New Sully Owner

Ogniick21

New Member
Joined
Sep 18, 2022
Messages
5
Location (City and/or State)
Buena park
Hello everyone! Im a new to owning this Sulcata tortoise, but before purchasing I did do research to ensure that I was not hurting a tortoise in the process of me just wanting a new pet in my yard. Hes 7.5 years old and he weighs around 50-60 Lbs, hes 19 inches wide, 23 inches long. His name is Gamera. he started getting this dry flaky patch on his neck and wanted input on it. I will be adding a few pictures to this thread of him. Thank you for any help or if you see me doing something wrong, pls let me know. I feed him 2 times a day while he gets to graze upon my grass in the backyard. I give him repti-calcium, he does poop it out in a weird powdery form as if its back in the same form that it started. His droppings are solid. I have him in a burrow i made for him that i will also be showing in the pictures to come. In the winter i plan on building him an insolated home to keep him warm.64830807-C066-496E-953C-40ED67BD6B99.jpeg
 

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Tom

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Hello and welcome.

He needs the insulated house now. We've been having cold nights and they should not drop below 80. Burrows are good to escape the summer heat, but after this next heat wave next week, he will need to be in the heated shelter overnight. Dog houses and deck boxes don't work. I'm just north of you up in Santa Clarita and these boxes work great for me. Your climate is a bit milder than mine, so they will perform well for you and your tortoise too. Here are two examples with safe, effective heating strategies:

Grass or grass hay should be the majority of the diet. No fruit. Spineless opuntia pads, mulberry or grape leaves, hibiscus flowers and leaves, and any squash leaves are all good additions.

The white stuff you are seeing is called urates. It is the by-product of protein digestion coupled with a lack of hydration. This means your tortoise is a little dehydrated and needs to be soaked. I would soak every other day for a couple of weeks, and then taper down to once or twice a week. Use a tall sided opaque tub and warm water. I use horse troughs purchased at feed stores for large tortoises like this one.

Congrats on the new addition. Questions are welcome! :)
 

Ogniick21

New Member
Joined
Sep 18, 2022
Messages
5
Location (City and/or State)
Buena park
Hello and welcome.

He needs the insulated house now. We've been having cold nights and they should not drop below 80. Burrows are good to escape the summer heat, but after this next heat wave next week, he will need to be in the heated shelter overnight. Dog houses and deck boxes don't work. I'm just north of you up in Santa Clarita and these boxes work great for me. Your climate is a bit milder than mine, so they will perform well for you and your tortoise too. Here are two examples with safe, effective heating strategies:

Grass or grass hay should be the majority of the diet. No fruit. Spineless opuntia pads, mulberry or grape leaves, hibiscus flowers and leaves, and any squash leaves are all good additions.

The white stuff you are seeing is called urates. It is the by-product of protein digestion coupled with a lack of hydration. This means your tortoise is a little dehydrated and needs to be soaked. I would soak every other day for a couple of weeks, and then taper down to once or twice a week. Use a tall sided opaque tub and warm water. I use horse troughs purchased at feed stores for large tortoises like this one.

Congrats on the new addition. Questions are welcome! :)
thank you so much im going to do that to him when i get home as im not home during the day because im at work. I will bring him in today and let him sleep inside after i let him soak because i heard its bad to soak them at night and leave them outside now that its colder.
 

Ogniick21

New Member
Joined
Sep 18, 2022
Messages
5
Location (City and/or State)
Buena park
Hello and welcome.

He needs the insulated house now. We've been having cold nights and they should not drop below 80. Burrows are good to escape the summer heat, but after this next heat wave next week, he will need to be in the heated shelter overnight. Dog houses and deck boxes don't work. I'm just north of you up in Santa Clarita and these boxes work great for me. Your climate is a bit milder than mine, so they will perform well for you and your tortoise too. Here are two examples with safe, effective heating strategies:

Grass or grass hay should be the majority of the diet. No fruit. Spineless opuntia pads, mulberry or grape leaves, hibiscus flowers and leaves, and any squash leaves are all good additions.

The white stuff you are seeing is called urates. It is the by-product of protein digestion coupled with a lack of hydration. This means your tortoise is a little dehydrated and needs to be soaked. I would soak every other day for a couple of weeks, and then taper down to once or twice a week. Use a tall sided opaque tub and warm water. I use horse troughs purchased at feed stores for large tortoises like this one.

Congrats on the new addition. Questions are welcome! :)
Hello and welcome.

