Sulcata supplies?

[DAC8671]

I'm curious as to where I can go in and purchase any sulcata supplies. I live in San Diego. I would rather go in to a store and buy stuff, rather than online.

I'm talking plants, seeds, grasses, treats, ideas & materials for housing/enclosures, bedding, heating supplies etc.

Anyone have suggestions?


Ralph is 4 yrs old and we just started putting him outside 24/7 this past summer. He has an enclosure, dogloo with a heat lamp and timothy hay. On the door he has a cover. We are in San Diego and lately it's been REALLY hot during the day and really cold at night (well cold for me is around 50).

 

[Laura]

Home Depot, Feed Stores, Walmart.
Heat lamps at all three, hay at feed store or the small bags are cheapest Ive found at walmart. And if your wally mart has produce.. good prices there too..

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oh,, and for Dog houses.. I've gotten mine at the local SPCA or shelter for cheap!! people donate their old dog houses and then the 'sell' them to the public. They make good winter houses for small ones, shade/burrows during summer, and one Dogloo house can make Two hides!
I got a large reg $150 house for $5, it was cracked.

 

[dcoolguy68]

You can find UVB lamps at www.BigAppleHerp.com for $20 i recommend getting the Reptisun 10.0

 

[DAC8671]

Thanks for the info. The local Walmarts don't really have a good tort selection (IMO). I will check out the big apple site.

Oh, I got my XL dogloo on craigslist for $30-$40. I can't remember exactly, but it was CHEAP.

I have the dogloo for him, shaded cement where he eats, partial cement in the sun, large patches of sunshine on the grass/dirt, shaded areas in his enclosure. I have a rubbermaid tub in his enclosure too. When we first got the dogloo, he wouldn't go in it on his own. He would always go in the rubbermaid tub (which was what we had for him prior to the dogloo). Now, he doesn't even look at the rubbermaid tub. He doesn't seem to like the shaded areas at all, though I know enough to NOT take them away.

The only grass I offer his is what the lawn grows. He grazes on it, but will NOT eat the timothy hay at all. I wanted to get more grasses in his diet. He eats fresh produce....romaine, green & red leaf, spinach (though I've cut back to once a week on that), collard and mustard greens, and when I can get a good bunch he will get turnip greens. Once a week or so he will have strawberries, bananas, and/or canteloupe, apples. Not all of those at the same time. Also when I can get a good one, he will have red pear cactus. Occasionally he will have squash. I tried pumpkin, but he doesn't care for it. When he's roaming, if I forget to move the dogfood, he will steal a few bites of the Eukanuba, but that is a rarity.

I want to give him a broader diet, but am a little leary of buying from one of the nurseries for fear of pesticides. I would love to find an organic nursery here in San Diego that is close by. The feed stores that I've called, don't have supplies for torts, only large animals (horses/goats and such). Maybe I just haven't found the right store yet.

Thanks again for all the info. I didn't mean for this post to become a novel!

 

[dcoolguy68]

A lot of stores dont have supplies for torts... But it also depends on what you're looking for as well

 

[Maggie Cummings]

Thanks for the info. The local Walmarts don't really have a good tort selection (IMO). I will check out the big apple site.

Oh, I got my XL dogloo on craigslist for $30-$40. I can't remember exactly, but it was CHEAP.

I have the dogloo for him, shaded cement where he eats, partial cement in the sun, large patches of sunshine on the grass/dirt, shaded areas in his enclosure. I have a rubbermaid tub in his enclosure too. When we first got the dogloo, he wouldn't go in it on his own. He would always go in the rubbermaid tub (which was what we had for him prior to the dogloo). Now, he doesn't even look at the rubbermaid tub. He doesn't seem to like the shaded areas at all, though I know enough to NOT take them away.

The only grass I offer his is what the lawn grows. He grazes on it, but will NOT eat the timothy hay at all. I wanted to get more grasses in his diet. He eats fresh produce....romaine, green & red leaf, spinach (though I've cut back to once a week on that), collard and mustard greens, and when I can get a good bunch he will get turnip greens. Once a week or so he will have strawberries, bananas, and/or canteloupe, apples. Not all of those at the same time. Also when I can get a good one, he will have red pear cactus. Occasionally he will have squash. I tried pumpkin, but he doesn't care for it. When he's roaming, if I forget to move the dogfood, he will steal a few bites of the Eukanuba, but that is a rarity.

I want to give him a broader diet, but am a little leary of buying from one of the nurseries for fear of pesticides. I would love to find an organic nursery here in San Diego that is close by. The feed stores that I've called, don't have supplies for torts, only large animals (horses/goats and such). Maybe I just haven't found the right store yet.

Thanks again for all the info. I didn't mean for this post to become a novel!

Hi Debbie, I am just issuing a word of caution...Sulcata's liver can't process sugar the way ours does. While I DO offer my 2 Sulcata strawberries about once a month it's really not good for them, so I might not feed so much sugar to your guy.
I went to my feed store and told them about my tortoises and made arrangements with them that I can bring a big bag and scoop up any loose hay they have, for free!. So once a week I take a giant plastic bag and scoop up mostly the locally grown grass hay. I guesstimate that the bags hold close to 1/4 of a hay bale.
I have 12 grazing tortoises and 11 of them will readily eat the hay.
That was not the story at first, but hay was all I offered (except for grazing) and when they got hungry enough they all started eating it. I think it took about 2 weeks of starvation before they gave in. It's what they sell for horses and cattle. For horses they have to be careful there is no mold on the hay...if it's good for horses, tortoises will eat it. I am careful not to get too much alfalfa, but it's easy enough to see. So maybe you can find a feed store that will let you do that too. I know this store is losing money on me...lol
I admit the stuff I get is soft and sweet smelling and just beautiful. I'd almost eat it myself.
If you go looking specifically for 'tortoise' supplies they will be expensive. But if you shop around and get the same supplies that don't say tortoise on them, they will be cheaper.
I hope this helps you some, and I really hope you can find a feed store that will let you do what I do.
Here's a link to the online place I use for seeds and other supplies. He's kinda high on some stuff but he sells good quality stuff and is a very knowledgeable chelonia keeper. The one time I had a problem with something he made good on it immediately
See...I can write a novel too....

http://www.carolinapetsupply.com/catalog/index.php