New, Little Sonoran Tortoise? Dehydrated?

crom3

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Feb 4, 2016
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Phoenix, AZ
Hello My mom received this little guy, we named him Squirt, from her sister who got it from a lady that has some torts.. The lady told my aunt to just keep it in a shoe box under the bed till spring. When my mom informed me of what the lady said to do i thought it didn't sound right since it was already January, plus it sounded all wrong.
My mom has been wanting a tortoise and we know a breeder who has sulcata tortoises. We had planned to research and get his habitat together before getting one, but My aunt dropped this guy off and we found ourselves not as prepared as we would've liked. Plus a different breed..
My mom has her own place where little Squirt lives and i am just committed to helping her research and get set up since she is busy with a full time job and i have a little more time to search the web.

My mom went to Petsmart (From what I've read on this site i now know it wasn't the best place fro her to get info/products) They told her to buy
a aquarium she got one but after reading and seeing the tortoise tables she went with that

Petsmart told her to buy the dishes that are currently in the set up and the Repti Bark .
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she has been feeding it grass from her back yard, kale, roman lettuce and spinach.
she is currently having a outside wooden playpen built for him so she can take him outside and he can eat the grass but not roam freely and it will have a mesh top to keep him safe.

I worry about him being dehydrated, can anyone tell me by his pictures if he is? She hasnt done any soaks because we didnt know anyting about them till today. should she do a baby food soak or is he okay with just a warm water soak. does he need one daily or how often?

Im concerned with lighting the first time she went to petsmart they got her set up with this lamp and bulbs
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she took the bulbs back and asked for a mercury vapor bulb (i had read about it on Bens care sheet) and was given this one.Snapchat-1111684179065130375.jpg

after i saw it i found this site and have read that it can cause eye problems. Could some one please point me in the right direction as to what watts and how far from the table to hang?

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Yvonne G

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Cute little desert tortoise!

Don't use that spiral-shaped bulb. It might cause eye pain. Also, the other light seems up quite high. I doubt you'll get the temp. you need at floor level with the light that high. You may need to cover the tort table to keep the warm air inside. He needs to be kept at around 80-85F degrees with only a slight drop for night time. Soak him in warm water for about 15 minutes daily.

The following link is for baby Russian tortoises, but the care for you new tortoise would be similar:

http://www.tortoiseforum.org/thread...or-other-herbivorous-tortoise-species.107734/
 

crom3

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Feb 4, 2016
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Location (City and/or State)
Phoenix, AZ
Thanks for the input! I am trying to find the correct Mercury vapor bulb. Could you reccomend the correct one? Which side would i cover, the end that doesn't have the light
Cute little desert tortoise!

Don't use that spiral-shaped bulb. It might cause eye pain. Also, the other light seems up quite high. I doubt you'll get the temp. you need at floor level with the light that high. You may need to cover the tort table to keep the warm air inside. He needs to be kept at around 80-85F degrees with only a slight drop for night time. Soak him in warm water for about 15 minutes daily.

The following link is for baby Russian tortoises, but the care for you new tortoise would be similar:

http://www.tortoiseforum.org/thread...or-other-herbivorous-tortoise-species.107734/
 

wellington

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You can also use the tube type flourescent UVB bulbs, that might be what your seeing, or it might just be a regular light, no UVB just for added light. A ceramic heat emitter is good for added heat and for night time heat. It does not give off light.
A digital thermometer/humidity gauge works the best and a shoot and temp infrared temp gun are two items that is always worth having and not real expensive. Clay saucers work great for a water dish and clay tiles work good for putting for on. It helps keep the beak filed and sometimes even their nails.
 

Yvonne G

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For this particular enclosure I was using a tube type fluorescent UVB bulb. The other fixture was a plain 100 watt incandescent bulb for heat.
 
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Maggie Cummings

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I use 100 watt Powersun MVB. Bought from Amazon for $48 Don't get one at a pet store, shop around on line.
 
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