Question! New baby Sulcata rescue here

[JacobK]

Hey everyone, first and foremost I REALLY appreciate this forum, has helped me tremendously the past week getting this little guy set up. Saw this guy on the corner down the street at a scary market, felt called to save him. This is Charlie the sulcata! I have noticed a little bubblie discharge from his nose only a few times, usually during a bath. He is eating a lot, sleeping quite a bit, also moving around. Should I take him to the vet incase of respiratory infection? I am soaking him in warm water 30 minutes a day, his temporary enclosure and heating set up is not perfect, but he has 90 degree hot spot, and no lower than 85 anywhere else. I know the gradient should vary 80 - 100+ at basking. He does have humid hide. Currently cypress mulch, getting orchid bark next. keeping humidity between 60-70%, enclosure is open top which I understand is not best. Built him a 4ft x 2ft enclosure and have a 36 inch UVB tube light coming, at that time I'll lock in a 100+ basking spot w a lamp or CHE. His shell is hard, a little flexie on the bottom in the middle, like a plastic lid. I am feeding him mostly collard greens with also some camomille flowers, using the D3 powder supplement every few days also, just ordered some cuttlebone. He LOVES to eat. Eats a lot. Im overthinking the whole thing I just don't want him to get sick or die I have no idea how he was being cared for before I got him. I guess my main question is does he look healthy? Should I be concered he has Respiratory infection? Vet trip? also the skin around his little back feet looked sort of puffy or full of fluid, concern there?? He is currently eating and walking around a lot seems happy. I know my set up isn't great at this moment, I am totally ok with receiving some harsh words about it I want to make it perfect!! Thank you all
my plan is to use a sealant to treat the wooden enclosure so that the humidity wont mold or rot it, build a lid for it to keep heat + humidity in. I know that humidity should be closer to 80% at all times right?
-Jacob

 

[JacobK]

**NOTE** the temp in that image from his enclosure is wrong I had just placed the thermometer in there when I took that photo after setting everything up. it reads 90

 

[Tom]

**NOTE** the temp in that image from his enclosure is wrong I had just placed the thermometer in there when I took that photo after setting everything up. it reads 90

You've mostly got the right idea. No one should be giving you any harsh words.

I'll point out a few things:
1. If you don't want him to pyramid, get him into a closed chamber ASAP. Open tops don't work for sulcatas and other species from the tropics that need it warm and humid. It doesn't have to be something expensive. There are many ways to do it. Tinfoil, green house, etc... Trying to heat and humidify an open topped enclosure is like trying to heat your house in winter with no roof on it. It can't work.
2. Collard greens are okay once in a while but not frequently. Weeds and freshly sprouted grass, which are both every here right now due to the rain, are the best foods for him, and they are free. Learn to ID your local weeds. Post pics here and we can help. Chop soft tender freshly sprouted grass into small pieces and mix that in with chopped up piles of favorite foods to get him eating it. I'll link the care sheet at the bottom that explains the food thing in more detail, but stay away from grocery store greens when possible. If you must use grocery store greens, use the right ones, and add in amendments to make them better.
3. Wood is not a god material to make tortoise enclosures from. Torts need damp substrate, and there is no store bought treatment that will protect wood from the constant moisture. In your case this doesn't matter as you will need to be building or buying something much larger than 4 feet in a few months, so the wood won't have time to rot.

Here is the care info. There is a sulcata care sheet near the bottom:

Info For New People. Please Read This First.

Hello and welcome to tortoiseforum.org! We are all glad you are here! There is no other forum like this anywhere. We have tens of thousands of members from all over the world ranging from kids with their first tortoise to people who have been breeding and keeping high end tortoises since the...

tortoiseforum.org

 

[JacobK]

You've mostly got the right idea. No one should be giving you any harsh words.

I'll point out a few things:
1. If you don't want him to pyramid, get him into a closed chamber ASAP. Open tops don't work for sulcatas and other species from the tropics that need it warm and humid. It doesn't have to be something expensive. There are many ways to do it. Tinfoil, green house, etc... Trying to heat and humidify an open topped enclosure is like trying to heat your house in winter with no roof on it. It can't work.
2. Collard greens are okay once in a while but not frequently. Weeds and freshly sprouted grass, which are both every here right now due to the rain, are the best foods for him, and they are free. Learn to ID your local weeds. Post pics here and we can help. Chop soft tender freshly sprouted grass into small pieces and mix that in with chopped up piles of favorite foods to get him eating it. I'll link the care sheet at the bottom that explains the food thing in more detail, but stay away from grocery store greens when possible. If you must use grocery store greens, use the right ones, and add in amendments to make them better.
3. Wood is not a god material to make tortoise enclosures from. Torts need damp substrate, and there is no store bought treatment that will protect wood from the constant moisture. In your case this doesn't matter as you will need to be building or buying something much larger than 4 feet in a few months, so the wood won't have time to rot.

