New Sulcata Owner

[christmascd]

I am so excited to have finally adopted a baby sulcata. However I feel so overwhelmed with the amount of contradictory information out there! I honestly didn't have time to set forth a plan for Sheldon, my husband ordered him and a tortoise box that arrived two days ago. We went online to find out what I needed to buy for him and to say the least I am very confused! I have no idea what type of bedding is best, i dont know if he should or should not have a water dish in his box, what foods are good... I have the commercial tortoise box, I bought the heat/ UV lamp and a food dish. He is using rabbit pellets as bedding (recommended by pet store) I have been giving him chopped up spring mix and cucumbers. I have put him in a water bath just up to his chin and he hates it and tries to climb out, i dont think he drank anything. I cave the calcium powder and sprinkled it on his food this morning. I dont have anything for him to nest in except the rabbit pellets, some sites say he needs moist moss... Others say no. Please help before he becomes ill. I am so scared that I will cause him harm. Thank you!!

 

[Arizona Sulcata]

Welcome!

There is a lot of contradicting information out there including what pet stores tell you. Unfortunately 90% of the time pet stores give horrible tortoise advise.

For the bedding do not use rabbit pellets. Use coconut coir or cypress mulch. Always have a water dish. Yes humidity is a good thing.

I feed mine Spring Mix lettuce, Mazuri, and weeds and grasses. Avoid the pet store tortoise food. Not only is it not good for them, your tort probably wont even touch it.

You're at the right place for solid quality info. If you have any questions refer to this forum instead of Google searching. There is more bad info out there than good info. You can always come to me if you have any questions as well as many other forum members who are willing to help.

 

[Laura]

welcome... and go to the sulcata section and start reading...
no coil bulbs, replace the pellets,, spring mix is good..
and dont forget to Breathe and enjoy!!!

 

[christmascd]

Thank you all so much! Sheldon is doing well and I am learning as much as possible about taking care of him.

 

[wellington]

Hello and Welcome I was in your exact shoes when I got my leopard, confused. Then thankfully I found this forum. Saved the day and my leopard. At the bottom of my post are Toms threads. They are filled with great info. The leopard threads are what I followed to get my leopard on the right track, after the bad advice I received. The sulcata and leopards are raised the same, but read them all, great info.

 

[Tom]

Hello and welcome.

More info in my signature too.

A few points: They are NOT desert animals. Babies hatch near marshes during the rainy season and can eat all they want all day long. Its hot, humid, there is water everywhere and everything is green. The weather over there is always hot or hotter. There is no cool time of the year. When things start to dry up after the rainy season, they go underground where its warm and humid, and eat food that they've dragged down there during the rainy season.

So for a captive baby:
Keep it warm all the time. Never below 80. Offer a basking spot of 100 for 12 hours a day. Use a thermostat with a ceramic heating element to maintain ambient and put a timer on your basking light. Adjust the basking temp by raising or lowering your fixture. Use a dampness friendly substrate like coco coir or orchid bark. Try to keep humidity up, but don't let it get cool. Use a proper humid hide box or two. Use a terra cotta plant saucer and have water available all the time. Soak babies daily. Don't worry about whether or not he likes it. Its good for him and he needs the hydration. Doesn't matter if he drinks in the soak either. Closed chambers are MUCH easier to maintain good conditions in, compared to open topped enclosures. Make an outdoor enclosure and let him get some sun, exercise and grazing in fair sunny weather. I could go on and on... Its all in the links.

 

[luvpetz27]

Welcome!!

 

[mainey34]

Hello and welcome...the best thing you best thing you be can do is proper diet, humidity, exercise, sunlight or artificial lights, the threads that Barbara and Tommy are talking about are below my signature also. There are many members here that Barbara own sulcatas, I am. One of the many. We all use the threads as a guideline. It has worked for us. Another place to look is the tortoiselibrary.com lots of good info there too...

 

[Yvonne G]

Welcome to the Forum!