Sulcata humidity and substrate

Reptilony

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I had posted on my old thread but I dont know If people are seeing it so here it is... At what age does a sulcata doesn't need to be in high humidity? And is the daily soaking enough to prevent pyramiding for adults? Also I know baby's need a substrate that retains humidity well but how about adult's? Do they need a particuliar substrate? I have seen poeple use bare bottom with a hide with hay so they can hide in the hay and some in big sand enclosures.
 

Maro2Bear

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Greetings, what a keeper of torts wants to do is to attempt to simulate the natural environment of origin of their tort. So, if you have a Sully, you want to maintain high temperatures, high humidity, and soaking too. Nice moist substrate.

So, a quick response is that you really never want to stop maintaing high temps, high humidity. Once your Sully gets to a very large size, you want to maintain an enclosure so they can self soak.

Substrate for adults - yes, keep it the same... no hay, no sand.

Hope this helps.
 

Reptilony

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Greetings, what a keeper of torts wants to do is to attempt to simulate the natural environment of origin of their tort. So, if you have a Sully, you want to maintain high temperatures, high humidity, and soaking too. Nice moist substrate.

So, a quick response is that you really never want to stop maintaing high temps, high humidity. Once your Sully gets to a very large size, you want to maintain an enclosure so they can self soak.

Substrate for adults - yes, keep it the same... no hay, no sand.

Hope this helps.
Thank you for your response however it confuses me even more : ) I have read that sulcatas live where it is very dry but hatch in the rainy season, so wouldn't that mean that to mimic the natural habitat it would have to be dry? Also a lot of poeple keep sullys in SoCal so isn't SoCal a very dry place in general?(I've heard they have to be economical on water)
 

Maro2Bear

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Trust me. You want to soak and maintain humidity forever. People keep Sullys all over the globe, from Alaska to California to Florida to upstate New York, and in Europe from top to bottom. Regardless of where the keeper is located, one wants to maintain high temps, high humidity.

Those folks in southern California are coping with really high temps, low humidity right now. But they strive to maintain good humidity and temps if their tort is outside. Same in England, same here in Maryland. Sullys want and need proper temps coupled with humidity.

Hope that helps..
 

Reptilony

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Trust me. You want to soak and maintain humidity forever. People keep Sullys all over the globe, from Alaska to California to Florida to upstate New York, and in Europe from top to bottom. Regardless of where the keeper is located, one wants to maintain high temps, high humidity.

Those folks in southern California are coping with really high temps, low humidity right now. But they strive to maintain good humidity and temps if their tort is outside. Same in England, same here in Maryland. Sullys want and need proper temps coupled with humidity.

Hope that helps..
Yes it helps because it makes sense to me that if we wouldn't provide high humidity at adult age they would just get pyramiding then...I say that because I saw a guy on youtube who is keeping lots of big sulcatas in a desertic and sandy place in SoCal so that got me thinking that maybe they only need high humidity when they're young. I mean the guy doesn't seem to be doing much to get them humid and even if he would pour water on every one of them every day it wouldn't change much as this place is really super dry. Could it be possible that they get their humidity by digging very deep and hidding in those big tort tunnels all day? Also does wild sulcatas live sub-sahara?
Thank you!
 

Reptilony

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Yes it helps because it makes sense to me that if we wouldn't provide high humidity at adult age they would just get pyramiding then...I say that because I saw a guy on youtube who is keeping lots of big sulcatas in a desertic and sandy place in SoCal so that got me thinking that maybe they only need high humidity when they're young. I mean the guy doesn't seem to be doing much to get them humid and even if he would pour water on every one of them every day it wouldn't change much as this place is really super dry. Could it be possible that they get their humidity by digging very deep and hidding in those big tort tunnels all day? Also does wild sulcatas live sub-sahara?
Thank you!
Also does the humidity have to be at 80% all their lifes?
 

NewTortEnthusiast

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What I believe is the most important thing to do is START YOUR TORTOISE OF WELL. Keep him in 80-85% humidity, around 80-90 degrees (F), and soak them at least 3 times a week. I soak my tortoise 3 times a day because I'm crazy and have the commitment and time to do so.

The humidity part is really important in the first few years of their lives to promote proper shell growth and not pyramiding. Eventually when the tortoise is able to be outside most of its life, humidity isn't that important. As others have said, you need to build a place they can walk into to soak and go into for shade and humidity on their own accord. They will go in there whenever they feel like it or need to, you shouldnt worry about them never going in there or always going in there, its just whatever happens that humid space is there for them.
 

