sulcata advise (pics of my new babys and home)

[prawny]

Hello, we are new tortoise owners and have two beautiful Sulcata's called Sledge (the bigger one) and Snafu (our tiny one) we were told they are around 1 year old, however as you can see, Sledge is quite a bit larger than Snafu... We weighed and measured them last weekend and Sledge is 9 1/2cm and weighs 300 grams, and Snafu is 7cm and weighs 125 grams. Can anyone tell us at an estimate a true age for the each of them??
We currently have them in a 4ft vivarium with a mix of the hemp substrate, with bark chips and sand at one end for variety, but any advice on the best substrate to use is welcome.
I feed them a mix of curly Kale, Spinach, Romaine Lettuce, Rocket and parsley, but occasionally give them dry mixes of plants too such as the dandelion or clover and plantain that you get in pet stores, as well picking fresh grass and clover and weeds from the garden, and on warm days they have a run around and munch for themselves, I also regularly give them the calcium supplements they require. But again any advice on food would be great. I hope you enjoy our snap shot of them having fun!!! They bring us so much happiness!

 

[Missy]

Hello, cute torts. It is hard to tell how old they are as there is so many factors to consider. Looking at the pics I would guess that a year is about right. Cypress mulch or cocoanut choir and dirt is my favorite substrate. Do you soak them? As far as the food you feed the only problem I see is the spinach, it is not good for them. Not sure about the parsley. Grass, weeds such as plantain and spring mix should be the main diet at that age. Have you tried cactus yet? They love it and it is great for them. Cuttle bone is a good way to let them eat as much calcium as they need and is good to help keep the beak trimmed. Be careful with calcium supplements that contain B vitamin as to much is not good and if they get sun they don't need it at all. Looking forward to seeing your torts grow and thanks for sharing your pics

 

[Yourlocalpoet]

I'd go easy on the kale and romaine too, leafy greens, weeds (the above Missy suggested) and plain old grass is fine.
You have some very pretty looking Sulcata's there, welcome to TFO Que Tom, for advice on humidity...

 

[Tom]

Ha! Am I that predictable?

Hello and welcome to the forum. These are great looking babies and I've got lots to say, but I have to go right now. I'll find this thread and put in my two cents later.

 

[Tom]

Okay. I'm back. Those babies look fantastic. They are very smooth and high domed. You do realize you have something very special there, right? Where did you get them and how were they raised as far as housing, diet, etc...? Someone did a great job with them and we have a long, ongoing debate about how to raise them smooth like that here on the forum. Any info about their prior history would be very helpful and much appreciated.

Its impossible to tell the age from a pic. I've had them smaller than your smaller one at one year old and right now I've got some that are 100 days old and nearly that size. They grow at very different rates, depending on a lot of factors.

Substrate: I'd ditch the hemp and sand and just use your "bark chips". Keep it moist in there to keep the humidity up, but also keep the temps above 75 at the lowest for a while longer. Once they get 6-8" you can ease up on the humidity and let the night temps drop into the high 60's. Just don't let them get damp AND cold at the same time for very long.

I'd soak them every day too. This will keep them well hydrated and keep those beautiful shells growing smooth like that. I've been having great success with spraying their shells several time a day too. Yours are already very well started, but I'd keep it going, if I were you.

Basking Spot: It looks like your light projects down on to the top of your half log. I'd move the log over to the right side and put a flat rock or a piece of slate or flagstone right under the light, so they can bask.

Diet: Lots of variety. Here are some of my favorites: Grasses and weeds from a safe source, cactus, grape hibiscus rose and mulberry leaves, grocery store greens and occasional Mazuri tortoise chow mixed in with any of the above.

Sunshine: I like to do at least an hour or two a day whenever possible. Its really beneficial for a whole host of reasons.

Good luck with them.

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi Prawny:

Your babies are beautiful! Someone has done a great job of growing them smooth.

Welcome to the forum!!

 

[prawny]

Hey guys thank you so much for your in put, we are so pleased they meet approval, we got them at an exotics pet store in Warminster and he said he gets them from a friend/supplier that has 4 females and 2 males. So they are bred in the Wiltshire/Somerset area, I will try to find out more info for you though. We fell in love with them the minute we saw them!
The lamp you can see above the log is their UV, the basking lamp is the other end, they tend to spend most of their time over there and sleep that end too. - Which is so cute! They dream!
We do soak them yes, not that they appreciate it much, and I haven't tried cactus, where could I get some in the UK? I read that prickly pear is good too?? I found a site that sells pot plants of them so you can grow it at home for them but haven't ordered yet.

 

[Missy]

Prickly pear is great and you can get it in a thorn free variety. I would recommend ordering some and start growing your own supply. I also feed Christmas cactus, aloe, hen & chicks. Glad to hear you soak them even tho they don't like it, LOL. I put lettuce in Tanks water and it keeps him busy chasing it around and gets him to drink as he eats. Lana seems to like her bath and just sits there and soaks

 

[Yourlocalpoet]

Hey guys thank you so much for your in put, we are so pleased they meet approval, we got them at an exotics pet store in Warminster and he said he gets them from a friend/supplier that has 4 females and 2 males. So they are bred in the Wiltshire/Somerset area, I will try to find out more info for you though. We fell in love with them the minute we saw them!
The lamp you can see above the log is their UV, the basking lamp is the other end, they tend to spend most of their time over there and sleep that end too. - Which is so cute! They dream!
We do soak them yes, not that they appreciate it much, and I haven't tried cactus, where could I get some in the UK? I read that prickly pear is good too?? I found a site that sells pot plants of them so you can grow it at home for them but haven't ordered yet.

