New Sulcata Owner

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Tiger

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Hey guys, so happy I found this amazing site! I'm Brittany and the proud, but incredibly nervous owner of a 1yr old Sulcata named Dozer. (I've had him/her about 4 days now)

We live down in Louisiana, nice and humid. :) But for right now, Dozer is in a temporary indoor 10 gallon tank. He's got cypress bedding and I use a powersun 100w during the day since it's still pretty rainy and chilly here. And a night black heat bulb at night. The place where I bought him was just feeding him romaine lettuce. I've ordered Mazuri and will be planting some grass and other recommended goodies for him, but he's on a spring mix right now. I tried adding red bell pepper, but he's just not interested. Honestly, he isn't interested in doing much but giving me the evil eye.

His temp on the warm side is in the 90's and about 85 on the cool (I know, not much of a variant, but hopefully I can fix that when his larger tank comes in on Friday.) I struggle with the humidity. It never seems to want to go above the high 60's. I mist everyday and the past two mornings I've giver Dozer a soak.

I guess I'm just really worried because he was so active in the store, but it seems like I am doing nothing right for him now. He barely seems to eat (and only when I'm not in the room) and he rarely does more than bask in a hole he's dug right under the light. No bowel movements. Not interested in his hide. Just wants to sleep in the same spot all day. I tried taking him outside yesterday, but he seemed pretty intimidated and the sun was hidden behind the oncoming rain clouds.

Is there anything more I can do? Is he still just adjusting? I just worry the poor guy is going to get sick. :(

I'll try to get some pics posted once his new place is up. Thanks in advance.
 

Yvonne G

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Hi Brittany:

Welcome to the Tortoise Forum!!

First off, I have to say that a 10 gallon tank is way too small. Just go buy a cheap plastic tub, the largest you can afford. It shouldn't cost more than about $10. With a larger floor space, you will be able to get a better temperature gradient.

Tortoises are pretty much tuned in to geographical land marks. They are stressed out when their "furniture" is moved around and your new little guy is used to his old habitat. Now you've placed him someplace new and he's not sure he's safe. It will take him a couple weeks to settle in, so the sooner you can get a bigger bin for him, the sooner he'll settle in.
 

Tiger

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Thanks for the welcome, guys. You've got a great community here.

emysemys - Thanks, I realized my size mistake as soon as I got home. I've got a 40 gallon tank on the way and was thinking of adding some coco coir to his bedding to give him more tunnel space. When he thinks I'm not looking, he moves around. He wandered into his hide today, funny how excited we can get about stuff like that. :) I'm hoping he's just nervous from the move like you said. I'll post pics soon and definitely let you guys know if something changes.

Thanks
 

Jacqui

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Brittany welcome! Relax just the smallest bit okay, your going to do fine. He's under going some huge changes (and in a way, so are you). Give him a little time and keep working on getting his environment up to where you think it needs to be after all this reading and research your no doubt doing. Any question no matter how small or even how "dumb" you think it is, feel free to ask us. Everybody in here is still learning, so your not alone.
 

Zamric

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Welcome to the Forum!

I thought I was an experianced owner after taking care of WalkingRock for the last 7 years (he's 12 now). Then I got 2 baby Leopards for Valentines Day and turned into "Mr. Nervious Nanny" as Cathie would say! :p

You little guy wont be happy in 40 gallon Breeder Tank very long... Those are good for hatchlings and small 1 year olds. Emsyemsy is right, you need to get on of those long, 6" deep plastic tubs, you know, the ones used for cloth storage or christmas wrapping storage. Look though the "Enclosure" part of our base and you can find lots of setups with these bins that maintain a good heat and humidity levels.
 

DanaLachney

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Welcome Brittany! I'm from Louisiana too! Yeah I agree with everyone else. I just got my first tortoise (a redfoot) on Saturday and even though I already expected her to behave as she did I still asked questions and worried anyway ;) you may find that putting a top on the enclosure will help with the humidity. I know sometimes it's not easy to find what works for u right away. Without misting my humidity hovers at 60% but a few sprays and it jumps right up to 80% or higher. If you post some pictures of your tort and setup others may be able to help. also idk if your lights are clipped on to the side or not but if so I recommend pointing them straight down via a lamp stand or however u can. Lights tend to hurt little torts eyes at an angle :) good luck!! :D
 

kibow

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Welcome and congrats. There is so much knowledge on this site it would take a long time to read it all.
 
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