New Tortoise Owner =)

BenDoc

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Hello Everyone,

I am new to the forum and new to owning a tortoise. I currently have a baby Sulcata named Tortilla. I'm not sure how old she is seeing as i got her from a reptile shop in South Florida, but she weighed 74 Grams when i bought her about a month ago. She is in a 20 gallon tank with uv and heat lamps and an under tank heater for night time. Originally her bedding was the Alphalpha Pellet substrate. I changed her substrate to the cypress mulch tonight due to reading a forum on here written by Tom. The reason i am posting is to see what everyone thinks of her setup, and any tips or advice? Like i said before I've had her for about a month now and brought her home at 74 grams. Her weight has been very consistent between 74-76 grams. She eats a lot and poops and pees regularly. I currently feed her romaine lettuce, yellow squash, zucchini, sweet potato. I sprinkle a product called Repashy Superfood Superveggie, its kind of like an all in one super vitamin powder. I have also just recently started spreading the Mazuri tortoise diet on top of her food. I soak her almost everyday for about 20 mins and change her food at a minimum of 2 times a day. During the day her heated side stays around 93-96 and night time around 85. She is pretty active I would appreciate any tips or advice on how to get her to gain some weight! I really appreciate anything and everything!20181120_174619.jpg 20181120_175420.jpg
 

ZEROPILOT

REDFOOT WRANGLER
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Welcome fellow south Floridian.
I don't keep Sulcata. But it looks like he has been started dry. And it was if you bought him from Underground Reptiles. You'll need to get the humidity up.
We have many Sulcata keepers here and you're in great hands.
 

BenDoc

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Welcome fellow south Floridian.
I don't keep Sulcata. But it looks like he has been started dry. And it was if you bought him from Underground Reptiles. You'll need to get the humidity up.
We have many Sulcata keepers here and you're in great hands.

I did get it from underground reptiles. The cypress mulch is already pretty damp, i guess ill just add a little water to it every couple days to get humidity up. Thanks for the response
 

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REDFOOT WRANGLER
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I did get it from underground reptiles. The cypress mulch is already pretty damp, i guess ill just add a little water to it every couple days to get humidity up. Thanks for the response
Did you purchase your Sulcata from a tank with rabbit pellet substrate?
I DO wish he would stop that.
 

Toddrickfl1

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You need to try to seal that up as airtight as possible to keep in humidity. You can use aluminum foil to cover the top.
 

BenDoc

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Covering some or most of the top....I use plexiglass....will help hold both heat and humidity.
As far as further Sulcata care. I can't give much. I keep Redfoot. But I am local if I can be of any help.

She was in a tank with the dry grass pellets lol im going to work on keep humidity in the tank. i had no idea they needed all the humidity as babies.
 

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How are you measuring the temps? Where?
Do you have a temperature gun or a dial gauge?

Someone like @Tom would be a wealth of knowledge for you.
Maybe open a new thread with specific Sulcata questions or check out old Sulcata posts.
Here in this thread it'll be mostly people saying "welcome".
 

Toddrickfl1

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Maro2Bear

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BenDoc

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How are you measuring the temps? Where?
Do you have a temperature gun or a dial gauge?

Someone like @Tom would be a wealth of knowledge for you.
Maybe open a new thread with specific Sulcata questions or check out old Sulcata posts.
Here in this thread it'll be mostly people saying "welcome".


I have a digital temp probe that rests on the floor of the bedding. its only on the hot side though.
 

BenDoc

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Tom

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Hello and welcome BenDoc.

Here is what I see from the pics and text:
  1. You need something much bigger. I don't recommend start new hatchling in anything smaller than a 40 gallon tank, but bigger is better. Closed chambers work the best. They are easiest, and also most efficient. Maintaining the correct temps and humidity is very difficult without one. Here are mine: https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/new-stack-of-animal-plastics-closed-chambers.165626/
  2. You need a lot more substrate. At least 4 or 5". This will help to maintain humidity.
  3. The diet needs some improvement. Check this out: https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/for-those-who-have-a-young-sulcata.76744/
  4. I don't recommend undertank heaters for tortoises. Too risky. Seen too many problems and burns. Ambient heat should come from CHEs or RHPs. (Ceramic heating elements, or radiant heat panels.)
  5. It is very difficult to stop pyramiding in progress. Much easier to prevent it or stop it early. Get humidity way up, keep soaking daily, have a humid hide and spray the carapace several times a day with distilled, RO, or rainwater to stop the pyramiding.
All of this and more is explained in the thread you found and Maro linked, but please feel free to ask all your questions. This info and most of the info on this site conflicts with what we "the general tortoise community" have been saying for 30 years. That old info is wrong, but most tortoise people haven't figured this out yet, and some of the old timers are very resistant to this new better info.
 

BenDoc

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Palm Bay, Florida
Hello and welcome BenDoc.

Here is what I see from the pics and text:
  1. You need something much bigger. I don't recommend start new hatchling in anything smaller than a 40 gallon tank, but bigger is better. Closed chambers work the best. They are easiest, and also most efficient. Maintaining the correct temps and humidity is very difficult without one. Here are mine: https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/new-stack-of-animal-plastics-closed-chambers.165626/
  2. You need a lot more substrate. At least 4 or 5". This will help to maintain humidity.
  3. The diet needs some improvement. Check this out: https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/for-those-who-have-a-young-sulcata.76744/
  4. I don't recommend undertank heaters for tortoises. Too risky. Seen too many problems and burns. Ambient heat should come from CHEs or RHPs. (Ceramic heating elements, or radiant heat panels.)
  5. It is very difficult to stop pyramiding in progress. Much easier to prevent it or stop it early. Get humidity way up, keep soaking daily, have a humid hide and spray the carapace several times a day with distilled, RO, or rainwater to stop the pyramiding.
All of this and more is explained in the thread you found and Maro linked, but please feel free to ask all your questions. This info and most of the info on this site conflicts with what we "the general tortoise community" have been saying for 30 years. That old info is wrong, but most tortoise people haven't figured this out yet, and some of the old timers are very resistant to this new better info.


Thank you Tom for your response! Since i only have one baby tortoise i wont be needing the enclosure that you have provided. If you know of any links that would basically list all of the needed items to make the perfect baby sulcata enclosure, that would so appreciated. We have already lost one baby sulcata due to it being ill from where we had purchased it. I really would like to get this one right! Thank you so much for all the help it is much appreciated!
 

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I didn't know that you already had a baby you got from Underground die.
Baby Sulcata that aren't "started" correctly, humid enough don't often live very long and if they do, they will often have issues.
This is why I warn against purchasing tortoises from there.
I do hope that this guy makes it.
 

BenDoc

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I didn't know that you already had a baby you got from Underground die.
Baby Sulcata that aren't "started" correctly, humid enough don't often live very long and if they do, they will often have issues.
This is why I warn against purchasing tortoises from there.
I do hope that this guy makes it.


Yes we had our first one pass away. He wasnt eating at all, and we went above and beyond to help the little guy out as far as vet visits go but we had to put him down at the end. The tortoise we have now is eating and everything normally so hopefully it wasnt too late for her!
 

ZEROPILOT

REDFOOT WRANGLER
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Yes we had our first one pass away. He wasnt eating at all, and we went above and beyond to help the little guy out as far as vet visits go but we had to put him down at the end. The tortoise we have now is eating and everything normally so hopefully it wasnt too late for her!
Great to hear.
At this forum you have all of the latest, greatest and up to date information you're ever going to need.
 
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