Sulcuta tortoise need help

[Antoni]

Hey everyone. Ive always wanted a pet tortoise. 1 they are adorable, 2. potential life friend, 3 just amazing creatures overall.
Anyway im posting this because i need some tips. I bought lil raphael 2 days ago at a bird/reptile expo and raphy just stood out among the rest. so the 1st day i was able to feed it strands of grass and it had quite the apetite. 6 3" grass went by fast. Now i am having issues with feeding him. The seller said they're not high maintenance. Provide a bigger tank, letuce and a weekly bath. Ive done my research and everyone has different opinions. So ill explain the living situation... i live in california, temp in my area is 65-70 in morning and about 80-100 (depending on weather) on high noon then drops down to around 65-70 at night again. Currently homed in a moist soil env. No uvb light coz the 1st site said i wont need it at night and if i can have raphy out in the sun during day time then i wont need it (pls confirm). Again my issue is with feeding at this moment. But feel free to give me additional tips if u can. I currently feed it lettuce and grass but all ive seen it eat is the grass i fed it yesterday. And some grass/weeds that it nibbles on when i had it out on the lawn. Is it normal for it to not eat much? Coz i see some vids of tortoise in the same size with tripple the appetite.

 

[ZEROPILOT]

Welcome.
Do you know what type of tort you have? Is it a Sulcata?
We have excellent feeding lists by species.
Yes. As long as your tortoise gets full sunlight, you don't need extra UV. However, you DO need more heat. Tortoises can't digest food correctly unless they have a temperature of at least 80 degrees.
Different tortoises require more or less heat, but 65 at night is a bit cool for most.

 

[Fredkas]

Is he sulcata? Your other duplicate post show in title that he is a sulcata. I'll answer the questions based on sulcata tortoise.

Hey everyone. Ive always wanted a pet tortoise. 1 they are adorable, 2. potential life friend, 3 just amazing creatures overall.
Anyway im posting this because i need some tips. I bought lil raphael 2 days ago at a bird/reptile expo and raphy just stood out among the rest. so the 1st day i was able to feed it strands of grass and it had quite the apetite. 6 3" grass went by fast.
......is he a baby? Eating grass, you should be happy, that is the greatest food for him. Some baby won't eat it....

Now i am having issues with feeding him. The seller said they're not high maintenance.
..... if they eat grass and you make him used to it, then they are low maintenance, but the enclosure when they get big could be a bit costly, depends actually, ask more if you want more detail on this one....

Provide a bigger tank, letuce and a weekly bath.
......the best is one soaks a day. That is the best frequency of bath for tort. Lettuce... nah... not very good food. someone will jump out and give you the link of the sulcata's foods list, i don't remember it, hint for you, mostly are free foods ....

Ive done my research and everyone has different opinions.
....i came from your starting point too. Believe me, the best care sheet is in this forum....

So ill explain the living situation... i live in california, temp in my area is 65-70 in morning and about 80-100 (depending on weather) on high noon then drops down to around 65-70 at night again. Currently homed in a moist soil env.
...... easy to remember. Humidity level 80% min for all enclosure. The lowest temp cannot go below 80f for all enclosure, night and day time.. Bask spot 100f max is the best.. so 80%-80f-100f, ask more if you need more detail....

No uvb light coz the 1st site said i wont need it at night and if i can have raphy out in the sun during day time then i wont need it (pls confirm).
....yes. no need uvb if you can give him at least 4 days a week of sunshine which is an hour of that every 4 days. But remember, too early sun and too late sun is not enough for tort, exact 12 p.m is too much too haha.. so people say 10 a.m to 11 a.m or 2p.m to 3p.m is the best......

Again my issue is with feeding at this moment. But feel free to give me additional tips if u can. I currently feed it lettuce and grass but all ive seen it eat is the grass i fed it yesterday. And some grass/weeds that it nibbles on when i had it out on the lawn. Is it normal for it to not eat much? Coz i see some vids of tortoise in the same size with tripple the appetite.
.... is it normal? I SAID YOU ARE LUCKY ....

 

[saginawhxc]

Welcome to the forum and congrats on your new tort. Can we see some pictures of your tortoise and it's enclosure? It will help us help you.

Until we can verify what species he is it is hard for us to give you feeding advice. Tortoises come from all over the world and can have very different diets.

Like already covered here if he is outside daily you can skip the uvb light, but he always needs a daytime basking lamp. He needs to have different temperatures located throughout his enclosure so he can regulate his body temperature properly. If this is not available eventually you will end up with a sick or dead tort as he will not be able to maintain body temperature or process food properly.

I know there is a lot of conflicting information out there on tortoises. It can be stressful sorting through it. You can relax though now that you are here. This is easily the most knowledgeable and helpful community you'll find focused on torts.

