Peat moss?

[nrfitchett4]

Anapsid.org is a great site, but has not been updated in 10 years. A lot of the information on there (feeding alfalfa to torts, for example) is very outdated.

I agree that a lot of greens are not good for Sulcatas. However, I do not agree on the water. In the wild, Sulcatas spend a lot of time in the cool, MOIST microclimate of their burrows. They are not out baking in the Sahara sun all day long.

My girls both drink a lot of water, and free choice soak quite often. I can't imagine that they would be guzzling water that their bodies didn't need. Their skin as actually quite permeable to moisture, and they are drinking the humidity that in the wild they would be getting from the dampness of their burrow, which they increase by urinating and defacating in the burrow.

These animals have been on earth for a long time, and we need to give them a bit more credit for instinct.

Also, if it is true that they do not need water, then why do so many Sulcata hatchlings die from dehydration?

Kristina

it does mention that hatchlings need more water, since their surface area to weight ratio is so high, they can lose water fast. From what I read, babies spend most of the first 1-2 years in burrows that have a documented humidity of 50-60%.
They also point out that adult sulcatas make almost no urine, due to having a lack of water in their original local, they have adapted. I'm just regurging what I read, and I was concerned about overhydration.
I try to learn everything I can about an animal BEFORE purchase, so I don't get suprised later. We have a pretty good pet store that I frequent, but it still pays to do your own research.

 

[Kristina]

it does mention that hatchlings need more water, since their surface area to weight ratio is so high, they can lose water fast. From what I read, babies spend most of the first 1-2 years in burrows that have a documented humidity of 50-60%.
They also point out that adult sulcatas make almost no urine, due to having a lack of water in their original local, they have adapted. I'm just regurging what I read, and I was concerned about overhydration.
I try to learn everything I can about an animal BEFORE purchase, so I don't get suprised later. We have a pretty good pet store that I frequent, but it still pays to do your own research.

Ha ha, anyone that has a large Sulcata can argue the fact that they don't produce much urine.... Wow, let me tell you...

Kristina

 

[Yvonne G]

They also point out that adult sulcatas make almost no urine, due to having a lack of water in their original local, they have adapted. I'm just regurging what I read, and I was concerned about overhydration.

I used to keep Dudley in the back yard and his house was off the porch and right next to the car port. So there was the cement floor of the car port, with a sheet of plywood over that then the rubber horse stall mat. When Dudley pee'd inside his house, it ran out under the cinder block wall and across the floor of the car port. It looked like someone left the hose running! Because Dudley has access to water any time he wants a drink, he pees almost every day.

Yvonne