New Sulcata lover :-)

[Nahmas]

I just recently purchased a 1 1/2 month hatchling Sulcata and instantly feel in love with it I have been doing as much research as I can on caring for it properly and I have some questions for you experienced owners. Unfortunately the place that sold it to me didn't give me proper information on how to care it.

1) I have repti bark by zoo med on the floor of its housing. After reading some forums it looks like I should really have some kind of top soil 50/50 mix? Can I get it from homedepot or order it online?

2) What temperature should its housing be? I have a 60w bulb but I think it still gets to hot (92 degrees). I live in Florida so it stays warm during the day inside (78 degrees). Also what humidity level should her housing remain?

3) The pet store sold me tortoise food by zoo med. I read that food can cause pyramiding so I stopped giving it to her. Now I cut up alfalfa hay and dandelion greens, is that okay?

4) What kind of vitamin supplements should I give it? Can I get it from wholefoods or online?

Any tips you have for me will be greatly appreciated! Thank you so much
for taking the time out to help me.

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi Nahmas:

Welcome to the Tortoise Forum!!

What would you like us to call you?

Boy oh boy...did you ever come to us in the nick of time!! Most of what you've told us is not exactly the way we do it here. Not to say its wrong, but we think we do it better.

1. Repti-bark would be ok, but its a little hard for them to walk on. You can mix in some clean top soil or moistened coco coir or even cypress mulch.
2. You want it to be 100 or so directly under the light with the temp cooling as you move away from the light, down to room temp not below 75 at the far end. You need to pour water over the substrate and mix it up with your hand so that it stays moist under neath the dry top layer. I don't use a humidity gauge, I just wet it when it dries.
3. That manufactured food is ok as a part of a varied diet. Buy some Spring Mix from the packaged lettuce section of the produce market. To that, add edible weeds from the yard. I usually cut my new babies' food up into small pieces until they get to be strong enough to be able to bite it off easily. Babies usually won't eat hay until they get to be 3 or 4 years old.
4. You can crush a human vitamin pill and just take a pinch over the food, but I use liquid bird vitamins...several drops in the soaking water. And I soak new babies every day.

It has been determined recently that keeping a sulcata/leopard in a fairly humid environment, and keeping them hydrated will help them to grow smoothly. Food doesn't have that much to do with it, as we used to think...a bit, but not that much.

 

[qixer01]

Welcome.

 

[Yvonne G]

Also, you need to get that waterer down into the substrate so the lip is even with the substrate. Plus some small pebbles on the inside so he doesn't have to climb such an angle to get out. I see an accident waiting to happen.

 

[LuvmyGreenSon]

Glad you found this site

WELCOME!

 

[dmarcus]

Hello and welcome to the forum...

Sounds like Yvonne covered most of it. Like she said, babies don't get the taste for hay until they are older, you will need to feed other types of greens not just the dandelion greens. You can also mix in the zoo med stuff with the greens.

 

[Nahmas]

You can call me Stacey! Thanks for all the quick responses. Sounds like the hay is for when she gets a little older. So what fiber should it be getting? Good idea with the pebbles around the dishes. I tried to push the chips around it at an angle but them slip down flat by the end of the day.

 

[Nahmas]

Glad you found this site

WELCOME!

Me Too Thanks!

 

[Nahmas]

Also, you need to get that waterer down into the substrate so the lip is even with the substrate. Plus some small pebbles on the inside so he doesn't have to climb such an angle to get out. I seen an accident waiting to happen.

Thank you for your help!

 

[Nahmas]

Hello and welcome to the forum...

Sounds like Yvonne covered most of it. Like she said, babies don't get the taste for hay until they are older, you will need to feed other types of greens not just the dandelion greens. You can also mix in the zoo med stuff with the greens.

Thank you for your input!

 

[Dizisdalife]

Welcome to the Forum. During the first months of their life it is critical that you not allow them to dehydrate. Most of us rely on daily soakings and moistening the substrate. Since baby tortoises like to hide and sleep a lot we fashion small houses from plastic boxes. We call them "humid hides" and they function to keep the local humidity very high. The lamps we use to create a basking spot and to keep the ambient temp stable have a drying effect on our babies. You may want to mist your little one several times a day. And always have water available. I put all my heating elements on a thermostat. This is mainly for the night time temps. A little bit of sunshine is a great thing even for babies. You might want to make an outdoor enclosure where he can sun himself for 20 to 30 minutes at a time and still be safe.

Lots to learn, but lots of fun.

 

[Nahmas]

Thanks for the info! I take him out once a day around 6:00 for about 20 min to walk around and graze a little, then I give his a 15 min soak. I like the mister idea so I'll start doing that to her. I made a little house from a plastic box but I think it is to small. Can I leave him out doors unattended I'm scared the birds will attack him.

Welcome to the Forum. During the first months of their life it is critical that you not allow them to dehydrate. Most of us rely on daily soakings and moistening the substrate. Since baby tortoises like to hide and sleep a lot we fashion small houses from plastic boxes. We call them "humid hides" and they function to keep the local humidity very high. The lamps we use to create a basking spot and to keep the ambient temp stable have a drying effect on our babies. You may want to mist your little one several times a day. And always have water available. I put all my heating elements on a thermostat. This is mainly for the night time temps. A little bit of sunshine is a great thing even for babies. You might want to make an outdoor enclosure where he can sun himself for 20 to 30 minutes at a time and still be safe.

Lots to learn, but lots of fun.

 

[RV's mom]

WELCOME!

 

[Weda737]

Birds really can be a big problem, If you made a wire mesh top for your outdoor enclosure that would help, also be careful that whatever you use to build your outdoor enclosure is absolutely escape proof, feel around the edges and make sure the ground is level and there are no dips your tiny tortoise could find and slip through. I still only leave mine out for just a few minutes without me, just so I can run inside for a quick potty break or something, and he's a good 500 grams. Best of luck to you, this forum is a great source of info to raise a healthy baby!

 

[Tom]

Hello and welcome. Here's a bunch of threads linked together for you. Included is a couple of ideas for an easy outdoor enclosure:
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/Thread-Helpful-Threads#axzz1qpvYz4BW

 

[Nahmas]

Hello and welcome. Here's a bunch of threads linked together for you. Included is a couple of ideas for an easy outdoor enclosure:
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/Thread-Helpful-Threads#axzz1qpvYz4BW

Thanks!