 

[Yvonne G]

Hey everyone. Ive always wanted a pet tortoise. 1 they are adorable, 2. potential life friend, 3 just amazing creatures overall.
Anyway im posting this because i need some tips. I bought lil raphael 2 days ago at a bird/reptile expo and raphy just stood out among the rest. so the 1st day i was able to feed it strands of grass and it had quite the apetite. 6 3" grass went by fast. Now i am having issues with feeding him. The seller said they're not high maintenance. Provide a bigger tank, letuce and a weekly bath. Ive done my research and everyone has different opinions. So ill explain the living situation... i live in california, temp in my area is 65-70 in morning and about 80-100 (depending on weather) on high noon then drops down to around 65-70 at night again. Currently homed in a moist soil env. No uvb light coz the 1st site said i wont need it at night and if i can have raphy out in the sun during day time then i wont need it (pls confirm). Again my issue is with feeding at this moment. But feel free to give me additional tips if u can. I currently feed it lettuce and grass but all ive seen it eat is the grass i fed it yesterday. And some grass/weeds that it nibbles on when i had it out on the lawn. Is it normal for it to not eat much? Coz i see some vids of tortoise in the same size with tripple the appetite.

Hi Antoni:

Most of your questions are answered in these two threads:

http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/beginner-mistakes.45180/

http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/how-to-raise-a-healthy-sulcata-or-leopard-version-2-0.79895/

 

[Tom]

Hello and welcome Antoni.

Sounds like you found the wrong seller and got some bad info. These guys need to be soaked daily. Also, they are a tropical species and need to be kept warm day and night. As babies they should be housed indoors most of the time with short daily excursions to the great outdoors, when weather permits. If you set them up right, they are pretty low maintenance, but the initial set up will take some thought and time.

Read those thread that Yvonne posted for you, and this one too:
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/for-those-who-have-a-young-sulcata.76744/

Please come back with all your questions.

 

[Antoni]

Hi Antoni:

Most of your questions are answered in these two threads:

http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/beginner-mistakes.45180/

http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/how-to-raise-a-healthy-sulcata-or-leopard-version-2-0.79895/

Thank you.. will read through this

 

[Antoni]

Yes

Welcome.
Do you know what type of tort you have? Is it a Sulcata?
We have excellent feeding lists by species.
Yes. As long as your tortoise gets full sunlight, you don't need extra UV. However, you DO need more heat. Tortoises can't digest food correctly unless they have a temperature of at least 80 degrees.
Different tortoises require more or less heat, but 65 at night is a bit cool for most.

, its a sulcuta and thats awesome. Thank you for that info..

 

[Antoni]

Hello and welcome Antoni.

Sounds like you found the wrong seller and got some bad info. These guys need to be soaked daily. Also, they are a tropical species and need to be kept warm day and night. As babies they should be housed indoors most of the time with short daily excursions to the great outdoors, when weather permits. If you set them up right, they are pretty low maintenance, but the initial set up will take some thought and time.

Read those thread that Yvonne posted for you, and this one too:
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/for-those-who-have-a-young-sulcata.76744/

Please come back with all your questions.

I sure did. Ill read that thread and work on it. Thank you

 

[Antoni]

Hi

Welcome to the forum and congrats on your new tort. Can we see some pictures of your tortoise and it's enclosure? It will help us help you.

Until we can verify what species he is it is hard for us to give you feeding advice. Tortoises come from all over the world and can have very different diets.

Like already covered here if he is outside daily you can skip the uvb light, but he always needs a daytime basking lamp. He needs to have different temperatures located throughout his enclosure so he can regulate his body temperature properly. If this is not available eventually you will end up with a sick or dead tort as he will not be able to maintain body temperature or process food properly.

I know there is a lot of conflicting information out there on tortoises. It can be stressful sorting through it. You can relax though now that you are here. This is easily the most knowledgeable and helpful community you'll find focused on torts.

, hello. Thanks for the response. He is a sulcuta i got him 2 days ago, the 1st enclosure he had was sand and after reading some threads i saw that it wasnt a good bedding so i changed it to damp soil last night. Ill work on giving it a better enclosure today. If theres anything you'd like to add. I would appreciate it alot thanks again

 

[Antoni]

Hello and welcome Antoni.

Sounds like you found the wrong seller and got some bad info. These guys need to be soaked daily. Also, they are a tropical species and need to be kept warm day and night. As babies they should be housed indoors most of the time with short daily excursions to the great outdoors, when weather permits. If you set them up right, they are pretty low maintenance, but the initial set up will take some thought and time.

Read those thread that Yvonne posted for you, and this one too:
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/for-those-who-have-a-young-sulcata.76744/

Please come back with all your questions.

Also, i planned on having him outdoor most days and indoors if cold, but as it is a baby i dont want to leave it out for obvious reasons. Isnit necessary for it to have a big enclosure? I heard birds attack them to which is another concern coz i cant have a big enclosure indoor.

 

[Antoni]

Is he sulcata? Your other duplicate post show in title that he is a sulcata. I'll answer the questions based on sulcata tortoise.

Hey everyone. Ive always wanted a pet tortoise. 1 they are adorable, 2. potential life friend, 3 just amazing creatures overall.
Anyway im posting this because i need some tips. I bought lil raphael 2 days ago at a bird/reptile expo and raphy just stood out among the rest. so the 1st day i was able to feed it strands of grass and it had quite the apetite. 6 3" grass went by fast.
......is he a baby? Eating grass, you should be happy, that is the greatest food for him. Some baby won't eat it....