Here is the care info. There is a sulcata care sheet near the bottom:

Info For New People. Please Read This First.

Hello and welcome to tortoiseforum.org! We are all glad you are here! There is no other forum like this anywhere. We have tens of thousands of members from all over the world ranging from kids with their first tortoise to people who have been breeding and keeping high end tortoises since the...

tortoiseforum.org

Tom thank you. Your 'The Best Way To Raise A Sulcata, Leopard, Or Star Tortoise' guide has been incredible. Would you mind sharing with me some specifics on products you use? Would love to get the same reptile thermostat and also the timer that you use.
One last enclosure question:
If I get a large PVC Enclosure - 1ft height is not going to be enough to get the bulbs inside will it? Asking because someone is selling on craigslist for a great price. Otherwise the one I am looking to get is this:
I'm sure you are familiar with this brand Kages, any cosign on that?

5x2x2 - 7" Substrate Custom PVC Reptile Enclosure | Kages

Kages 60x24x24 custom PVC reptile cage with 7" substrate board. Bioactive reptile enclosures shipped free! American made custom PVC reptile habitats.

reptilekages.com

 

[Alex and the Redfoot]

From my limited experience, even 1.5 feet high enclosure is hard to setup right: 4 to 6 inches will be taken away by substrate and you'll need to use more expensive radiant heat panels instead of ceramic heat emitters for ambient heat, be very careful about choosing UVB lamp (standard 12% lamp should be mounted at approximately 18 inches to provide safe UVB level). And what's worse, fitting a basking bulb in a dome is almost impossible.

As for the thermostats, BN-Link and Inkbird on/off thermostats are most commonly used. Timers (timer sockets) from hardware stores should work well enough. If you are on a tech side - "smart" sockets, powerstrips and thermometer/hygrometers can be used. Just don't rely on them for heat control instead of thermostats.

 

[Yvonne G]

Sulcatas quickly outgrow their baby enclosures. And because of that my personal opinion is that the PVC enclosures are too costly and not a good investment.

 

[JacobK]

Sulcatas quickly outgrow their baby enclosures. And because of that my personal opinion is that the PVC enclosures are too costly and not a good investment.

7x2 or 6x3 enough to last a couple years? I live in an 1,100 sq ft apartment in downtown LA. Realistically I guess I'm not gonna be able to home him when he gets to the size to need a backyard, but I did rescue him and I would feel bad if I couldn't get him a healthy and happy start here and find a forever home for him later, with the possibility that I end up buying a house with a yard in time to actually keep him

 

[SinLA]

7x2 or 6x3 enough to last a couple years? I live in an 1,100 sq ft apartment in downtown LA. Realistically I guess I'm not gonna be able to home him when he gets to the size to need a backyard, but I did rescue him and I would feel bad if I couldn't get him a healthy and happy start here and find a forever home for him later, with the possibility that I end up buying a house with a yard in time to actually keep him

Out of curiosity where did you rescue him from?

There are a zillion tortoises needing homes in the LA area. It will not be easier when they are older

 

[Tom]

Tom thank you. Your 'The Best Way To Raise A Sulcata, Leopard, Or Star Tortoise' guide has been incredible. Would you mind sharing with me some specifics on products you use? Would love to get the same reptile thermostat and also the timer that you use.
One last enclosure question:
If I get a large PVC Enclosure - 1ft height is not going to be enough to get the bulbs inside will it? Asking because someone is selling on craigslist for a great price. Otherwise the one I am looking to get is this:
I'm sure you are familiar with this brand Kages, any cosign on that?

5x2x2 - 7" Substrate Custom PVC Reptile Enclosure | Kages

Kages 60x24x24 custom PVC reptile cage with 7" substrate board. Bioactive reptile enclosures shipped free! American made custom PVC reptile habitats.

reptilekages.com

You are correct. 12 inches is too low. 24" is great.

For the price of that enclosure, you might as well buy one of Mark's Smart Enclosures. It will be cheaper once you add in all the heating, lighting, thermostats, etc, and the design of Mark's works so much better than just a plain cage. Plus Mark's are 3x8 feet, so when used in combination with an outdoor enclosure, that will last him until he is large enough to live outside full time.

