Sulcata

[Sulcatatortoise101]

Hey I just recently got a baby sulcata ( named oogway) in January as a gift and I wanted to make sure I’m doing things right. I soak him/her in water at least 2 times a week, I put calcium with d3 in his/her food every day. I have a 75 watt bulb. I take oogway out side on the weekends for about 2 hours. I can’t let him free from his tank because I have two small dogs. I have him in a 10 gallon tank- I do realize that is to small but it was all they had when I went to go get the cage- I went to a bunch of places but they didn’t have 20 gallon tanks. They had 50 gallons but I didn’t want him/her to feel over whelmed. I researched a bunch about Sulcatas on the way to get them everything they need.

 

[Tom]

Hey I just recently got a baby sulcata ( named oogway) in January as a gift and I wanted to make sure I’m doing things right. I soak him/her in water at least 2 times a week, I put calcium with d3 in his/her food every day. I have a 75 watt bulb. I take oogway out side on the weekends for about 2 hours. I can’t let him free from his tank because I have two small dogs. I have him in a 10 gallon tank- I do realize that is to small but it was all they had when I went to go get the cage- I went to a bunch of places but they didn’t have 20 gallon tanks. They had 50 gallons but I didn’t want him/her to feel over whelmed. I researched a bunch about Sulcatas on the way to get them everything they need.View attachment 289562View attachment 289563View attachment 289564View attachment 289565

Hello and welcome. There is all sorts of bad care info out in the world for this species, so I'm glad you found us.

• You should be soaking every day.
• 10 gallons is entirely too small. 20 gallons is way too small. The 50 should be the minimum size for a hatchling, and bigger is better. Its not overwhelming in any way.
• It will be very difficult to maintain the correct conditions in an open topped enclosure. Closed chambers are the way to go.
• They should never be allowed to free roam because it is dangerous to them in many ways. Glad you already realized this. You'll need a large enclosure indoors, and another large enclosure outside too for fair weather.
• They need warm nights. What are you using for night heat?
• There are four elements to heating and lighting:
  1. Basking bulb. I use 65 watt floods from the hardware store. I run them on a timer and adjust the height to get the correct basking temp under them. You can mount a fixture on the ceiling, or hang a dome lamp from the ceiling. Go lower or higher wattage if this makes the enclosure too hot or not warm enough. Do not use "spot" bulbs, mercury vapor bulbs or halogen bulbs because these bulbs are overly desiccating and cause pyramiding even in good living conditions.
  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 like sulcatas or leopards. I like this thermostat: https://www.lllreptile.com/products/13883-zilla-1000-watt-temperature-controller. Put the probe in the coolest corner away from all heating elements. You may need more than one heating element to spread the heat out for a given enclosure.
  3. Light. I use florescent tubes for this purpose. Something in the 5000-6500K color range will look the best. Most tubes at the store are in the 2500K range and they look yellowish. I've been using LEDs lately and they are great, and run cooler than a florescent. This can be set on the same timer as the basking bulb.
  4. UV. If you can get your tortoise outside for an hour 2 or 3 times a week, you won't need indoor UV. If you want it anyway, get one of the newer HO type fluorescent tubes. I like the ZooMed 10.0 HO, and the Arcadia 12% HO. Which type will depend on mounting height. It helps to have a UV meter to test and see what your bulb is actually putting out at your mounting height. Plexi-glass or screen tops will filter out some or all of the UV produced by your bulb.

IMPORTANT: He is being kept too dry. He is beginning to pyramid. Every hour that goes by in these conditions, it gets a little worse, and the damage cannot be undone. Read these threads for the correct care info and make the necessary changes ASAP. Questions are welcome and we are happy to help:

Beginner Mistakes

To comment on Tom's article, go here: http://www.tortoiseforum.org/Thread-split-Beginner-Mistakes#axzz1tG8s05M5 Over the years many of us, myself included, have made many of these mistakes, and we have certainly seen them made many times by others. With springtime upon us and many new...

tortoiseforum.org

How To Raise A Healthy Sulcata Or Leopard, Version 2.0

It's been three years since the original care sheet, http://www.tortoiseforum.org/thread-63788.html , and I think its time for a review and an update. A lot of new info has come to light over the last three years and new insight has been gained through numerous experiences. What follows is my...

tortoiseforum.org

For Those Who Have a Young Sulcata...

