Size of 1 yr old Sulcata....? Advice?

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maggie3fan said:
But you just yelled at one of our most experienced keepers and that bothers me.
I use cypress mulch for my substrate. Depending on where you live sometimes it can be difficult to impossible to get something that does not have pine in it. Pine is toxic to tortoises so watch out for that. You can also use eco earth or coir and mix that 50/50 with clean play sand. I don't like using anything that says sand.
You have great lawn so why are they on a towel? They should be on the grass to graze it. You can also use fine grade orchid bark. You need to get them off that hay substrate. Did you want to tell use what you are feeding? Your desert babies carapaces look just fine.

I did not yell, or mean to. I was using caps to make sure it clear that they are not kept that way, as I had never even said that. They do get out almost daily, especially now that it is warming up (located in So Cal). That is not hay as their "bedding" it is picked grass from the yard.... which I was told to use by the person I got Sherman from.--I am open to suggestions to change that now, since it is obviously not the best, so thank you for your input.

In regards to the towel question, they are only on the towel to eat the Mazuri as it is much easier for them to eat it on a solid surface than the grass, where it would fall between grass blades and become difficult to reach easily. I also offered some Cactus to them, on the towel, yesterday, as the cactus was in little pieces, and would be almost impossible for them to eat in the grass. The rest of their "outdoor" time is 100% on the grass to graze; they were only on the towel for about 10 minutes to eat their Mazuri and cactus. The towel was on their outdoor enclosure, which is made of a wood frame and mesh/wire on the top to prevent birds, cats, etc. from getting to them. I have an x-pen around that too, for added protection.

Initially, they were just eating grass and weeds in the yard (as I was falsely instructed to feed them). They are now still eating the grass/weeds everytime they are in their outdoor pen, as well as now some Mazuri (I was thinking of giving that to them every other day), some pieces of cactus, sometimes romaine lettuce (rarely), and Dandelions when available. Like I also stated, I also purchased some seeds to grow for them to eat as well. They are currently still in the process of growing.
 

DonaTello's-Mom

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Hi APBT_Fanatic!
I have a 1yr sulcata, DonaTello. For bedding I use 50% Eco-earth and 50% organic top soil. The eco-earch I buy at petco in a solid brick form. Add water and it expands. Mix with top soil and keep it nice and moist. My sully LOVES it. They really love digging it up and making a nice comfy bed out of it. I use timothy hay on top of that too. I take a bunch of timothy and stick it in the corner and in his hide. You can buy it at the pet store,walmart, petco or petsmart. You can also buy a bale from a feed store. He'll make a nest out of it and sleep there, very cozy for them.
 

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DonaTello said:
Hi APBT_Fanatic!
I have a 1yr sulcata, DonaTello. For bedding I use 50% Eco-earth and 50% organic top soil. The eco-earch I buy at petco in a solid brick form. Add water and it expands. Mix with top soil and keep it nice and moist. My sully LOVES it. They really love digging it up and making a nice comfy bed out of it. I use timothy hay on top of that too. I take a bunch of timothy and stick it in the corner and in his hide. You can buy it at the pet store,walmart, petco or petsmart. You can also buy a bale from a feed store. He'll make a nest out of it and sleep there, very cozy for them.

Thank you!!
 

DonaTello's-Mom

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Ok here's 1 side of my enclosure so you can see the bedding and hay....off to the left is his calcium dish. Loves that too...

Photo0899.jpg

He loves to nest in the hay!

Here's his weird shell...

Photo0765.jpg
 

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I generally agree with the advice you got from the person who gave you the tortoise. Those are all good things. Weeds, grass, sun, exercise, soaks and heat. They just aren't the ONLY things. When you get in to some of the fine points, you'll get a different opinion from everybody. Different things work better depending upon a person's situation and climate. The three things I see that would help you are: Changing that substrate to any of the ones suggested above. Add a lot more variety to their diet. Separate those different species.

I have two guesses for your shell deformity. Something went awry during incubation or some sort of deficiency during early growth. The lopsidedness is very unusual and it makes me consider a third possibility: Injury. Maybe he was dropped or smooshed a little as a baby. I'm just guessing here.

Good luck to you. I hope some of this has helped.
 

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Roachman26 said:
I generally agree with the advice you got from the person who gave you the tortoise. Those are all good things. Weeds, grass, sun, exercise, soaks and heat. They just aren't the ONLY things. When you get in to some of the fine points, you'll get a different opinion from everybody. Different things work better depending upon a person's situation and climate. The three things I see that would help you are: Changing that substrate to any of the ones suggested above. Add a lot more variety to their diet. Separate those different species.

I have two guesses for your shell deformity. Something went awry during incubation or some sort of deficiency during early growth. The lopsidedness is very unusual and it makes me consider a third possibility: Injury. Maybe he was dropped or smooshed a little as a baby. I'm just guessing here.

Good luck to you. I hope some of this has helped.

Okay, thanks.

In regards to his shell being deformed/lopesided, does it appear to also be pyramiding, or it is just a deformity?

Just to update everybody else, I will be trying the substrate DonaTello's-Mom uses.
 

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Some babies come out of the egg all pushed in and slightly deformed. It might be that there wasn't enough humidity inside the incubator. I don't think that's anything to worry about. I'll bet he'll straighten up eventually.

I think its great that you are able to keep the young tortoises outside. There's nothing better for their physical and mental well-being than being outside in the sun!

As far as the different kinds of advice...

Even though folks have been keeping tortoises for many years, tortoises are still considered "wild animals." They haven't been messed with enough to be considered "domesticated" yet. And there is no one way for any person to take care of a tortoise. We all just do the best we can with what we have. You have to read all the different advices and take what will work for your personal situation.

Here on the forum, we try to give you the benefit of our experience. And we each have our own way to take care of our tortoises. Doesn't mean my way is better than Kate's way, or that Roachman's is better than Stephanie's. What works for me here in Central California might be the totally wrong way for someone in New York. There is no "one-size-fits-all." That's what is so wrong with some of the YAHOO tortoise sites. We encourage everyone to share the way they care for their tortoises. That's the way we all learn.

So, do your research. Listen to what we all have to say, then pick what you think is going to work for you and your situation.
 
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