 

[JacobK]

Out of curiosity where did you rescue him from?

There are a zillion tortoises needing homes in the LA area. It will not be easier when they are older

corner of 5th and los angeles ave, outdoor market selling tons of birds, a turltle, this tort, and a handful of guinea pigs that looked like they were moments from death. it was bleak.

 

[SinLA]

corner of 5th and los angeles ave, outdoor market selling tons of birds, a turltle, this tort, and a handful of guinea pigs that looked like they were moments from death. it was bleak.

Ugh, I feel ya. Yeah so you know right off it wasn't raised well, so you are going to have to do a lot terms of humidity and using a closed chamber. But understand, if you go ton craigslist any day of the week you will see people offering adult sulcatas for "re-homing". if you go to CTTC webpage they have a lot of sulcatas that need rescuing.

I'm glad you took him in, just know you basically bought a baby pony that either you'll have to be able to supply space for, or have to find someone else who has room for a pony down the road

 

[JacobK]

at this point I feel like I would only be comfortable rehoming him with someone who is experienced and has implemented all of the care standards in the guide Tom wrote. Hard pill to swallow, I am equipped and ready to care for him until he gets too big for a 7x2 or 6x3 enclosure, not sure what the right thing to do is

 

[SinLA]

at this point I feel like I would only be comfortable rehoming him with someone who is experienced and has implemented all of the care standards in the guide Tom wrote. Hard pill to swallow, I am equipped and ready to care for him until he gets too big for a 7x2 or 6x3 enclosure, not sure what the right thing to do is

Sounds good. Welcome to the world of Tortoise Ownership!

 

[Alex and the Redfoot]

You may give him a chance to survive and took him out of misery and suffering. While he grows you can look for a suitable new home and a long happy life afterwards. It's a good deed, anyway, I think.

Maybe you'll get a new home and acres of tortoise heaven so he will stay as lifetime companion of yours.

 

[Dcatalano]

at this point I feel like I would only be comfortable rehoming him with someone who is experienced and has implemented all of the care standards in the guide Tom wrote. Hard pill to swallow, I am equipped and ready to care for him until he gets too big for a 7x2 or 6x3 enclosure, not sure what the right thing to do is

My husband lined our wooden tortoise enclosure with plexiglass. It provides a water barrier so the substrate doesn’t rot the wood. Ours is only bottom lined and I mist the substrate to keep it damp - we have an adult Russian who spends time outside as well (no humidity there).
I don’t know if that will work for you, and plexiglass isn’t cheap so you may be better off investing in the enclosure Tom mentioned, but thought I’d share what works for us.

 

[Maggie3fan]

at this point I feel like I would only be comfortable rehoming him with someone who is experienced and has implemented all of the care standards in the guide Tom wrote. Hard pill to swallow, I am equipped and ready to care for him until he gets too big for a 7x2 or 6x3 enclosure, not sure what the right thing to do is

This is only my personal opinion...if you know in your heart you won't be able to provide outside exposure in the future for Charlie, start looking for a forever home now while he's small and cute. It will be emotionally harder and physically harder to find a home for a bigger Sulcata a year from now. Sulcata are like feral cats on the West Coast, you generally won't be able to place him in a rescue, or a zoo or most homes...I don't mean any disrespect, but that is my experience there's just too many common Sulcata

 

[EppsDynasty]

at this point I feel like I would only be comfortable rehoming him with someone who is experienced and has implemented all of the care standards in the guide Tom wrote. Hard pill to swallow, I am equipped and ready to care for him until he gets too big for a 7x2 or 6x3 enclosure, not sure what the right thing to do is

Our Family would love to work with you. It is obvious you do care for him that's the start.

 

[Paulam023]

My husband lined our wooden tortoise enclosure with plexiglass. It provides a water barrier so the substrate doesn’t rot the wood. Ours is only bottom lined and I mist the substrate to keep it damp - we have an adult Russian who spends time outside as well (no humidity there).
I don’t know if that will work for you, and plexiglass isn’t cheap so you may be better off investing in the enclosure Tom mentioned, but thought I’d share what works for us.

Just a thought. You could buy a pond liner to use inside the wood to protect from rot and it would help with humidity. Good luck !!

 

[Dcatalano]

Just a thought. You could buy a pond liner to use inside the wood to protect from rot and it would help with humidity. Good luck !!

Thanks! The plexiglass is working well for now!