New MiMi to Donnie Walburg :)

[Kristy1970]

Hi everyone. My husband and I have researched tortoises and talked about getting one for a couple of years. He surprised me and bought a 6 month old Sulcata. I really hope it makes it here healthy. While waiting (about a week), I need to have it's habitat set up for his or hers welcome home. Any advice is welcome! - Hugs, Kristy

 

[Maro2Bear]

Welcome to the Forum.

Go here, and read everything!

https://tortoiseforum.org/forums/sulcata-tortoises.88/

• Proper heat, humidity, lighting, substrate, food, soaking, hydration, are all very important. Hope u are getting your Sully from a good dealer who starts them off well hydrated!

Good luck. Ask a lot of questions

Read again - https://tortoiseforum.org/forums/sulcata-tortoises.88/

 

[wellington]

Congrats. After reading threads linked for you above, come back and ask any question you need clarity on. Get your enclosure set up and running day and night so you can tweak things before your little one arrives.

 

[Tom]

Hello and welcome.

Here are some links for you:
https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/beginner-mistakes.45180/
https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/how-to-raise-a-healthy-sulcata-or-leopard-version-2-0.79895/
https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/for-those-who-have-a-young-sulcata.76744/

Its important for you to understand that most of the care info that you find for the is species is old, out-dated and wrong. We've been keeping this species all wrong for decades, and some people are still doing it the old wrong way. Your success depends largely on what the breeder of your tortoise did, or did not, do. Even if you do everything right, your baby could still die weeks or months later if you purchase one from a "typical" sulcata breeder. Don't make that mistake. Buy from a breeder that soaks daily, keeps them on damp substrate, indoors, and feeds the new hatchlings a very wide variety of grasses, weeds, leaves and flowers from day one.

In contrast to what you may have read elsewhere, these babies hatch into rainy, wet, hot, humid, monsoon weather in the wild. This is the environment that needs to be simulated for babies. Hot dry enclosures, or outside all day, damages their kidneys. The chronic dehydration is fatal to a large percentage of babies, but not immediately. They live and seem fine for weeks or months, but they don't grow and eventually fail. Since it is months down the road, the breeder/seller typically blames the new keeper. Here is more explanation on this sadly common phenomenon.
https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/hatchling-failure-syndrome.23493/

By contrast, this is how it should be done:
https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/how-to-incubate-eggs-and-start-hatchlings.124266/

Hope this all helps you to have a great first tortoise experience!

 

[RosemaryDW]

Welcome to the forum!

 

[Kristy1970]

Welcome to the Forum.

Go here, and read everything!

https://tortoiseforum.org/forums/sulcata-tortoises.88/

• Proper heat, humidity, lighting, substrate, food, soaking, hydration, are all very important. Hope u are getting your Sully from a good dealer who starts them off well hydrated!

Good luck. Ask a lot of questions

Read again - https://tortoiseforum.org/forums/sulcata-tortoises.88/

My husband bought it from Tortoise Town :/ --- What is their track record?

 

[Tom]

My husband bought it from Tortoise Town :/ --- What is their track record?

Very poor. Do a search for Tortoise Town here on the forum in the "Vendor Review" section to see what other members have experienced with them.

Many people message me privately here for help and I've have watched a lot of tortoises from TT die even though the new owners were trying so hard to do everything right. Its very sad. Call them and ask them how the baby was started and what it was fed for the first couple of weeks. They won't know. They are a broker and they buy from the cheapest source possible and from what I've seen, their sources all start babies dry.

If it is at all possible cancel this sale and buy directly from a breeder who understands the importance of humidity, hydration and introducing a wide variety of foods for hatchlings. There are at least three of these breeders here on our forum, but sadly, not too many others out in the world. I sell some when they hatch, but I only hatch a small number each year. I've got some due in about a month if you want to wait. If not, I'd be happy to refer you to Lance or Austin. My goal is simply for new keepers to have a positive experience, and not suffer a tragic loss because the breeder is still doing things the old, incorrect, dry way.

Reading those threads I linked will help you understand what questions to ask of any breeder:
Did they use a brooder box, or leave the baby in the incubator on the incubation media until the yolk sac absorbed?
How often was the baby soaked after hatching?
Dry rabbit pellets or damp orchid bark for substrate?
Humid hide?
Was the baby fed romaine and spring mix, or weeds, grasses, leaves, flowers and succulents?
Is the baby left outside all day in an outdoor enclosure, or started mostly indoors in a closed chamber set up?

 

[Kristy1970]

Oh nooooo! Husband is sleeping now after working nights! The credit card charge has gone through! I’ll let him know, but now I feel like I should keep it and at least try to save it if it’s in bad shape

 

[Tom]

Oh nooooo! Husband is sleeping now after working nights! The credit card charge has gone through! I’ll let him know, but now I feel like I should keep it and at least try to save it if it’s in bad shape

If it was started dry and the kidneys are damaged, there is nothing you can do to save it. It will live and seem fine for a few weeks or months, but it won't grow past 50 grams. Eventually it will get lethargic, soft and die. No amount of money spent at any vet can change this.

You won't be rescuing this little baby. It will die anyway. You will be giving them more money to pay their bills, stay in business and purchase more baby tortoises from sources that don't start them correctly. You'll be fueling the cycle. Better to reverse the charges and spend less money with a breeder who takes the time to do it right. Better for your wallet, better for your heart, better for the tortoises in general. The only way to stop this madness is if people stop buying from sources like that and instead buy from sources that do it right.

Give it some thought. Talk it over. We will do our best to try to help you whatever you decide. It is just demoralizing watching person after person suffer the same heartbreak.

 

[Kristy1970]

It shipped already, or so they said . Husband said it is already 6 months old. If they are lying, they best not pick up the phone when I call them!

 

[Yvonne G]

If you want to keep the baby, please do. You now have the understanding that it MAY fail. . . but then again, it may not.

 

[Kristy1970]

Sigh, this is why I need to cancel our credit card and hide the new one from him, also change our amazon account password... I’ve been saying I wanted one sine we put in our pool and landscaping, but never thought he’d buy one without discussing it

 

[Kristy1970]

Part of my backyard

 

[Kristy1970]

View attachment 233217 Part of my backyard

Notice my cement tortoise... it serously weighs 100 pounds, solid cement!

 

[Tom]

Your first post said it was it was a week away, but now they say it already shipped? So its going to be there tomorrow? Sounds like they don't want to lose a sale.

Yvonne is right. Some of them survive and do just fine. I hope yours is one of those.

 

[Kristy1970]

Thanks for the support, it does sound wishy washy, only a 7 day guarantee??? We’ve been watching Kamp Kenan and love it, since we are in south Louisiana, climate is the same, praying for a healthy baby, if not, lesson learned

 

[Tom]

Thanks for the support, it does sound wishy washy, only a 7 day guarantee??? We’ve been watching Kamp Kenan and love it, since we are in south Louisiana, climate is the same, praying for a healthy baby, if not, lesson learned

I've got more bad news…

Kamp Kenan makes nice videos and presents a nice image, but the way he cares for his tortoises and recommends they be kept is lacking. Not the best source of info for keeping baby tortoises.

 

[Kristy1970]

Daisy will be here tomorrow by 11 am! I redid her habitat based on the advice here! Hope she arrives alive [emoji15]

 

[Kristy1970]

She will be here within 2 hours! What should I do first? Offer food or soak? Hopefully she is healthy and not too traumatized by the shipping.

 

[Bambam1989]

Soak your tort in warm water first. This will warm the body up and it will increase the chances of accepting food. But don't worry if it's too stress to eat the first day.