New Sulcata Mom :)

[Doctors Companion]

Amy from Upstate NY. Our new baby seems very young. He's an itty-bitty thing. He/she is very friendly , loves to be loved. Has quite the personality. His/her name is Doctor. Do they do better in pairs? Sometimes I worry that the little tyke is lonely or bored.

 

[meech008]

Amy from Upstate NY. Our new baby seems very young. He's an itty-bitty thing. He/she is very friendly , loves to be loved. Has quite the personality. His/her name is Doctor. Do they do better in pairs? Sometimes I worry that the little tyke is lonely or bored.

Hi Amy! Welcome to the Tortoise Forum! Tortoises do not do better in pairs really at all. They're pretty solitary creatures. What kind of tortoise do you have? Maybe post some pictures! We love pictures :-D

 

[Doctors Companion]

Sulcata And thank you, I guess Doctor will be an only Tortoise. ......along with the dogs, cats and children

 

[wellington]

Hello and Welcome. Please read the threads linked below in my post for proper housing and care of your sully

 

[Speedy-1]

Hi and welcome Amy and Doctor !

 

[Tom]

Hello and welcome. Glad you found us. There is A LOT of old, out-dated, incorrect info on sulcata care circulating around out in the world.

Check these out:
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/how-to-raise-a-healthy-sulcata-or-leopard-version-2-0.79895/
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/beginner-mistakes.45180/
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/for-those-who-have-a-young-sulcata.76744/

They should never be housed in pairs. Groups can work sometimes, but pairs almost never do.

 

[Doctors Companion]

Hi and welcome Amy and Doctor !

Thank you

 

[Doctors Companion]

Hello and welcome. Glad you found us. There is A LOT of old, out-dated, incorrect info on sulcata care circulating around out in the world.

Check these out:
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/how-to-raise-a-healthy-sulcata-or-leopard-version-2-0.79895/
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/beginner-mistakes.45180/
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/for-those-who-have-a-young-sulcata.76744/

They should never be housed in pairs. Groups can work sometimes, but pairs almost never do.

Thank you, we did A LOT of research on the little buggers before getting one. Our biggest concern was the space they need as they get older and of course diet. We have a very....very large house and almost 4 acres for Doctor to graze and have already started on what will he his outside enclosure. Burying cinder blocks end up is a lot of work...lol but it will keep Doctor from digging out in the future. Doctor goes to work with me 3 times a week where he is welcomed and loved by all of the customersame who come in to buy supplies for their pets, yes I am fortunate enough to manage a pet supplies store He walks around the store all day, people know to look for the helium balloon that is taped to his shell.....I wish I knew if it was a girl or boy... He is very much loved

 

[Gillian M]

A very warm welcome to the forum, to you and your adorable Doctor!

I totally agree with meech0088 who said that tortoises are NOT in need of company.

As far as space is concerned, the more space you can provide for your tort, the better. Please keep in mind that when they live in the wild, they roam around with NO boundaries and NO borders.

 

[Grandpa Turtle 144]

Hello Amy

 

[Doctors Companion]

A very warm welcome to the forum, to you and your adorable Doctor!

I totally agree with meech0088 who said that tortoises are NOT in need of company.

As far as space is concerned, the more space you can provide for your tort, the better. Please keep in mind that when they live in the wild, they roam around with NO boundaries and NO borders.

Well he is going to have to have SOME boundaries, the road is only 40 feet from the house. But trust me, with 4 acres, Doctor will have plenty of room to roam.

 

[Gillian M]

Well he is going to have to have SOME boundaries, the road is only 40 feet from the house. But trust me, with 4 acres, Doctor will have plenty of room to roam.

Great! By the way, how did you pick his name? If it's a private matter then do not answer: I respect privacy.

 

[Doctors Companion]

Doctor Who fan House full of Whovians. ...there is a T.A.R.D.I.S. in his home

 

[Tom]

Burying cinder blocks end up is a lot of work...lol but it will keep Doctor from digging out in the future.

You don't need to do that. Tortoises don't "dig out" like a dog would. When sulcatas burrow they dig down at a 40-45 degree angle and usually the burrow will take a turn to the right deep underground. They don't dig back up in another direction. They go up and down throughout their one tunnel. My current burrow was 22' deep last I measured two summers ago, so a half buried brick would not slow them down anyway. Check these out:
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/enclosure-expansion.38788/
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/sulcata-burrows.50846/

This is my adult enclosure. I just use 6x6x16 slumpstone block staggered and stacked three high. They don't challenge it. Been doing it this way for many years.

 

[Tom]

Thank you, we did A LOT of research on the little buggers before getting one.

Lots of people say this, but the problem is the most of the websites, books, vets and experts are still parroting the old incorrect info that was based on incorrect assumptions made 30 years ago.

Some of us have been around a long time and we see the same things year after year. My goal here is only to help you avoid the common pitfalls. Pitfalls that I myself fell into decades ago...

 

[Tom]

He walks around the store all day, people know to look for the helium balloon that is taped to his shell....

Okay last thing, and then I'll stop pestering you.

Tortoises should not be running around loose in a human area, especially not in an area open to the public. Many tortoises get injured or killed this way every year. All you have to do is watch and listen to just one surgery to open a tortoises plastron and remove some ingested foreign body, and you will never do this again. We had one member here whose tortoise ingested an 2 inch stick pin. She had no idea where the tortoise found it as there were no sewing enthusiasts in the household. Another member accidentally smooshed her tortoises head in a door. I've seen lots of x-rays of broken tortoise legs from tortoises that were accidentally kicked. In your case, I bet people brings dogs into the store. Dogs are probably the number one killer/mauler of pet tortoises and it only takes seconds. Its also too cold down there for this tropical hot weather species.

I'm hoping you will reconsider this practice and give your tortoise a safe, dedicated enclosure with the proper temps and footing.

 

[Doctors Companion]

Lots of people say this, but the problem is the most of the websites, books, vets and experts are still parroting the old incorrect info that was based on incorrect assumptions made 30 years ago.

Some of us have been around a long time and we see the same things year after year. My goal here is only to help you avoid the common pitfalls. Pitfalls that I myself fell into decades ago...

Most of my research was on this forum, months before I joined, thank you for thinking I was naive enough to ask an "expert" at some place like "petsmart"

 

[Blakem]

We mean no harm to you when giving our suggestions! We simply want what'sbest for your baby, jus like you do. Welcome to the forum, you''l love this community of well experienced individuals who love our animals!

 

[Doctors Companion]

Thank you, but let's be honest people are treated like they are idiots, not exactly welcoming when someone bashes everything you say, not knowing your background. I am a certified Vet Tech and a past Suffolk County NY Animal Control Officer, I left those jobs because I could no longer watch all of the neglect and abuse. I now choose to spend my time teaching people the proper care and feeding of there dogs and cats. Not all new reptile owners are as stupid as people like to make them feel.

 

[Cowboy_Ken]

Greetings Dr. Companion. I'm on 5 acres here in the PNW. I thought I was the only one with this type of thinking, it was fun for the "unsupervised/supervised" free roaming in my upper pasture.