Now i am having issues with feeding him. The seller said they're not high maintenance.
..... if they eat grass and you make him used to it, then they are low maintenance, but the enclosure when they get big could be a bit costly, depends actually, ask more if you want more detail on this one....

Provide a bigger tank, letuce and a weekly bath.
......the best is one soaks a day. That is the best frequency of bath for tort. Lettuce... nah... not very good food. someone will jump out and give you the link of the sulcata's foods list, i don't remember it, hint for you, mostly are free foods ....

Ive done my research and everyone has different opinions.
....i came from your starting point too. Believe me, the best care sheet is in this forum....

So ill explain the living situation... i live in california, temp in my area is 65-70 in morning and about 80-100 (depending on weather) on high noon then drops down to around 65-70 at night again. Currently homed in a moist soil env.
...... easy to remember. Humidity level 80% min for all enclosure. The lowest temp cannot go below 80f for all enclosure, night and day time.. Bask spot 100f max is the best.. so 80%-80f-100f, ask more if you need more detail....

No uvb light coz the 1st site said i wont need it at night and if i can have raphy out in the sun during day time then i wont need it (pls confirm).
....yes. no need uvb if you can give him at least 4 days a week of sunshine which is an hour of that every 4 days. But remember, too early sun and too late sun is not enough for tort, exact 12 p.m is too much too haha.. so people say 10 a.m to 11 a.m or 2p.m to 3p.m is the best......

Again my issue is with feeding at this moment. But feel free to give me additional tips if u can. I currently feed it lettuce and grass but all ive seen it eat is the grass i fed it yesterday. And some grass/weeds that it nibbles on when i had it out on the lawn. Is it normal for it to not eat much? Coz i see some vids of tortoise in the same size with tripple the appetite.
.... is it normal? I SAID YOU ARE LUCKY ....

Yes sorry, he's a sulcuta i thought i posted in the wrong forum so i reposted it here. Enclosure for when they're big isnt a problem with me. My backyard is set up as an enclosure they cant dig themselves out of. And has smaller enclosures set up also. Its just that right not hes not even the size of my fist and i just feel as if he's delicate.. and idk if im providing everything to help him grow out of that stage.

 

[Antoni]

Welcome.
Do you know what type of tort you have? Is it a Sulcata?
We have excellent feeding lists by species.
Yes. As long as your tortoise gets full sunlight, you don't need extra UV. However, you DO need more heat. Tortoises can't digest food correctly unless they have a temperature of at least 80 degrees.
Different tortoises require more or less heat, but 65 at night is a bit cool for most.

Hi, yes he is a sulcuta. If not the uv light, what can i use to provide heat?

 

[saginawhxc]

What I did for my little guy is made a smaller pen at a place in my yard that had some shade and some direct sunlight. I made it out of cinder blocks just sitting on the ground, and then made a top out of two by fours and hardware cloth. That way birds, squirrels, raccoons, and my dogs can't get to him. I think the whole thing cost me less than $40.

 

[saginawhxc]

Hi, yes he is a sulcuta. If not the uv light, what can i use to provide heat?

Just use a regular incandescent spot light. That is what I have been using. Much cheaper than the basking bulbs in pet stores and seems to be just as effective.

 

[Speedy-1]

Hi Antoni , I see you have a lot of information to digest . As far as the not eating issue goes , your tort may just need a little time to adjust to his new home and owner . Leave food down all the time that your Sully is awake , water should always be available .

 

[Antoni]

Hey everyone. So this morning i took raphy out at the back in his portable enclose, and i saw him eating the grass i just laid down. I guess like most animals he actually wants the sun to be active. He doesnt like lettuce, skips it to get to the grass and occasionally takes a bite on tomatoes ive diced up. Im currently at the store buying the things i need for his enclose. like a light for when i have him indoors. Etc

 

[saginawhxc]

Tomatoes are not good for them. If he is eating grass that is 1000x better for him.

 

[Gillian M]

A very warm welcome to the forum!

Please post pictures of your tort and his enclosure and give him a daily soak in warm water.

 

[Tom]

Also, i planned on having him outdoor most days and indoors if cold, but as it is a baby i dont want to leave it out for obvious reasons. Isnit necessary for it to have a big enclosure? I heard birds attack them to which is another concern coz i cant have a big enclosure indoor.

While he is a baby, he needs a large indoor enclosure to be in most of the time. All of your questions about heating and lighting are explained in those threads.

Once he reaches 8-10" he can live outside full time with a heated shelter for cold days and nights. When the time comes, I can post lots of examples of outdoor night boxes for you.

It is a simple thing to make a cover for an outdoor enclosure to keep birds and other predators away. Do a search for "outdoor enclosures" and lots of cheap, easy and simple examples will come up for you.

We will help you get through this. Once you understand all the info and have him set up correctly, things will be much easier. Its just getting the initial set up correct that can feel a bit daunting.