[/b]Hi Everyone - My name is Gaye Wilson from Manchester UK and we (me and my husband) have got a Sulkata. We used to mind it when the people who owned went on holiday but they kept it in a cramped box with only just enough room to turn around. Anyway, yesterday, when they came to take it home after their holidays we mentioned it's enclosure was too small soooo they said you can have it!!!! Another thing, we are both in our 70s. I have measured him/her underneath and the measurement is 6". HELP HELP HELP. I am off to the supermarket today what type of veg/fruit shall i buy? Also they left me with some type of food - pellets - which I mix with warm water. Is this a good diet. Another question - how do I sex it. My husband has extended his living quarters so at least he can move around. I hated the way they treated him. They didn't know he would grow so large. Any help would be so welcome. Anything at all. Heating especially - he has a heat pad underneath a piece of gray slate. Thanks everyone. Gaye Wilson
new owners - need help
- Thread starter lucybabe
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Hi Gaye! I'm so glad you were able to save this tortoise. Please post a picture of him/her so we can see what sort of shape it's in. If it did not have the proper diet and/or lighting, it might not be very healthy at this point, and we can help you fix that. If it is indeed a sulcata, s/he will eventually grow to be about 150lbs. Sadly, it's extremely common for people to buy these tortoises without knowing they get so huge. Also, they do much better in a climate that is warm most of the year, since they have to live outside as they get bigger, and don't hibernate like some other tortoise species. Personally, I don't think sulcatas should be bred and sold in areas with short summers and/or hard freezing winters, but what can be done. The best things to feed a sulcata are pesticide-free grasses, weeds, flowers, hay, etc. The only thing I would buy for it at a grocery store are organic greens, like kale, collard greens, chard, mixed lettuces (not iceberg). I have no idea what brand of pelleted food you have, but Mazuri Tortoise Diet seems to be one of the better commercial foods for torts. However, it should only be supplemental, and not make up the bulk of the diet. You might have to order it online. As far as heat and lighting go, a bulb hung over the enclosure to create a warm basking spot is ideal, and there are some sold that create UV light as well, which is essential to the health and growth of the tort. However, there also needs to be a temperature gradient in the enclosure, so the tort can cool off and warm up as needed. If your enclosure is really small, you might not be able to hang the light, so the heating pad may have to do for now. Ideally, it would be great to have an outdoor pen set up so this tort could go outside for exercise, grazing, and sunlight when the weather is warm, but I'm thinking the weather there is too cool right now. ??? There is a man named Tom, who has raised sulcatas in California for quite a while, and he is an expert in the husbandry area. Here are the links to his most popular threads for new sulcata owners. I hope you don't feel overwhelmed by all of this info; proper care of sulcatas takes a bit of expense and planning. We're here for you, though. Welcome!
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/Thread-Beginner-Mistakes#axzz1tFmWpjdi
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/Thread-Helpful-Threads#axzz1s7KwW130
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/Thread-Beginner-Mistakes#axzz1tFmWpjdi
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/Thread-Helpful-Threads#axzz1s7KwW130
Welcome! I don't know that you will be able to find an enclosure inside that is big enough for it. I would make an enclosure. You can make it out of wood or look at the enclosure section and get ideas from those. You will need a light clamp, you can find them in pet stores (way expensive), hardware stores, and feed stores(?) I got mine from Atwoods, a feed supply store for $10 and the same type was $25 at the pet store. You will need a heat light for the basking and a uvb light. A lot of people here use a MVB bulb and that takes care of the UVB and heat in one source. I would pm Tom, Arizona Sulcata or some others here on the forum for more specific questions. Shellysmom gave you some great advice. I would add that the lettuce mix be the spring mix, that is what it is called here, and I am not sure about this but you might be able to go to carolinapetsupply.com I don't know if they do international shipping but if they do, they have a tortoise grazing mix and you would be able to grow your own grasses in pots or outside. Please post pictures and some more expert people could tell you about the sex and what more you should do for your tortoise. Good Luck and glad to have you here. 
Great advice! I really hate it when people take on Leopards and Sulcatas without researching them first. I have my first Leopard, which has been a challenge. But research is vital! I am also from Manchester UK and the weather is rarely warm enough for them to be kept outside. Plus the rain makes the air really humid which can become a problem and cause respiratory issues. I keep mine in a Zoomed Tortoise Box (for now anyway) with a UVB heat lamp at one end and a cool area with a plant pot filled with hay where she sleeps and hides. I feed her Kale, Grass, Dark leefy green lettuce, rocket occasionally, hay, dandelion leaves, and bits of tree which i dont know the name of. She also has a large water bowl for soaking and drinking. Dont forget to hydrate your tortoise Thanks for saving it!
Ps. A tortoise weed growing kit is a GREAT thing to have, Ive recently set mine up and within a couple of days they were growing.
