Sulcata scratching?

[Tom pike]

Hi my baby sulcata keeps scratching at the walls and the ground of the enclosure, any reasons why? Many thanks tom.

 

[wellington]

Can s/he see out? If so, cover it so it can't see out. How big is the enclosure? Temps, humidity, give us a rundown of every thing you can think of and even an enclosure pic and we might be able to tell if there is a reason other then just being a tort.

 

[Yvonne G]

He's digging and modifying his burrow. My 110lb sulcata does this too when he's inside his shed. The shed has a solid floor, but he's in there every night digging and scratching until he's got it suitable for sleeping. I don't ever have to trim his nails.

 

[Tom pike]

Nah he can't see out here is his tortoise table View attachment 114640 he only scratches before he goes to sleep so I imagine what yvone said was right?

 

[Tom pike]

 

[Juan V]

that's very little substrate, and be careful with the way you have the house, since the tort could fall on her back.

All torts know how to flip themselves , but you never know. if he/she falls flipped backwards with little substrate

 

[Tom pike]

that's very little substrate, and be careful with the way you have the house, since the tort could fall on her back.

All torts know how to flip themselves , but you never know. if he/she falls flipped backwards with little substrate

Okay thanks will get a load more in

 

[Walkers]

Not to be a pest but is that an enclosed enclosure? Because there is no way you'll be able to keep it humid in that type of enclosure with the way it's set up

 

[Tom pike]

Not to be a pest but is that an enclosed enclosure? Because there is no way you'll be able to keep it humid in that type of enclosure with the way it's set up

Nah it's just like that, I thought it could give them respiratory problems if it was humid?

 

[Tom pike]

Not to be a pest but is that an enclosed enclosure? Because there is no way you'll be able to keep it humid in that type of enclosure with the way it's set up

 

[Juan V]

if you can keep them under a controlled humidity enclosure then I suggest you do. Mantain the temperature around 30ºC - 31ºC on the hot spot and 26 or so on the coldest part of the terrarium. Then spray water everywhere so humidity rises

High Humidity -> Higher Temperature and Higher Thermal Feeling.

 

[Tom pike]

if you can keep them under a controlled humidity enclosure then I suggest you do. Mantain the temperature around 30ºC - 31ºC on the hot spot and 26 or so on the coldest part of the terrarium. Then spray water everywhere so humidity rises

High Humidity -> Higher Temperature and Higher Thermal Feeling.

Okay thanks

 

[Jabuticaba]

I don't have sullies, but my THBs know there's an outside world and want to explore. They also love to "redecorate" and push anything they can push and move all their substrate. It's all good mental stimulation, imho.

 

[Dizisdalife]

View attachment 114663

Tom, not sure which thread you copied this post from, but I bet the post that followed disputed that information. While it is true that most of the African grassland is an arid climate it is also true that as few as 1% of the hatchlings survive to adulthood. I have seen estimates that say 1 out of 100 to 1 out of 1000 survive. Not good odds! I don't mean to imply that the low survival rate is solely caused by low humidity. Not at all. But you can see that creating a habitat that emulates some of the worst conditions of the wild is not the best way to raise our pets in captivity.

The problem we face in keeping these tortoises in captivity is that the incandescent lights we use for illumination, UVB exposure, and for heat dry out the tortoises shell. When the ambient humidity is 35%, or even 65%, the humidity of the shell is much, much lower. Some test that I saw several years ago show shell humidity in the 10% to 14% range when ambient humidity was around 50%. At these low levels the shell gets to dry and new growth is disrupted. Pyramiding is one symptom that is most noticeable. Maintaining humidity levels at 80%-90% is one way we have found to mitigate the drying and harmful affects of these lights.

More and more our members have found that by creating an enclosure that maintains the humidity at a high level and allows us to also control the temperatures inside the enclosure produces the healthiest tortoises. The enclosures are referred to as Closed Chambers. I must add that controlling the temperatures is just as important as having high humidity. Cool temps and high humidity will lead to respiratory problems.

The are many example of how to create a Closed Chamber on the Forum. If you are having any trouble at all just ask for help and you will, I am sure, get all that you need.

 

[krh11b23]

Hi my baby sulcata keeps scratching at the walls and the ground of the enclosure, any reasons why? Many thanks tom.

Yep definitely a sulcata! Scratching is what they do. Mine does this every evening just before bed and at other times throughout the day. Completely normal

 

[Tom pike]

Tom, not sure which thread you copied this post from, but I bet the post that followed disputed that information. While it is true that most of the African grassland is an arid climate it is also true that as few as 1% of the hatchlings survive to adulthood. I have seen estimates that say 1 out of 100 to 1 out of 1000 survive. Not good odds! I don't mean to imply that the low survival rate is solely caused by low humidity. Not at all. But you can see that creating a habitat that emulates some of the worst conditions of the wild is not the best way to raise our pets in captivity.

The problem we face in keeping these tortoises in captivity is that the incandescent lights we use for illumination, UVB exposure, and for heat dry out the tortoises shell. When the ambient humidity is 35%, or even 65%, the humidity of the shell is much, much lower. Some test that I saw several years ago show shell humidity in the 10% to 14% range when ambient humidity was around 50%. At these low levels the shell gets to dry and new growth is disrupted. Pyramiding is one symptom that is most noticeable. Maintaining humidity levels at 80%-90% is one way we have found to mitigate the drying and harmful affects of these lights.

More and more our members have found that by creating an enclosure that maintains the humidity at a high level and allows us to also control the temperatures inside the enclosure produces the healthiest tortoises. The enclosures are referred to as Closed Chambers. I must add that controlling the temperatures is just as important as having high humidity. Cool temps and high humidity will lead to respiratory problems.

The are many example of how to create a Closed Chamber on the Forum. If you are having any trouble at all just ask for help and you will, I am sure, get all that you need.

Cool thank you very much for the help I will defiantly get it sorted out

 

[Tom pike]

Yep definitely a sulcata! Scratching is what they do. Mine does this every evening just before bed and at other times throughout the day. Completely normal

Cool thanks mate, yeah that's when mine does it, in the evening