Substrate

[Luuee]

Hi ,
1.May i know what the use of substrate for baby sulcata?
2.What is the list of substrate can use for baby sulcata?
3.Is it we must get exoterra UV light which is more premium for baby sulcata or we can get any cheaper version that also gives off uva and uvb light ?

 

[Tom]

Hi ,
1.May i know what the use of substrate for baby sulcata?
2.What is the list of substrate can use for baby sulcata?
3.Is it we must get exoterra UV light which is more premium for baby sulcata or we can get any cheaper version that also gives off uva and uvb light ?

1. Best substrate is fine grade orchid bark.
2. Other choices would be coco coir or cypress mulch.
3. There are four elements to heating and lighting:

1. Basking bulb. I use 65 watt incandescent floods from the hardware store. Some people will need bigger, or smaller wattage bulbs. Let your thermometer be your guide. I run them on a timer for about 12 hours and adjust the height to get the correct basking temp under them. I also like to use a flat rock of some sort directly under the bulb. You need to check the temp with a thermometer directly under the bulb and get it to around 95-100F (36-37C).
2. Ambient heat maintenance. I use ceramic heating elements or radiant heat panels set on thermostats to maintain ambient above 80 degrees day and night for tropical species. You'd only need day heat for a temperate species like Testudo or DT, as long as your house stays above 60F (15-16C) at night.
3. Light. I use LEDs for this purpose. Something in the 5000-6500K color range will look the best. Most bulbs at the store are in the 2500K range and they look yellowish. Strip or screw-in bulb types are both fine.
4. UV. If you can get your tortoise outside for an hour 2 or 3 times a week, you won't need indoor UV. In the UK, get one of the newer HO type fluorescent tubes. Which type will depend on mounting height. 5.0 bulbs make almost no UV. I like the 12%. You need a meter to check this: https://www.solarmeter.com/model65.html

All of this and more is right here:

The Best Way To Raise A Sulcata, Leopard, Or Star Tortoise

I chose the title of this care sheet very carefully. Are there other ways to raise babies? Yes. Yes there are, but those ways are not as good. What follows is the BEST way, according to 30 years of research and experimentation with hundreds of babies of many species. Babies hatch during the...

tortoiseforum.org

 

[Luuee]

1. Best substrate is fine grade orchid bark.
2. Other choices would be coco coir or cypress mulch.
3. There are four elements to heating and lighting:

1. Basking bulb. I use 65 watt incandescent floods from the hardware store. Some people will need bigger, or smaller wattage bulbs. Let your thermometer be your guide. I run them on a timer for about 12 hours and adjust the height to get the correct basking temp under them. I also like to use a flat rock of some sort directly under the bulb. You need to check the temp with a thermometer directly under the bulb and get it to around 95-100F (36-37C).
2. Ambient heat maintenance. I use ceramic heating elements or radiant heat panels set on thermostats to maintain ambient above 80 degrees day and night for tropical species. You'd only need day heat for a temperate species like Testudo or DT, as long as your house stays above 60F (15-16C) at night.
3. Light. I use LEDs for this purpose. Something in the 5000-6500K color range will look the best. Most bulbs at the store are in the 2500K range and they look yellowish. Strip or screw-in bulb types are both fine.
4. UV. If you can get your tortoise outside for an hour 2 or 3 times a week, you won't need indoor UV. In the UK, get one of the newer HO type fluorescent tubes. Which type will depend on mounting height. 5.0 bulbs make almost no UV. I like the 12%. You need a meter to check this: https://www.solarmeter.com/model65.html

All of this and more is right here:

The Best Way To Raise A Sulcata, Leopard, Or Star Tortoise

I chose the title of this care sheet very carefully. Are there other ways to raise babies? Yes. Yes there are, but those ways are not as good. What follows is the BEST way, according to 30 years of research and experimentation with hundreds of babies of many species. Babies hatch during the...

tortoiseforum.org

 

[Luuee]

What would happen if we don use substrate?

 

[ZenHerper]

What would happen if we don use substrate?

Their muscles and joints will not work properly and the legs become deformed and disabled. They need to walk on a substrate that simulates the earth's surface.

Tortoises also burrow for a number of reasons and need a deep substrate for this purpose. Without the ability to burrow, young tortoises experience stress.

Baby tortoises need high humidity. Deep substrate that holds water makes their habitat like the rain-soaked places where they are born in the spring. Without this humidity, the quickly growing shell hardens too quickly and becomes deformed.