Questions about my sulcata

[dragonmomma]

Where do I find mazuri? How do you keep the greens?

 

[SulcataSquirt]

Their are a few members here that sell Mazuri in smaller quanitys, if you do a search on here you can find several, on member that i have bought from is Jdub its fresh and youll get it fast. feeding mazuri i soak in hot water until soft and form it in to a mazuri wall, also makes it easy to mix in calcium and vitamins. as for the greens i keep them in a large tupperware in the fridge i wash them under cold water water really well before stuffing in their, right now my greens are just about a month old and still fresh, i have in their dandilion, radicchio, butter lettuce, and endive.

 

[dragonmomma]

Their are a few members here that sell Mazuri in smaller quanitys, if you do a search on here you can find several, on member that i have bought from is Jdub its fresh and youll get it fast. feeding mazuri i soak in hot water until soft and form it in to a mazuri wall, also makes it easy to mix in calcium and vitamins. as for the greens i keep them in a large tupperware in the fridge i wash them under cold water water really well before stuffing in their, right now my greens are just about a month old and still fresh, i have in their dandilion, radicchio, butter lettuce, and endive.

What vitamins do you use?

 

[SulcataSquirt]

I use rep- cal calcium,(bout 3 times a week) rep-cal herptvite(once every 2 weeks) and TNT (Total nutrition for Tortoise-bout 2-3 times a week.

 

[dragonmomma]

Thank you for the information, SulcataSquirt. Much appreciated.

 

[ripper7777777]

Glad to hear it's not MBD, although dehydration is a monster if not caught.

I second the Mazuri, man it's like crack to them, it will get him back up and running, just don't over do it or you'll have a fat little tort to deal with. Soak the Mazuri so that it's soft, then he get's food and water. Make sure to get the greens in also. You can smash the mazuri and dust the greens to entice them. I also spray the greens with water to make sure they take in lots of liquids. Local feed stores may have or can order Mazuri, also you can add cuttle bones to the enclosure (remove the bone backing) they like to snack on them or you can use a knife or small file to scrap the dust on the food. I keep an ambient temp of 80, the adults are more hardy but I don't like any of my babies to get cold. I know others do long soaks, but I don't, 10-15 minutes max, it's mainly a bath to remove any dirt or walked in poop, sulcatas follow the same path a lot and well....

 

[dragonmomma]

Glad to hear it's not MBD, although dehydration is a monster if not caught.

I second the Mazuri, man it's like crack to them, it will get him back up and running, just don't over do it or you'll have a fat little tort to deal with. Soak the Mazuri so that it's soft, then he get's food and water. Make sure to get the greens in also. You can smash the mazuri and dust the greens to entice them. I also spray the greens with water to make sure they take in lots of liquids. Local feed stores may have or can order Mazuri, also you can add cuttle bones to the enclosure (remove the bone backing) they like to snack on them or you can use a knife or small file to scrap the dust on the food. I keep an ambient temp of 80, the adults are more hardy but I don't like any of my babies to get cold. I know others do long soaks, but I don't, 10-15 minutes max, it's mainly a bath to remove any dirt or walked in poop, sulcatas follow the same path a lot and well....

Thanks, Ripper7777777, I will give it a try. Tank is moving a little more,
but he still hasn't started eating...😔

 

[BrinnANDTorts]

Don't worry you are doing an awesome job and once he starts really moving again and getting his metabolism going he will start to eat like all sullies do
By the way a really good way to check temps in different areas of the cage really fast is with a temp gun
This one on amazon is only like 17 dollars and its what I have
Temp Gun
you just hold done the trigger and point the laser any where in the enclosure to get an immediate temp reading.
Also I prefer zoo med grassland food to the mazuri..the mazuri is mostly soy and has more protein than fiber.
With the grassland food its got a lot more fiber than protein and is mainly hay. With a bunch of other healthy things in it
Some tortoise wont eat it though, I won't feed mazuri cause I don't like that its just soy . It works great for everyone else though so I imagine I am just being too picky.
It's awesome that your little baby is going to be okay.

 

[Maggie Cummings]

What kind of light are you using?

 

[dragonmomma]

What kind of light are you using?

The light my niece got me is a Solar glo 125w self ballasted
mercury vapor bulb.

