newbie questions

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Sinyo

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hi guys
i'm new at this hobby :)
i just got my baby sulcata 4 days ago and i have questions about keeping this cute little creature :D

- how long should i soak my torto in a day? some said 30 minutes is too long and cause the baby had a cold but the others said 30 minutes or more is better
- what's the best step, breakfast+basking then soaking+basking or soaking+basking first then breakfast+basking?
-can i put my baby sulcata with his terra outdoor without light or i just keep him indoor?
-based on my baby's pic below, what will his carapace colour be when they grow up? lean to be light colour or darkish?

enclosure
IMG-20130518-00144_zpsa5f21f5c.jpg


my baby :D
20130519_142956_zps3abe7b6b.jpg
 

Yvonne G

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Hi Sinyo, and welcome to the Forum!

I think you should put the habitat up on a table, up off the floor. I don't know where you live, but here in my climate, next to the window and on the floor would be putting the baby in a cold draft.

I pull my babies out of hiding in the a.m. when I turn on the light, and place them in warm water next to where the light shines down on the floor of the habitat. I leave them there while I chop up and prepare their food. This takes about 20 minutes or so. Then I place the food on the feeding tile, place the babies around the food, then quickly step out of their sight.

If your weather is warmer than 70F degrees, there is no reason to include a light outside, however, babies will quickly cook in the sun, so be sure to provide shade.

Most all adult sulcatas are the same color. Beige with darker brown sections.
 

Sinyo

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Yvonne G said:
Hi Sinyo, and welcome to the Forum!

I think you should put the habitat up on a table, up off the floor. I don't know where you live, but here in my climate, next to the window and on the floor would be putting the baby in a cold draft.

I pull my babies out of hiding in the a.m. when I turn on the light, and place them in warm water next to where the light shines down on the floor of the habitat. I leave them there while I chop up and prepare their food. This takes about 20 minutes or so. Then I place the food on the feeding tile, place the babies around the food, then quickly step out of their sight.

If your weather is warmer than 70F degrees, there is no reason to include a light outside, however, babies will quickly cook in the sun, so be sure to provide shade.

Most all adult sulcatas are the same color. Beige with darker brown sections.

hi Yvonne
thank you for your response :)

hmm okay then, i got it
by the way i live in Indonesia, the weather here is quite hot and humid
its about 75- 85F degrees when daylight and the humidity is around 65%
 

wellington

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Hello and Welcome:) The second thread below is forum member Tom. It is a must in my opinion for new sully owners. If you raise your tort like in his thread, you should have a happy, healthy, smooth sulcata.
 

Sinyo

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wellington said:
Hello and Welcome:) The second thread below is forum member Tom. It is a must in my opinion for new sully owners. If you raise your tort like in his thread, you should have a happy, healthy, smooth sulcata.

hi Wellington :D
thank you for your response :)
i've read the thread, that's one of the best reading so far, i think Tom is the guru for sully owner
 

sibi

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Hi and welcome. Tom is the guru of sulcatas. He has written threads about their care like none I've ever read. As such, your enclosure may not be suitable for your baby. First, you need a larger tub with a lid to cover most of the enclosure. The heat you provide will only escape unless you cover 3/4 of the top with the lid. BAby sullies need warm temps: a basking temp of 95-105 degrees F, cool temp of 80 degrees, hide temps of above 95, and ambient temp of no less than 80 degrees. You should also provide uvb lighting 100w. Only use UVb lighting if your baby doesn't get sunshine. Living in Indonesia that shouldn't be a problem. Humidity is very important in the enclosure. You need a gauge to properly register heat and humidity otherwise you'll just be guessing and if the baby gets too cold and wet, he may get sick. If he gets too dry, he can start to dehydrate and pyramiding can form. So, you see, there's a lot you need to do to make your baby happy and healthy. Keep us posted. Below my name is another of Tom's threads. Please read it. Thanks.

Oh, and your baby is absolutely adorable!
 

Tom

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Hello and welcome. I hope you are able to improve his set up and temperatures very soon. Do you know your four temps?

Your tortoise needs:
1. A much larger enclosure.
2. An opaque hiding spot.
3. A shallow water bowl, like a terra cotta saucer.
4. A basking temp of about 100 for 12 hours a day, preferably onto a flat rock or slate piece.
5. Darkness at night.
6. Warmth at night. I prefer to not let them drop below 80 degrees. (26-27 celcius) I use ceramic heating elements set to 80 on a thermostat for this.
7. Covering the top or making a closed chamber will make all of this much easier to do and provide your baby with the proper conditions all the time.
8. A safe outdoor enclosure where he can roam and get some sun, exercise and grazing for an hour or two a day. Longer as he gets bigger.
9. It does not matter what order or what time you do the soaking, and feeding. I like babies to have food available all the time, so they can graze when they want to.

Hope this all helps.

30 minutes is fine for soaking, just do it somewhere warm, so the water doesn't cool.
 

shanu303

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Hello Sinyo and welcome to TFO !! :) your sulcata is really cute and such a smooth shell :)
 

Sinyo

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sibi said:
Hi and welcome. Tom is the guru of sulcatas. He has written threads about their care like none I've ever read. As such, your enclosure may not be suitable for your baby. First, you need a larger tub with a lid to cover most of the enclosure. The heat you provide will only escape unless you cover 3/4 of the top with the lid. BAby sullies need warm temps: a basking temp of 95-105 degrees F, cool temp of 80 degrees, hide temps of above 95, and ambient temp of no less than 80 degrees. You should also provide uvb lighting 100w. Only use UVb lighting if your baby doesn't get sunshine. Living in Indonesia that shouldn't be a problem. Humidity is very important in the enclosure. You need a gauge to properly register heat and humidity otherwise you'll just be guessing and if the baby gets too cold and wet, he may get sick. If he gets too dry, he can start to dehydrate and pyramiding can form. So, you see, there's a lot you need to do to make your baby happy and healthy. Keep us posted. Below my name is another of Tom's threads. Please read it. Thanks.