Maro2Bear

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Yes it helps because it makes sense to me that if we wouldn't provide high humidity at adult age they would just get pyramiding then...I say that because I saw a guy on youtube who is keeping lots of big sulcatas in a desertic and sandy place in SoCal so that got me thinking that maybe they only need high humidity when they're young. I mean the guy doesn't seem to be doing much to get them humid and even if he would pour water on every one of them every day it wouldn't change much as this place is really super dry. Could it be possible that they get their humidity by digging very deep and hidding in those big tort tunnels all day? Also does wild sulcatas live sub-sahara?
Thank you!
  • Yes to the digging down and staying humid in tunnels. A good portion of sulcatas in the “wild” live in the Sudan and other areas nearby.
 

Reptilony

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Thank you both for your responses this is very helpful! So my closed chamber gets to 93F (not basking temp) is this too hot?
 

Maro2Bear

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Thank you both for your responses this is very helpful! So my closed chamber gets to 93F (not basking temp) is this too hot?

Nope, but you might want to adjust it down a bit depending on how large of an enclosure you have and how accurate your temps are. Make sure your sully can move in to and out of hot spots. Just not lower than 80f.
 

Big Charlie

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Adults that live outdoors don't need substrate. Most of my sulcata's enclosure is grass. It is hard to maintain proper humidity in California, but we try to compensate. Some use misters, provide ponds for self-soaking, run the sprinklers on their sully, etc. It helps to provide a humid hide or burrow. Charlie often has mud on his back from digging. I think that helps.
 

Tom

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I had posted on my old thread but I dont know If people are seeing it so here it is... At what age does a sulcata doesn't need to be in high humidity? And is the daily soaking enough to prevent pyramiding for adults? Also I know baby's need a substrate that retains humidity well but how about adult's? Do they need a particuliar substrate? I have seen poeple use bare bottom with a hide with hay so they can hide in the hay and some in big sand enclosures.
Pyramiding is caused by growth in conditions that are too dry. If they are growing, and its too dry, they can pyramid. It is less pronounced, and they are not as prone as they get larger. What I do in my dry environment is humidify the outdoor night boxes. THey sleep in them all night and stay in there for parts of the day too. So while mine are walking around in dry air, they spend a lot of time in the humidified night boxes. I still get some rough growth lines, and their growth slows way down when they move outside for a while.

No dry enclosures. No sand and no hay in an indoor baby enclosure.
 

Tom

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Could it be possible that they get their humidity by digging very deep and hidding in those big tort tunnels all day? Also does wild sulcatas live sub-sahara?
Yes. In the wild, the babies hatch during the rainy season. In the dry season, they stay underground in burrows.

Yes they live in Sub-Saharan Africa in the Sahel region. They inhabit grassland areas and forest edge regions.
 

Reptilony

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So if I would provide a humid hide for an adult sulcata (when oused indoor for the winter) does it matter what the tort is walking on? (If it is not too abrasive, if it's not sand and if it's heated) would a flat surface work?
 

Big Charlie

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So if I would provide a humid hide for an adult sulcata (when oused indoor for the winter) does it matter what the tort is walking on? (If it is not too abrasive, if it's not sand and if it's heated) would a flat surface work?
I think you should still use substrate. Sulcatas like to dig. Even in a hide, they will dig a little to get comfortable. I only meant that there is no need for substrate outdoors if you have natural dirt and grass.
 

Reptilony

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I think you should still use substrate. Sulcatas like to dig. Even in a hide, they will dig a little to get comfortable. I only meant that there is no need for substrate outdoors if you have natural dirt and grass.
Ok so i'll probably buy a truckload of black dirt every year then. I heard you can just boil it but for how much I need it wouldn't be realistic. I wanted something that can be cleaned easily (maybe with a garden hose) but it looks like im gonna have to buy dirt. Maybe I could only put it in half the enclosure...
 

Kadels

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I need to jump in on this string because it is something that I have been working on. Chuck Norris is about 6 years old (some of you may recall she had a back leg amputated at age 3). I have a large pool for her to soak (water heater drip pan), but she NEVER does. I turn on the sprinklers 2 minutes/day to get her wet - if she's outside. She has quite a lot of pyramiding, so I'm looking for more ideas.
 

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