with an open top, until he is big enough to have a habitat in the yard, and the cat has jumped into his table a few times. She does not have claws but she has teeth! She is a sweet kitty but I've found enough dead birds in my house to understand that she is a predator by nature. (we have a dog door so she goes in the back yard, I did not intend for her to be indoor outdoor)
Did I bring Norman out of a miserable situation just to have him mauled by a cat!
 

Yvonne G

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Welcome to the Forum, Barbara!

Can you rig some sort of cover for the tort table?
 

wellington

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Hello and Welcome:). How big is Norman? I would try to put some kind of top on the table as the cat might get hurt on the lighting. Also, a top will help keep in heat and humidity, depending on size, a certain amount of humidity will help a lot and would be a good thing for Norman. Below in my post are Toms threads for raising a smooth, healthy sulcata hatchling. They will be a good read for you to understand how Norman should have been raised and to help you make some adjustments to his size.
 

sibi

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Hi and welcome. My fears with stunted sulcatas is that there may be some metabolic bone disease (MBD). As such, some parts of his shell (carapace) or plastron (under shell) may be soft and if the cat bites into his shell, it could be bad and traumatic for this poor baby. You absolutely have to get some plywood and afix it to the top. You can have a cutout for lighting, etc. Your cat WILL attack the tort when you're not looking. It's what cats do. They hunt and kill. Please do something.
 

barb121375

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Hi everyone, we have decided to build a cover for his table. We don't have a heat lamp yet as it is still in the 100's here in AZ!
 

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wellington

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In order to raise him so he won't pyramid and stay hydrated much better, you should replace that hay substrate with coconut coir or cypress mulch. They need 80% humidity! with temps of 80 and a basking of 95+. The water dish would be better buried level with the substrate too. What kind of food is that? His diet should be grasses, weeds, flowers, cactus, mulberry leaf, broad leafy greens and very little of that food in the dish.
 

barb121375

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His diet is so far Bermuda grass, grape leaves, collard greens and shredded carrots. The pellets are some sort of vitamin that my boyfriend bought. He thought it might be good for a little supplement at first. Norman gets soaked every day as well. He doesn't eat the hay, a friend recommended it. He uses it more as bedding I guess?
 

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barb121375

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Hi,
Normans diet so far is grape leaves, Bermuda grass, occasional collard greens and shredded carrots. This was the advice of the vet. We also have a hibiscus plant in the front yard that I am hoping will bloom soon so he can have a treat! Norman is soaked every day and spends a lot of time in the yard doing laps. He loves walking along the curbing while stopping every few feet to nibble on some grass. When he is in his table we always leave him with fresh greens. The pellets are some sort of vitamin that my boyfriend picked up. We thought it might be helpful to supplement a little bit since he was so malnourished. The timothy hay was the advice of a friend with a pair of sulcata's Norman doesn't eat it, he likes to burrow under it to sleep. Thank you for the advice. We will look for a different filler when it's time to clean his room!
 

mainey34

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Hello and welcome...congratulations on your new friend...you said Norman is a year and a half? At this age he still requires humidity. Also he should be starting to eat pesticide free grasses. The bedding you have, he will munch on also. But its not really the proper bedding for him. I would suggest plain desert dirt. Or ive used cypress mulch. Daily soaks are great..getting him out in the warm Arizona sunshine is terrific. Below my signature there are links to some good sites...
 

Tom

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Hello and welcome.

You will lots of different opinions from different people. Sulcata care is undergoing a bit of a revolution. We have recently figured out that they are not desert animals and do not do well in dry, desert-like conditions, especially babies. Turns out they hatch during the African rainy season when conditions are hot, humid, wet, rainy and marshy in some areas. There is a lot of conflicting info out there for the new tortoise owner. My findings are available in my signature line.
 

barb121375

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Hi Tom,
thank you and yes I am seeing there there are a lot of different opinions. I guess it's a lot like having kids! Everyone has their own idea of what is best. We are trying to make his life as happy and as healthy as it can be. If you saw the terrible way he lived before, you'd be mortified. He lived in a small aquarium that was never cleaned and actually had spider webs in the lid. We've learned he's actually closer to two years old. He lived like that for two years in an indoor smokers home. I can't believe he survived like that. I was a hard decision to take on the responsibility of a pet that may likely outlive me, but we agreed to do it and want to give him what is best. We are very new to this and advice is welcome and also the reason I joined the site but hopefully the population here can understand that just like when you are a new parent, you have to learn through some trial and error!
:)
 
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