He needs the insulated house now. We've been having cold nights and they should not drop below 80. Burrows are good to escape the summer heat, but after this next heat wave next week, he will need to be in the heated shelter overnight. Dog houses and deck boxes don't work. I'm just north of you up in Santa Clarita and these boxes work great for me. Your climate is a bit milder than mine, so they will perform well for you and your tortoise too. Here are two examples with safe, effective heating strategies:

Grass or grass hay should be the majority of the diet. No fruit. Spineless opuntia pads, mulberry or grape leaves, hibiscus flowers and leaves, and any squash leaves are all good additions.

The white stuff you are seeing is called urates. It is the by-product of protein digestion coupled with a lack of hydration. This means your tortoise is a little dehydrated and needs to be soaked. I would soak every other day for a couple of weeks, and then taper down to once or twice a week. Use a tall sided opaque tub and warm water. I use horse troughs purchased at feed stores for large tortoises like this one.

Congrats on the new addition. Questions are welcome! :)
image.jpg
Hello and welcome.

He needs the insulated house now. We've been having cold nights and they should not drop below 80. Burrows are good to escape the summer heat, but after this next heat wave next week, he will need to be in the heated shelter overnight. Dog houses and deck boxes don't work. I'm just north of you up in Santa Clarita and these boxes work great for me. Your climate is a bit milder than mine, so they will perform well for you and your tortoise too. Here are two examples with safe, effective heating strategies:

Grass or grass hay should be the majority of the diet. No fruit. Spineless opuntia pads, mulberry or grape leaves, hibiscus flowers and leaves, and any squash leaves are all good additions.

The white stuff you are seeing is called urates. It is the by-product of protein digestion coupled with a lack of hydration. This means your tortoise is a little dehydrated and needs to be soaked. I would soak every other day for a couple of weeks, and then taper down to once or twice a week. Use a tall sided opaque tub and warm water. I use horse troughs purchased at feed stores for large tortoises like this one.

Congrats on the new addition. Questions are welcome! :)
Hello Tom . Just had a few questions. I put my tortoise in our tub for now till his trough gets here and I have the water at 78 degrees and wonder if it’s normal for him to not want to be in the tub. Also how deep should I have him in exactly?
 

Tom

The Dog Trainer
10 Year Member!
Platinum Tortoise Club
Joined
Jan 9, 2010
Messages
63,269
Location (City and/or State)
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View attachment 350197

Hello Tom . Just had a few questions. I put my tortoise in our tub for now till his trough gets here and I have the water at 78 degrees and wonder if it’s normal for him to not want to be in the tub. Also how deep should I have him in exactly?
Tub is fine, but 78 is much too cool. Shoot for 90-95 degrees and keep it that way for the entire 30-45 minute soak.

Its normal for them to try to climb out. We call that the tortoise treadmill and the locomotion is good for them.

I get the water about 1/3 to 1/2 way up their shell. They shouldn't be struggling to keep their head above water.

Looks like your tortoise passed more urates. This is good. You may have avoid the formation of a bladder stone with all the urates that are now passing instead of being stored and building up.
 

Ogniick21

New Member
Joined
Sep 18, 2022
Messages
5
Location (City and/or State)
Buena park
View attachment 350197

Hello Tom . Just had a few questions. I put my tortoise in our tub for now till his trough gets here and I have the water at 78 degrees and wonder if it’s normal for him to not want to be in the tub. Also how deep should I have him in exactly?


Hello I’m trying to figure out what makes his eyes this watery every other day or so .
 

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Tom

The Dog Trainer
10 Year Member!
Platinum Tortoise Club
Joined
Jan 9, 2010
Messages
63,269
Location (City and/or State)
Southern California
Hello I’m trying to figure out what makes his eyes this watery every other day or so .
One of their nick names in some parts of the world, and also the title of the best sulcata book I've ever seen is: "The Crying Tortoise". This is totally normal.
 

Ogniick21

New Member
Joined
Sep 18, 2022
Messages
5
Location (City and/or State)
Buena park
Wow, this is good to know. I would flip out if I saw my sulcata crying and didn't know why. So glad you posted this pic. Thanks, and welcome!
Wow, this is good to know. I would flip out if I saw my sulcata crying and didn't know why. So glad you posted this pic. Thanks, and welcome!
Hello I’m wondering if this patch on his skin is bad ? I’ve been soaking him In warm water every other day for 1 week as told but not sure if it’s getting worse. His poop is solid
 

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Yvonne G

Old Timer
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It's probably rubbing on his shell. Doesn't look worrisome to me.
 
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