New to the African Sulcata world & the forum. Help!

[Shanook]

Hello forum! Ok so I am a new to the the tortoise world. I did my research, but there are so many sites that say so many different things, at this point I am lost.
The guy I took her (Lucy) from said she was approximately 4 months old. Lucy is approx. 3 inches long.
I have her in a 40 gallon tank, with half sand and half douglas fir. is this ok?
I was told to keep her enclosure dry as possible, but I think that is a problem when her lil head is shedding. What is best?
I was also told to feed her lettuce only, but read on here, you all feed your tortoise a variety of foods. Is she still too young for a variety?
One more question, for now. Lol
How long should I keep the UVB light on her?
Any help would be wonderful & GREATLY appreciated. Thank you for your time.

 

[Jacqui]

First off welcome! I am so glad you found this forum and Lucy will be glad too. SO many of the things you have been told are not true...such as keeping her dry. I really suggest you go to the Sulcata section and start reading especially the threads pasted at the top of the page.

 

[dmarcus]

Hello and welcome to the forum..

Dry is not good, hatchlings need humidity and keeping it around 80% is good.

She should be fed a varity and dark leafy greens, cactus and a ton of other things are good.

Do you give her time outside during the day?

Also I would not use the sand due to possible impaction issues, plain dirt or cypress mulch is so much better...

 

[Shanook]

Ok humidity it is.
I am sure she is tired of just lettuce.
Unfortunately it is too cold outside. It is currently 34 outside. When I first took her we still had warmer temps so I was able to, but now it's not a option.

 

[Shanook]

First off welcome! I am so glad you found this forum and Lucy will be glad too. SO many of the things you have been told are not true...such as keeping her dry. I really suggest you go to the Sulcata section and start reading especially the threads pasted at the top of the page.

I kinda figured they are all wrong! I am so happy I found thus forum. I've been reading & learning so much already. I jus feel bad for Lucy. I took her from one bad situation to another. At least I am willing to try & remedy the problems. Thx.

 

[dmarcus]

Okay then I think the consensus is for 12 hours for the uvb light.

I looked at her picture is she is definitely too dry, you can also get a water bottle and spray her shell several times a day, I bet she will enjoy that..

 

[AnthonyC]

Welcome to the forum! Looks like you're getting all the help you need!

 

[Shanook]

Ok thx! At least I got one thing right for sure.

 

[Shanook]

Yeah, thank goodness I found this forum!

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi Shanook:

Welcome to the Tortoise Forum!!

May we know your name and where you are?

Your little sulcata is very pretty.

 

[SulcataSquirt]

Welcome to the forum - glad you found us here! Humidity is definitely key! Our little guy loves it, and absolutely loves the variety of leafy greens, he just runs in from different angles and chows on everything! I also wouldn't recommend the sand - but something that may help hold some of the humidity, it'll make it a little easier on you.
Hope to see some more photos of her and your setup! Feel free to ask as many questions as possible!
Again Welcome!

 

[Shanook]

Hi Shanook:

Welcome to the Tortoise Forum!!

May we know your name and where you are?

Your little sulcata is very pretty.

Of course my name is Shawnee & I currently live in good ol southern Indiana.
Thank you very much.

 

[nikki0601]

Go check out the Sulcata Tortoises forum, under important read How to raise Sulcata hatchlings and babies, by Tom, I follow this exactly.. My little tort is healthy and happy, growing very well, the info is pretty much the opposite of what u have been given, good luck!

 

[Shanook]

Welcome to the forum - glad you found us here! Humidity is definitely key! Our little guy loves it, and absolutely loves the variety of leafy greens, he just runs in from different angles and chows on everything! I also wouldn't recommend the sand - but something that may help hold some of the humidity, it'll make it a little easier on you.
Hope to see some more photos of her and your setup! Feel free to ask as many questions as possible!
Again Welcome!

Ya her tank is half Douglas fir, half sand. I put the sand under the heat lamp, thinkin it might help her keep warmer. The Douglas fir is on the cool side. I will post pics of the enclosure. Pls let me know what you think. Lucy just kinda happened, I always wanted one, but was never near one. Then one day I seen a guy who had Lucy & her bro in a little portable fish carrier, so we decided to take them both.

---

Go check out the Sulcata Tortoises forum, under important read How to raise Sulcata hatchlings and babies, by Tom, I follow this exactly.. My little tort is healthy and happy, growing very well, the info is pretty much the opposite of what u have been given, good luck!

I absolutely will do that. Thx so much.

 

[ALDABRAMAN]

Welcome.

 

[Maggie Cummings]

What happened to her brother? You do know that she is too little to sex? She is most probably a male. Add some stuff to her tank, rocks, branches, stuff to play with and climb on and over. She needs a water dish, you can use the clay saucers found under plant pots. Most importantly she needs a UVB light that is not on a screen as the UVB rays cannot go thru a small screen like yours. Are you using a coil bulb? if so stop immediately as they damage tortoises eyes. Leave the light on for 12 to 14 hours a day. Also she needs night time heat, I use a black light bulb. I used to get them from Kmart but they just recently stopped selling them, so now I am hunting them again. Most are 60 or 75 watts. Try the big box stores like Home Depot. Maybe a small hardware store in your town might have them. You want to try for 80% humidity and soak her every day for about 10 to 15 minutes in warm water...the temp like warm baby water. Put her half log against the side of the tank, with it's end against the side. They want a safe secure place to sleep. Try //africantortoise.com/ for a good diet. I am glad you found us, please keep asking questions we don't mind. And pictures are good...

 

[CtTortoiseMom]

Hi and welcome. I look forward to watching your hatchling grow

Your light might be too far away, I am also concerned that the far end of the tank away from the light might be too cold. You should look into getting a ceramic heat emitter for that side.

 

[laramie]

Welcome to TFO! Lucy is beautiful. I had a russian once named Lucy A really good website is
http://tortoiselibrary.com/

Also this one too

http://www.thetortoisetable.org.uk/site/tortoise_home_1.asp

 

[ascott]

Welcome to the Forum . Cute baby

 

[pdrobber]

welcome