Over and over I type up and answer diet questions and try to get people feeding the right stuff, but I find that the "norm" is grocery store food. Grocery store food is expensive, a hassle to obtain, and very low on the list of what is best for sulcatas. These tortoises are GRASS eaters. From...

tortoiseforum.org

 

[Sulcatatortoise101]

Thank you. I am getting a new bedding tomorrow that holds humidity and I am going to try to get a bigger cage when we are allowed out of our homes. I’m not using anything for the night because I keep my house at 75 in the night and they said it was fine. I’ll soak him every day now. Thank you again.??

 

[Ray--Opo]

Thank you. I am getting a new bedding tomorrow that holds humidity and I am going to try to get a bigger cage when we are allowed out of our homes. I’m not using anything for the night because I keep my house at 75 in the night and they said it was fine. I’ll soak him every day now. Thank you again.??

Welcome, whoever is giving you information forget what you have been told. Stick with what Tom posted for you. 75° is to cold. Never should it be under 80°. Basking spot should be 95- 100. Humidity should be at 80%.80% humidity will help Oogway from pyramiding. That's why Tom suggested a closed enclosure. You cannot achieve that without one.
Read what Tom posted and your best bet is to purchase the proper equipment online. Pet stores will sell you anything and most of the time it's wrong.
Ask us as many questions that are needed.
Oogway is adorable.

 

[Tom]

I’m not using anything for the night because I keep my house at 75 in the night and they said it was fine.

They are wrong about the night temp, and probably a lot of whatever else they told you. Misinformation and old, outdated, incorrect info is rampant with this species.

 

[Sulcatatortoise101]

They are wrong about the night temp, and probably a lot of whatever else they told you. Misinformation and old, outdated, incorrect info is rampant with this species.

Thank you I’ll see what I can do to fix it.

 

[Sulcatatortoise101]

Welcome, whoever is giving you information forget what you have been told. Stick with what Tom posted for you. 75° is to cold. Never should it be under 80°. Basking spot should be 95- 100. Humidity should be at 80%.80% humidity will help Oogway from pyramiding. That's why Tom suggested a closed enclosure. You cannot achieve that without one.
Read what Tom posted and your best bet is to purchase the proper equipment online. Pet stores will sell you anything and most of the time it's wrong.
Ask us as many questions that are needed.
Oogway is adorable.

I’ll see what I can do about the night. And I got the information from the store Miami Retile and since the only animals I saw there were snakes, tortoise, frogs and a huge lizard half alligator( I don’t know what it’s called I didn’t think about looking up to see if there correct but I’m glad I asked here. And thank you . ??

 

[Ray--Opo]

Your welcome, we are here so you can give the best chance to raise a healthy Oogway and keep a few unnecessary dollars spent in your pocket. Also the heartache if Oogway gets sick.
Read the info Tom gave you. I know it's a lot of reading. But it will be well worth it in the end. Read it in sections and write down questions you have with that section.
Then ask away that's what we are here for.

 

[Ray--Opo]

I’ll see what I can do about the night. And I got the information from the store Miami Retile and since the only animals I saw there were snakes, tortoise, frogs and a huge lizard half alligator( I don’t know what it’s called I didn’t think about looking up to see if there correct but I’m glad I asked here. And thank you . ??

A CHE (ceramic heating element) would be best at night. Your tort needs total darkness at night.

 

[Tom]

Thank you. I am getting a new bedding tomorrow that holds humidity and I am going to try to get a bigger cage when we are allowed out of our homes. I’m not using anything for the night because I keep my house at 75 in the night and they said it was fine. I’ll soak him every day now. Thank you again.??

The bedding you have looks like cypress mulch. That is fine. You can add more, or put some fine grade orchid bark on top of it.

Do you have a spare tub laying around. A large tote, drink cooler, horse watering trough... Anything of that nature will work until you can set u a large closed chamber. You can also order a large closed chamber and have it delivered.