Seeking Sulcata Advice

[turtlewurx]

Hi.
I'm new to keeping Sulcatas. I've got 4 babies. (About the size of a silver dollar) My care routine is cobbled together from several sources, and I tend to be a bit paranoid at times. I figured that rather than worry if I'm doing something wrong, I'd just post my routine here & ask for a critique from the experts. I'll lay out how I take care of them below. If anyone has suggestions on what to improve, I'm all ears.

OK, I have them in a 4'x4' table, with an organic potting soil/mulch mix. I have Bermuda grass growing in the soil for them to eat. They have a Zoo Med PowerSun UV Mercury Vapor Lamp 100 Watt that provides UVA/UVB & heat. (There's also a 400 watt Mercury Halide for the grass.) There's a drain at the bottom of the table, so that the soil doesn't get too damp. The soil's about 3" deep, so they can dig if they want. The table has 4 hides. (At the moment -as you can see from the pics below, the lighting is on the unsightly side. I'll be fixing all of that soon. Running the wiring in conduit, making a hang board for the lights, etc.)

I feed them once a day (about a double handfull) mix of Romaine Lettuce and Mustard Greens with Timothy hay mixed in.

Once a week I sprinkle about half a teaspoon of Rep-Cal Calcium with Vitamin D3 Ultrafine Powder over their food.

Once a day I give them a soak in warm water. (I've read mixed comments on leaving in or taking out the water after the soak, but I've noticed the guys will climb back in every now & then, so I decided to leave the water dish in the table & just change the water daily with their new soak.)

Table temps are about 100 degrees under the lamp & between 75 & 80 on the cool side.

 

[cemmons12]

I'm no expert, but since I have a 14 month old that weighs 5+ pounds already (I always have to brag on his size!) I would drop the romain for baby spring mix. And u can use collard greens, kale, and turnip greens also. I'm sure u will get a lot of great advice very soon! Have a great day!

 

[StudentoftheReptile]

I'm still a little bit of a newb myself, but it appears you're definitely on the right track. Very nice set-up.

My suggestions:

• Vary the diet with more greens; like cemmons said, lose the lettuce and offer more collards, turnip greens, mustard greens, Spring Mix salad, etc.
• Find a way to cover that open top. This will help retain humidity.

Other than that, your temps are about right (although we probably would like to know what the nighttime temps get to). Likewise, your lighting/heating is fine, although I wonder about the brightness of the halogen bulb (blindness?). Several members have claimed success growing plants and sprouts with regular household bulbs.

Your soaking regiment sounds okay. Overall, looks good.

 

[dmarcus]

I think your tortoises need a better diet...

 

[Tom]

I think over all your system looks good. I love the size of it. So many times I see babies crowded into small enclosures and I just think bigger is better. Just imagine how much walking room a wild hatchling would have as he emerges from his nest chamber...
I too have never used that type of lighting over tortotoises, so your experience with it will be a learning experience for all of us. A couple of things stand out from your post.

1. They need to be soaked in a tub that they cannot climb out of. I like to use water around 90 degrees and soak them for 20-30 minutes each day. Most of the time I soak mine in the afternoon after I sun them. If it is a very hot dry day and they were outside a long time, I might soak them for 20 minutes before sunning and again for 20-30 minutes after sunning.

2. Picking and choosing from different care sheets can sometimes lead to disaster. I have been seeing this more and more. Sulcata care is evolving now and many people have different ideas about what is best. An example of a problem that I have seen is this: People read my care sheet and my "End of Pyramiding" threads and they think the moisture and humidity is a good idea. In the meantime, they have read five other care sheets that recommend a drop in temperature for night. This is fine in the old style dry enclosures with rabbit pellets, but a night temp drop with high humidity can lead to respiratory infections. My recommendation is to find a care sheet that produces the results you want to see, and stick to all of it. Doesn't have to be my care sheet, but if you are going to follow someone's care sheet, I think you should follow all of it. In some cases, like mine, all the elements of the care sheet sort of work together.

 

[turtlewurx]

I think over all your system looks good. I love the size of it. So many times I see babies crowded into small enclosures and I just think bigger is better. Just imagine how much walking room a wild hatchling would have as he emerges from his nest chamber...
I too have never used that type of lighting over tortotoises, so your experience with it will be a learning experience for all of us. A couple of things stand out from your post.

1. They need to be soaked in a tub that they cannot climb out of. I like to use water around 90 degrees and soak them for 20-30 minutes each day. Most of the time I soak mine in the afternoon after I sun them. If it is a very hot dry day and they were outside a long time, I might soak them for 20 minutes before sunning and again for 20-30 minutes after sunning.

2. Picking and choosing from different care sheets can sometimes lead to disaster. I have been seeing this more and more. Sulcata care is evolving now and many people have different ideas about what is best. An example of a problem that I have seen is this: People read my care sheet and my "End of Pyramiding" threads and they think the moisture and humidity is a good idea. In the meantime, they have read five other care sheets that recommend a drop in temperature for night. This is fine in the old style dry enclosures with rabbit pellets, but a night temp drop with high humidity can lead to respiratory infections. My recommendation is to find a care sheet that produces the results you want to see, and stick to all of it. Doesn't have to be my care sheet, but if you are going to follow someone's care sheet, I think you should follow all of it. In some cases, like mine, all the elements of the care sheet sort of work together.

Yeah, I HATE seeing animals in small enclosures. So, I wanted to go BIG.
As for soaking, I was only doing it for 10 min. or so. (That's when they seem to get tired of it & try to leave, so I let them. Should I soak 'em longer?) Mainly what I meant by picking & choosing is that I was looking for a consensus among the different sheets, & I found one or two items that were on one sheet but not another that I used. (For example, I found one sheet that suggested putting a cuttle bone in the table for them. I tried it & the little sullies went nuts for it. ...I assume it's the calcium they were after?)

@ dmarcus, what would you suggest, other than what the other folks have already said?

@ everyone else, thanks for the advice. Think I'll be switching the diet up with your suggestions on the next trip to the grocery store.

btw, anyone else just coming by this this thread, please feel free to offer your advice. I wanna give my guys the best home possible.
JD

 

[cemmons12]

I would have to just say, Tom's care sheets rock!

 

[turtlewurx]

@ Tom, I find myself in a real rush today. I don't suppose you could post a link to your care sheet in this thread? (Sorry to be lazy & not look for it, but as I said, work's been insane lately, & I don't have much time to get on the internet... even though it's my business & I should be able to take a break if I want to.)

 

[Missy]

Super cute babies I hope you have a huge yard, LOL.

 

[Tom]

Here are several threads for you. The care sheet is the second one down, but I think you might like some of the others too.

http://www.tortoiseforum.org/Thread-Helpful-Threads#axzz1qzrYCWBY

I think it is great that you are so open to helpful suggestions and that you want the best for them.

 

[dmarcus]

Try other types of dark leafy greens (turnip, Bok Choy, turnip). Sometimes my local stores will stock things like water crest and so I fed that when I can. Opuntia cactus is good to feed and in Texas you can get them cheap at most hispanic grocery stores. Also if you have the space outside you can get plants like hibiscus, mulberry tree, rose bushes or even different types of succulents. The list is endless and the more you grow yourself the cheaper it will be to feed your little ones when they get bigger.