---

Don't worry you are doing an awesome job and once he starts really moving again and getting his metabolism going he will start to eat like all sullies do
By the way a really good way to check temps in different areas of the cage really fast is with a temp gun
This one on amazon is only like 17 dollars and its what I have
Temp Gun
you just hold done the trigger and point the laser any where in the enclosure to get an immediate temp reading.
Also I prefer zoo med grassland food to the mazuri..the mazuri is mostly soy and has more protein than fiber.
With the grassland food its got a lot more fiber than protein and is mainly hay. With a bunch of other healthy things in it
Some tortoise wont eat it though, I won't feed mazuri cause I don't like that its just soy . It works great for everyone else though so I imagine I am just being too picky.
It's awesome that your little baby is going to be okay.

Hi BrinnANDGupta,
I really appreciate all the information and support.
Tank looks better this evening than he did this morning.
He moved around more during his soaked too.
He is also moving more inhospitable habitat. I erase his footprints,
so I can see his movement.
I have to go walk my dog. I will keep you posted on the progress

---

Don't worry you are doing an awesome job and once he starts really moving again and getting his metabolism going he will start to eat like all sullies do
By the way a really good way to check temps in different areas of the cage really fast is with a temp gun
This one on amazon is only like 17 dollars and its what I have
Temp Gun
you just hold done the trigger and point the laser any where in the enclosure to get an immediate temp reading.
Also I prefer zoo med grassland food to the mazuri..the mazuri is mostly soy and has more protein than fiber.
With the grassland food its got a lot more fiber than protein and is mainly hay. With a bunch of other healthy things in it
Some tortoise wont eat it though, I won't feed mazuri cause I don't like that its just soy . It works great for everyone else though so I imagine I am just being too picky.
It's awesome that your little baby is going to be okay.

Hi BrinnANDGupta,
I really appreciate all the information and support.
Tank looks better this evening than he did this morning.
He moved around more during his soaked too.
He is also moving more in his habitat. I erase his footprints,
so I can see his movement.
I have to go walk my dog. I will keep you posted on the progress

 

[dragonmomma]

Here are some pictures to show Tank, his enclosure etc.
I need help understanding how to keep the "hot/day" side hot and the "cool/night" side cool. The vet has me very confused.

Sorry if the pictures are too big, I am new to this and any suggestions are welcome.

 

[ripper7777777]

This is what I would do, others will do things differently.


First thing just so you know, I prefer Aquariums for the little ones or very deep tubs, higher walls help keep in the humidity and block air currents. Breeder tanks go sale often at pet stores, they are just perfect for reptiles. I use 40 gallon breeders. But really any deep tub will work, I just like to be able to see the little guys and I'm yet to see any of the glass rubbing syndrome. Now the decorative background confuses the heck out of one of the hermanns, he is constantly trying to climb over the rocks in the picture.

I'd change the substrate, I use Coir/Scott's top soil/garden dirt, But just the Scott's or good brand of top soil will work fine. I than cover that with a layer of cypress mulch. I don't use any of the pricey stuff just what I can get from Lowes. Dirt from the yard will work, we just have very hard clay dirt here.

You need a lid or partial cover to help hold in the humidity.

You can add some small plants once you get the soil, Spider plants look nice and tolerate the humidity. I also like to buy small 6 packs of lettuce and plant those, they like to eat it and hopefully it encourages grazing later on.

I wash any soil out from the roots of any plants to get rid of the perlite.


Mist, Mist, Mist, I spray the sides of the tank and peanut and the slate under the heat lamp, than close the lid.


As far as temps Just have warmth and basking on one side and keep the cool side near 80, I prefer it warmer for the little ones and keep a 80 degree minimum. Again a lid helps maintain this.


Tom's Caresheet is an excellent resource for the care of the little ones.

 

[dragonmomma]

This is what I would do, others will do things differently.


First thing just so you know, I prefer Aquariums for the little ones or very deep tubs, higher walls help keep in the humidity and block air currents. Breeder tanks go sale often at pet stores, they are just perfect for reptiles. I use 40 gallon breeders. But really any deep tub will work, I just like to be able to see the little guys and I'm yet to see any of the glass rubbing syndrome. Now the decorative background confuses the heck out of one of the hermanns, he is constantly trying to climb over the rocks in the picture.

I'd change the substrate, I use Coir/Scott's top soil/garden dirt, But just the Scott's or good brand of top soil will work fine. I than cover that with a layer of cypress mulch. I don't use any of the pricey stuff just what I can get from Lowes. Dirt from the yard will work, we just have very hard clay dirt here.T

You need a lid or partial cover to help hold in the humidity.

You can add some small plants once you get the soil, Spider plants look nice and tolerate the humidity. I also like to buy small 6 packs of lettuce and plant those, they like to eat it and hopefully it encourages grazing later on.

I wash any soil out from the roots of any plants to get rid of the perlite.


Mist, Mist, Mist, I spray the sides of the tank and peanut and the slate under the heat lamp, than close the lid.