I really hate it when people take on Leopards and Sulcatas without researching them first. I have my first Leopard, which has been a challenge. But research is vital! I am also from Manchester UK and the weather is rarely warm enough for them to be kept outside. Plus the rain makes the air really humid which can become a problem and cause respiratory issues. I keep mine in a Zoomed Tortoise Box (for now anyway) with a UVB heat lamp at one end and a cool area with a plant pot filled with hay where she sleeps and hides. I feed her Kale, Grass, Dark leefy green lettuce, rocket occasionally, hay, dandelion leaves, and bits of tree which i dont know the name of. She also has a large water bowl for soaking and drinking. Dont forget to hydrate your tortoise Thanks for saving it! Ps. A tortoise weed growing kit is a GREAT thing to have, Ive recently set mine up and within a couple of days they were growing.
Hello and Welcome some good advice already given. I like the mvb (mercury vapor bulb) day time heating and UVB. I like the Che (ceramic heat emitter) for night time heat, no light. Get a cuttlebone, sold for birds and put it in with your tort too chew on when he wants. Also get some calcium with D3 in it and sprinkle a little on his food once or twice a week. A large water dish, the clay saucers that go under flower pots work great, and have water available 24/7. A flat rock or piece of tile, with a ruff finish works great as a food plate. The ruff helps keep the beak trimmed. Soak your tort at least once or twice a week for 20 minutes in warm water. When possible, build a outside enclosure and let him be outside when temps are warm enough. Good luck and someone is always here to help.
some good advice already given. I like the mvb (mercury vapor bulb) day time heating and UVB. I like the Che (ceramic heat emitter) for night time heat, no light. Get a cuttlebone, sold for birds and put it in with your tort too chew on when he wants. Also get some calcium with D3 in it and sprinkle a little on his food once or twice a week. A large water dish, the clay saucers that go under flower pots work great, and have water available 24/7. A flat rock or piece of tile, with a ruff finish works great as a food plate. The ruff helps keep the beak trimmed. Soak your tort at least once or twice a week for 20 minutes in warm water. When possible, build a outside enclosure and let him be outside when temps are warm enough. Good luck and someone is always here to help.Thanks everyone for getting in touch - tortoises are completely knew to us. I don't know a single person who has one, so this site is going to be invaluable.. He has had a bowl of pelletted food this morning. It says on the container "komodo" fruit and flower flavour complete diet. It says it is a complete food for tortoises I have also been out and picked some dandelion leaves which I washed, and he has eaten them all. He is now basking under his lamp. I have taken a photo of him/her so I will try to see if I can download it. In Manchester it rains constantly and is cold, so there is no way he will ever be able to live outside. Maybe a couple of days in summer he can have a "walk" outside. I have taken on board the advice of bathing him twice weekly, which we will start doing. Anyway advice on shells. Do I wipe it over with anything?
Welcome to the Forum, Gaye!
Oh my! I'm afraid your good intentions have gotten you into quite a bit of trouble this time. I'm not trying to be harsh, but in my opinion, for the good of the tortoise, and for YOURs and your husband's welfare, it would be a good idea to try to find someone else to take in the tortoise.
Sulcata tortoises can grow to around 150lbs. I have a male that is 23 years old and weighs 110lbs. It would be impossible to keep a tortoise of this size in a "box" in the house. They really need to be outside where they have room to wander.
My tortoise has a heated shed to keep him warm on cold days and through the winter, but he comes and goes out of his shed and grazes in his yard even on the coldest days.
I'm sorry to seem to be picking on you, but what your are doing with this tortoise is akin to you trying to keep a cow in your house in a box.
There are other, much smaller species of tortoise that many of your fellow country-men keep, such as Steppe tortoises or Greek tortoises or Hermann's tortoises. I really don't think a sulcata is the right tortoise for you.
Oh my! I'm afraid your good intentions have gotten you into quite a bit of trouble this time. I'm not trying to be harsh, but in my opinion, for the good of the tortoise, and for YOURs and your husband's welfare, it would be a good idea to try to find someone else to take in the tortoise.
Sulcata tortoises can grow to around 150lbs. I have a male that is 23 years old and weighs 110lbs. It would be impossible to keep a tortoise of this size in a "box" in the house. They really need to be outside where they have room to wander.
My tortoise has a heated shed to keep him warm on cold days and through the winter, but he comes and goes out of his shed and grazes in his yard even on the coldest days.
I'm sorry to seem to be picking on you, but what your are doing with this tortoise is akin to you trying to keep a cow in your house in a box.
There are other, much smaller species of tortoise that many of your fellow country-men keep, such as Steppe tortoises or Greek tortoises or Hermann's tortoises. I really don't think a sulcata is the right tortoise for you.
*waves* Hi and welcome!
Welcome!
Hello and welcome
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Hello and welcome. I am a new tortoise owner myself, and I don't own a Sulcata, so the only info I can offer is to read, read, read. Best of luck to you and your chelonian 'ward'.
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