Oh, and your baby is absolutely adorable!

Hi Sibi :D
thank you for coming :)
i keep my baby sully enclosure at 87 F in the daylight and about 84 F at night
i think its warm enough for him, i'am affraid if i set the temp at 105 F he'll be burned and dehydrated even if i put a waterdish in there, but i don't know, should i increase the temp?
i use 25watt spotlamp for the temp
yupp i concern about the humidity thats why i use cocopeat as substrate and keep the humid at 90% :D

Tom said:
Hello and welcome. I hope you are able to improve his set up and temperatures very soon. Do you know your four temps?

Your tortoise needs:
1. A much larger enclosure.
2. An opaque hiding spot.
3. A shallow water bowl, like a terra cotta saucer.
4. A basking temp of about 100 for 12 hours a day, preferably onto a flat rock or slate piece.
5. Darkness at night.
6. Warmth at night. I prefer to not let them drop below 80 degrees. (26-27 celcius) I use ceramic heating elements set to 80 on a thermostat for this.
7. Covering the top or making a closed chamber will make all of this much easier to do and provide your baby with the proper conditions all the time.
8. A safe outdoor enclosure where he can roam and get some sun, exercise and grazing for an hour or two a day. Longer as he gets bigger.
9. It does not matter what order or what time you do the soaking, and feeding. I like babies to have food available all the time, so they can graze when they want to.

Hope this all helps.

30 minutes is fine for soaking, just do it somewhere warm, so the water doesn't cool.

Hi Tom :D
thank you for visit my thread :D
well i need to change his enclosure to a bigger one and provide an opaque hiding spot coz these things i haven't done yet
yeahh i keep my baby in darkness at night, i won't disturb his sleeping time :D
i'll do all of your words here Tom and make my sully grow happy and healthy :D

shanu303 said:
Hello Sinyo and welcome to TFO !! :) your sulcata is really cute and such a smooth shell :)

Hi Shanu :D
thanks for coming here :D
yupp i hope he keep as cute as now and has smooth shell when they get dult hahaa
 

TortLass

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okay, you soak a tortoise to keep them hydrated. it should put it's head in the water to drink, and when your tort stops doing that, and once he/she has relieved her/himself, you can take it out. You only have to soak every other day, and if it takes 30 minutes or more, just make sure to keep the water warm. and only put the water up to the base of the neck.
 

Yvonne G

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TortLass said:
okay, you soak a tortoise to keep them hydrated. it should put it's head in the water to drink, and when your tort stops doing that, and once he/she has relieved her/himself, you can take it out. You only have to soak every other day, and if it takes 30 minutes or more, just make sure to keep the water warm. and only put the water up to the base of the neck.

Hi TortLass:

Most of us here on the Forum advocate soaking hatchling sulcatas every day. It might be a good idea for you to read some of the "Important Threads" up at the top of the Sulcata section.
 

samsmom

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I agree, soak everyday! I change the water several times while mine soaks, this keeps it clean and warm! Your baby is beautiful! Where in Indonesia do you live? I lived in Bandung for 3 years 1995-1998!
 

TortLass

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samsmom, I don't live in Indonesia and I don't have ics on here. Yvonne G, Thanks for your advice. I gave the wrong advice there, you see my tortoise isn't a hatchling anymore, so I don't soak him every day.
 

samsmom

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Not sure what happened but my comment was for Sinyo not Tort Lass
 

Sinyo

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Yvonne G said:
TortLass said:
okay, you soak a tortoise to keep them hydrated. it should put it's head in the water to drink, and when your tort stops doing that, and once he/she has relieved her/himself, you can take it out. You only have to soak every other day, and if it takes 30 minutes or more, just make sure to keep the water warm. and only put the water up to the base of the neck.

Hi TortLass:

Most of us here on the Forum advocate soaking hatchling sulcatas every day. It might be a good idea for you to read some of the "Important Threads" up at the top of the Sulcata section.

Hi TortLass
thanks for your advice
however, i agree with Yvonne, i'll keep my baby sully soaking every day until he reach juvenile size I think.

samsmom said:
I agree, soak everyday! I change the water several times while mine soaks, this keeps it clean and warm! Your baby is beautiful! Where in Indonesia do you live? I lived in Bandung for 3 years 1995-1998!

Hi samsmom
thank you for coming :)
wow did you really lived in Bandung for 3 years???
awesome!
i live in Yogyakarta now, i think you have been visited Yogyakarta while you lived in Bandung!
by the way, when you come back again to Bandung this time, you won't find Bandung like 18 years ago. there's so much rubbish in every corner of the city, polution, traffic jam, hot weather, etc. just like Jakarta!
 

samsmom

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I'm sad to hear of the living conditions in Bandung now, when we lived in Bandung there was no comparison to Jakarta, I'll always remember how beautiful Bandung was, we loved living there and never liked to visit Jakarta, good luck with your tort!
 
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