As far as temps Just have warmth and basking on one side and keep the cool side near 80, I prefer it warmer for the little ones and keep a 80 degree minimum. Again a lid helps maintain this.


Tom's Caresheet is an excellent resource for the care of the little ones.

How does the temperature on the cool side stay at 80? And when the basking light is turned off, how do you keep the warm side at the proper temp?

 

[Dizisdalife]

There are couple of things that I did to control the temperature and the humidity level in my tortoise's enclosure. I feel that they are simple, but important. First, I covered the top of the enclosure. Various methods work. I happened to use some cardboard covered with foil. I cut out holes for the various lamps and hung them straight down. I think they are more effective when hanging down rather than at an angle. I sealed the holes around the lamps with foil making an extension to the hood fixture. Next, I put the ceramic heating element on a thermostat. Actually, I have 2 CHE's and they are both controlled on the same thermostat. When the basking lamp is turned off the CHE's maintain the temperature at the setting I choose. The therostate I bought from LLLReptile. They are about $25. Also, I made a hide out of a plastic box. When my tortoise was small I had a sponge attached to the inside top of the hide to keep the humidity at its highest level. Now, the sponge is on the top of the hide. Not nearly as effective, but does add moisture to the enclosure.

When I did these thing I was able to keep the ambient temp at about 80 and provide a basking spot at around 100. And when the basking light was off the enclosure stayed at about 80 to 85 degrees. I still had to add moisture by spraying the substrate and the sides of my enclosure. I use coco coir for the substrate, but there are others that hold moisture as well.

 

[BrinnANDTorts]

1. I don't think that shallow tube is going to do anything for you...the sides are tall enough and you need to cover the whole enclosure or as much of it as you can.
Something like this

That is just one of the many ways you can create a closed chamber.
The lights need to be inside the enclosure and you need to put a lid over the enclosure and the lights.
Here are more

Get creative and come up with a way to create a closed chamber enclosure for him. You can just go to the pet store and buy a tank. Doesn't have to be a huge one, then buy or build a lamp stand

There is the Zoo Med one, you can get it at Amazon or at Petsmart
Or you can just get 1 by 2 by 8 lumber treated

and string the lights up on them by drilling two holes by side one another and using very strong zip tie to hold the lights up. Then just cover all that in foil..
There are millions of different ways to do , you just need to find what works best for you.

Next you have to get rid of that sand... it's awful substrate and very harmful if ingested
Eco earth bricks from Amazon or Petsmart
Substrate: Coco coir. Cypress mulch. Orchid bark. Plain, additive free, soil. Sphagnum peat moss. Pick one or any combination. I recommend you do NOT use any sand, wood shavings, corn cob bedding, walnut shell bedding, alfalfa or grass pellets, newspaper bedding, any type of hay or any other new fad bedding that comes along. Keep your substrate damp to increase the humidity in the enclosure. If you can keep your humidity around 80% at tortoise level, you'll have a healthy, well hydrated, pyramid free, happy tortoise. Sometimes I cover part of the top of the enclosure to hold in humidity.

Next is the hide
That half log thing looks cool but it's point less for the purposes of a humidity hide
Here are what they should more look like

Humid hide boxes: Use at least one. These will help prevent dehydration and pyramiding and simulate the humid burrows that they would have in the wild, to a degree. I like to use plastic shoe boxes for these and semi-bury them in the substrate. I use a Dremel tool to cut out the right size door hole and a quarter inch drill bit to make a couple of ventilation holes on opposing sides. If they don't use them on their own, I try to "train" them to use them by putting them in the boxes after lights out.
It should be like 90% humidity in the hide

Now the lights
A good Mercury Vapor bulb for basking. I think you already said you had one. They are not suppose to be mounted at an angle like that... That will make your bulb go out in like a couple of months..
They should face straight up and down and create a basking spot of 100 degrees right under the light. They shouldn't light up the whole enclosure just one basking area , your tortoise needs a way to escape the UVB.

Now for if you need addition heat during the day and how you keep the cage warm at night . To do this you use ceramic heat emitters

That you can get at Amazon or Petsmart
These emit no light , just heat . Thats important because your tortoise needs nice bright light for 12 hours and then complete dark for night 12 hours.


