We have a lot of sulcata breeders in Germany. Sulcata tortoise babies had become cheap. You can buy one baby for 50 - 100 Euro.
Tom the information on the caresheet is much more accurate compared to most reptile shops. People including veteran tortoise owners have their own way to care towards tortoises. So nothing will be 100% perfect. You are successful on how you care for your tortoises. And i am successful that way i care for mine. This also goes for the owner of the Serpentarium. The Natural reptile bedding has never caused any impaction for animals that are on it. 10’s of thousands have used it and i never heard of any animal with impaction from this substrate. My young suclata has been on this substrate since he was a few weeks old and i Just saw him take the most beautiful poop 5 mintues ago. I have 6 other tortoises on this substrate and they are absolutely pooping and thriving like they should be. I very much respect your concens but I absolutely recommend this substrate.
On your first point, a lot of "veteran tortoise keepers" do it wrong. Frankly they've been killing the kidneys of their babies for decades and have no idea. When a baby dies weeks or months later, they blame the new keeper, because in their mind, a problem months down the road could not be from something they've been doing for decades with what they incorrectly perceive as "no problems". One of the premier tortoise keeping facilities that receives accolades from people all over the world has been producing stunted pyramided babies for years because they have been erroneously trying to emulate "natural" methods of raising babies. Nearly every point on that care sheet is wrong. If people follow it they will end up with stunted, pyramided or dead babies. I know this because I used to do it that way before I figured this all out and corrected my care methods. I also watched 100s of customers, friends, family, and acquaintances do it that way too, all with the same bad results. This is not a question of my way or someone else's successful way. This is a case of a way that works and a way that doesn't. @DeanS raises his babies in a different way than me. @Sterant raises his babies in a different way than me. @Markw84 raises his babies differently than me. All of those guys have amazing success and I don't argue with them because it works. I try to learn from them in fact. The instructions on that care sheet don't work. Not at all. Not for anyone.
I don't feel like this is an argument. It is two tortoise keepers discussing tortoise care. You asked what was wrong with the care sheet and I spelled out what I think is wrong with it. You have used the bedding for a while without problems, but I've seen problems with those ingredients, so I spelled that out too.
That's the stupidest thing I've EVER seen!
What isn't?
I don't see any problem calling them "beasts". The original definition of "beast" is a large animal, like a big cat, wolf, cow, donkey, rhinocerous etc. We have twisted the meaning of the word to make it a negative and insulting one.
I don't see any problem calling them "beasts". The original definition of "beast" is a large animal, like a big cat, wolf, cow, donkey, rhinocerous etc. We have twisted the meaning of the word to make it a negative and insulting one.
They are formidable and wonderful beasts!