Are you from Wiltshire?
I get my prickly pear from here, http://www.glenhirstcactiandpalms.co.uk/index.html, they're based in Boston, Lincs and are lovely people, I believe they have a few tortoises of their own.

Oh and you do know how big Sulcatas get right?

 

[prawny]

Haha yeh we are well aware how big they will be LOL. It's partly why we wanted them so much. Though it is hard to believe something so little can get so huge! They are so funny to watch though, they already think they can move anything! Like the coffee table, or their tank!
Thank you lots for the web address. and yes we are in Wiltshire, we live in Trowbridge?
I will definitely be investing in some prickly pears soon! I'm very interested that you feed them aloe??? We just started our own business with Aloe based products that are safe for animals, we supply Aloe drinks, but I assume I could buy an Aloe Vera plant and then feed them the leaves?

 

[Yourlocalpoet]

Haha yeh we are well aware how big they will be LOL. It's partly why we wanted them so much. Though it is hard to believe something so little can get so huge! They are so funny to watch though, they already think they can move anything! Like the coffee table, or their tank!
Thank you lots for the web address. and yes we are in Wiltshire, we live in Trowbridge?
I will definitely be investing in some prickly pears soon! I'm very interested that you feed them aloe??? We just started our own business with Aloe based products that are safe for animals, we supply Aloe drinks, but I assume I could buy an Aloe Vera plant and then feed them the leaves?

Yes Aloe Vera plants are perfectly fine as part of a varied diet. There is a wealth of information throughout the forum on just about everything Sulcata related so you should have no problem finding out what ever else you need to know about them.
Wiltshire is my favourite county, well besides Yorkshire! You won't be too far from Bradford on Avon then? I've never been to Trowbridge but I've visited Sailsbury and Longleat (for the safari park obviously ) many a time.
Good luck with your babies.

 

[prawny]

Haha yeh we are well aware how big they will be LOL. It's partly why we wanted them so much. Though it is hard to believe something so little can get so huge! They are so funny to watch though, they already think they can move anything! Like the coffee table, or their tank!
Thank you lots for the web address. and yes we are in Wiltshire, we live in Trowbridge?
I will definitely be investing in some prickly pears soon! I'm very interested that you feed them aloe??? We just started our own business with Aloe based products that are safe for animals, we supply Aloe drinks, but I assume I could buy an Aloe Vera plant and then feed them the leaves?

Yes Aloe Vera plants are perfectly fine as part of a varied diet. There is a wealth of information throughout the forum on just about everything Sulcata related so you should have no problem finding out what ever else you need to know about them.
Wiltshire is my favourite county, well besides Yorkshire! You won't be too far from Bradford on Avon then? I've never been to Trowbridge but I've visited Sailsbury and Longleat (for the safari park obviously ) many a time.
Good luck with your babies.

Hey, yes we are only like 10/15 mins away from Bradford? Where are you? You certainly aren't missing much not visiting Trowbridge, haha, but Bath is worth a trip, period buildings and the Roman Baths, and yes Salisbury is beautiful! Funnily enough I have never been through the Longleat safari it's something I must do!
That's great about the Aloe then, I can buy a plant and see if they will drink it also.

 

[chadk]

This site has some good info:
http://www.sulcata-station.org/

http://www.sulcata-station.org/pdf/hatchfail.pdf

 

[Yourlocalpoet]

Haha yeh we are well aware how big they will be LOL. It's partly why we wanted them so much. Though it is hard to believe something so little can get so huge! They are so funny to watch though, they already think they can move anything! Like the coffee table, or their tank!
Thank you lots for the web address. and yes we are in Wiltshire, we live in Trowbridge?
I will definitely be investing in some prickly pears soon! I'm very interested that you feed them aloe??? We just started our own business with Aloe based products that are safe for animals, we supply Aloe drinks, but I assume I could buy an Aloe Vera plant and then feed them the leaves?

Yes Aloe Vera plants are perfectly fine as part of a varied diet. There is a wealth of information throughout the forum on just about everything Sulcata related so you should have no problem finding out what ever else you need to know about them.
Wiltshire is my favourite county, well besides Yorkshire! You won't be too far from Bradford on Avon then? I've never been to Trowbridge but I've visited Sailsbury and Longleat (for the safari park obviously ) many a time.
Good luck with your babies.

Hey, yes we are only like 10/15 mins away from Bradford? Where are you? You certainly aren't missing much not visiting Trowbridge, haha, but Bath is worth a trip, period buildings and the Roman Baths, and yes Salisbury is beautiful! Funnily enough I have never been through the Longleat safari it's something I must do!
That's great about the Aloe then, I can buy a plant and see if they will drink it also.

I'm from South Yorkshire but I used to have family in Bradford on Avon so I used to visit Wiltshire quite a bit when I was younger and of course I've marvelled at Stone Henge a few times and fed the goats! You should go to Longleat safari, they have a spur thigh tortoise called Winky who lost one of her limbs and she now has a little wheel instead so she can get about!