Then of course you need humidity gauges like this one for really good accurate humidity

And a Temp gun like this one

More about Heat: I like to use small, 35-50watt, overhead, spot or flood bulbs for this. Always use ceramic fixtures, never the cheaper plastic ones. In a cool house, I'll use a bulb like this AND a ceramic heating element (CHE). Keep them both over one side. This will be the "warm" side and it should be 80-90 degrees. Directly under your bulb will be the "basking spot" and it should be 100-110 degrees, but only in that one spot. The other side of the enclosure should be around 75-80 and will serve as the "cool" side. "Night" temps should stay 75-80ish. These temps will insure that your little tort does not get sick with all the humidity in there. These are the four temps to be concerned with. They should be regularly checked with a temp gun AND a remote probed thermometer. Temps can be adjusted by raising or lowering your bulbs or raising or lowering the wattage. You do not need Mercury Vapor Bulbs or any other UV bulbs if your tortoise gets regular sunshine. 20-30 minutes twice a week is adequate, more is better. Put your light bulb on a timer for around 12 hours a day. They need it dark at night. This is where the CHE comes in. It keeps them warm AND dark at night. Also, I like to project my spot bulb down onto a flat rock or a piece of slate. They can bask on it and it absorbs and radiates the heat from the bulb over a larger area when they are not on it. This also gives you a good place to measure your basking temp with your heat gun.

 

[ripper7777777]

I don't do anything overly pricey or complicated. I use an infrared heat light with a dimmer and a fluorescent tube UVB. The heat lamp is over my basking rock, during the day I turn up the heat and night I turn it down. My tank is insulated on all sides and I cover it with a towel to keep the heat in, so the ambient temps never drop. The lid has a removable section over the cool side to vent any excess heat.

 

[dragonmomma]

I don't do anything overly pricey or complicated. I use an infrared heat light with a dimmer and a fluorescent tube UVB. The heat lamp is over my basking rock, during the day I turn up the heat and night I turn it down. My tank is insulated on all sides and I cover it with a towel to keep the heat in, so the ambient temps never drop. The lid has a removable section over the cool side to vent any excess heat.

I have Tank out basking in the sun. I put lettuce and some pieces of apple in and he is loving the apple!!
First thing he has eaten in days!!!

---

I have Tank out basking in the sun. I put lettuce and some pieces of apple in and he is loving the apple!!
First thing he has eaten in days!!!

 

[elvis]

If you're comfortable, send me private message and I will be happy to send you a small free sample of mazuri, until you can find another source !

 

[Linzbragg]

I am not sure what kind of light bulb it is. I know it is of a mercury vapor bulb.
Most of the time I was using the sunshine, but now that it is winter
it isn't as much.
I also know that what I was told about how warm to keep it was incorrect as well.
It has been too cold for him as well.
I have a lot to learn, I just hope it is not too late for my Tank.
I really do love him!!

I did something very easy and inexpensive to get my tort's humidity up...get an emergency blanket (shiny silver, paper thin blanket for $2 at Walmart in camping section) and cover 3/4 of your cage with it. You can also use aluminum foil, but the blanket is easier to fold over the cage then clip or tape down. I put Herptivite calcium with vitamin D and Herptivite multivitamin on every serving of food. Also, a 150 watt Zoomed basking light (that's also what I put him under during his soak) that also has UVB and a 10.0 Reptisun linear flourescent UVB bulb. I found all of this on Amazon.com for substantially less than any pet store. For soaks, fill a Tupperware dish or something similar with warm water up to your tort's chin. I hope Tank pulls through!

---

Oh man, good luck, I'm sorry you got steered wrong about how to raise your baby. We know a lot now about the humidity, my vet herself has had no success raising sulcata babies because she still believes in the humidity makes respiratory infections thing. She's tried 3 different times and all her babies died. You don't need to worry about respiratory problems, like the others have said, if you keep the temps up. Right now though it sounds like Sunshine is your best friend. I've never had this problem with my sulcata, but have had quite a few other reptile rescues with MBD and have managed to bring them back from the brink. Don't give up, there is hope, with a lot of work and dedication. Come to think of it, before I got my Red eared slider from my mom, it was hers at the time, his shell had gotten so soft you could see his little organs pumping inside, we put him out in the sun and upped his calcium doses, now he's a healthy, if not a little grumpy, turtle. Best of luck to you. You can fix this.

Those poor babies, and a vet too! I would think that at the latest, 2 lost clutches would be enough to realize something wasn't working. So sad all those babies were brought into the world only to be killed by someone who has a career in helping animals. I hate hearing stories like this and it makes me want to spread the word of how to properly raise sullys even more.

 

[SulcataSquirt]

Hi, im not sure if anyone has mentioned this about your set up, but the way you have you lamps secured with the clamps is not safe at all, your looking to have a lamp fall and burn your tortoise, possible cause a fire in your house. Clamp lamps have proven to be pretty fatal to tortoises and causing substrate fires. just a word of warning I would change those ASAP