Thor's Introduction

[Blakem]

Glad he's feeling better! also, great pictures, we love all the pictures we can get. If I remember correctly, the first picture is his new enclosure? I don't think you have him on the pellets anymore as I could see in the last image. Also, that enclosure is just for sleeping? That is if weather permits.

 

[jpmcclure]

Glad he's feeling better! also, great pictures, we love all the pictures we can get. If I remember correctly, the first picture is his new enclosure? I don't think you have him on the pellets anymore as I could see in the last image. Also, that enclosure is just for sleeping? That is if weather permits.

He's usually outside everyday from about 11am (or earlier depending on how warm it is) till about 7-8pm-ish. However, he's not allowed to go outside for now so I'm trying to increase humidity for the time being. Nate & I are building him a hide tomorrow. I meant to caption only one pic with "day before vet" and that was the mushy leaf eating one but it labeled the whole thing. The others are earlier in time so yes the aquarium was his old set up with the rabbit pellets. The new under construction one is the 2x4's w/ plexiglass. I'm gonna construct some kind of top as well. I think I may actually get another piece of plexiglass and hinge it on 1/2 the top. What do you think? What kinda local plants or flowers can I put in there for him? I'm afraid of pesticides from store bought/nursery ones. Any suggestions my friend?

 

[Blakem]

He's usually outside everyday from about 11am (or earlier depending on how warm it is) till about 7-8pm-ish. However, he's not allowed to go outside for now so I'm trying to increase humidity for the time being. Nate & I are building him a hide tomorrow. I meant to caption only one pic with "day before vet" and that was the mushy leaf eating one but it labeled the whole thing. The others are earlier in time so yes the aquarium was his old set up with the rabbit pellets. The new under construction one is the 2x4's w/ plexiglass. I'm gonna construct some kind of top as well. I think I may actually get another piece of plexiglass and hinge it on 1/2 the top. What do you think? What kinda local plants or flowers can I put in there for him? I'm afraid of pesticides from store bought/nursery ones. Any suggestions my friend?

I will give your post a bump so others can give some input as well. As for plants, I like to use thetortoisetable.org as a good reference for weeds, plants, and other things! Check it out.

 

[Tom]

I've just come across your thread. Looks like you need some tips. There is a ton of sulcata care info in my signature, but here are some specific tips for you:

1. Miracle gro is full of fertilizers to get plants to grow, I would not use that as a substrate in an indoor enclosure. Look for coco coir, orchid bark, sterile potting soil with no additives (very hard to find), sphagnum moss, cypress mulch, and sometimes plain yard dirt too.
2. Your tortoise needs a much bigger area indoors.
3. Your tortoise needs a humid hide indoors.
4. You should be soaking daily, and spraying the shell 3-4times a day with plain water. The daily soaks will help pass those rocks quicker than anything else. In your case I'd go for 45 minutes to an hour. Use a tall sided tub with shallow warm water that goes about a third of the way up his shell. Freshen up the water as needed as it cools or gets dirty.
5. Often mineral deficiency is the reason they eat the rocks in the fist place, not just calcium. A large influx of calcium can sometimes make this problem worse due to the imbalances it creates. Many of us have had good results with a mineral supplement called "MinerAll" from Sticky Tongue Farms.

We need some more info. What are you feeding? What are your four temps indoors?

 

[jpmcclure]

I've just come across your thread. Looks like you need some tips. There is a ton of sulcata care info in my signature, but here are some specific tips for you:

1. Miracle gro is full of fertilizers to get plants to grow, I would not use that as a substrate in an indoor enclosure. Look for coco coir, orchid bark, sterile potting soil with no additives (very hard to find), sphagnum moss, cypress mulch, and sometimes plain yard dirt too.
2. Your tortoise needs a much bigger area indoors.
3. Your tortoise needs a humid hide indoors.
4. You should be soaking daily, and spraying the shell 3-4times a day with plain water. The daily soaks will help pass those rocks quicker than anything else. In your case I'd go for 45 minutes to an hour. Use a tall sided tub with shallow warm water that goes about a third of the way up his shell. Freshen up the water as needed as it cools or gets dirty.
5. Often mineral deficiency is the reason they eat the rocks in the fist place, not just calcium. A large influx of calcium can sometimes make this problem worse due to the imbalances it creates. Many of us have had good results with a mineral supplement called "MinerAll" from Sticky Tongue Farms.

We need some more info. What are you feeding? What are your four temps indoors?

Hi Tom. Once again you're at my rescue.
1. I did get rid of the miracle grow. All I could seem to find was ZooMed Eco Earth coconut fiber substrate.
2. This place will usually just be for sleeping as he's usually outside all day until the rock eating incident and the vet advised against it until he passes the rocks. He won't eat anything. He still sleeps a lot. Could this be from the anesthesia on Tuesday? He also babies his left front foot where I'm guessing they poked him for blood work/meds. I've gotten rid of the rock problem outside. If he doesn't eat soon I'm thinking I need to put him out for a while. That's where he's happiest. Would you suggest differently? He has another X-ray monday to see if rocks passed.
3. I built him a new hide with slate that he immediately was drawn to (more on humidity below)
4. He soaks about 45min/day in a home depot bucket. (more on spraying below)
5. I am ordering the Miner-All. And will have it on hand but how can I give it to him if he won't eat? I haven't even been able to give him calcium drops due to this problem. I bought a cuttle bone and broke it up into small (rock eating size) pieces hoping to trick him into thinking its rocks. But nothing. He just keeps sleeping. Mind you he had a traumatic week. New enclosure, overnight vet stay, anesthesia, etc...but should he still be sleeping?
Now about the food. Due to my lack of knowledge. Or should I say correct knowledge. His diet consisted of romaine and Rep-Cal tortoise pellets. I'm trying to get him to eat dandelion and grass to start but I only found this forum at the recommendation of a friend AFTER I started googling his sick symptoms. At this point I just want him to eat anything. I am going to offer him a piece of romaine today. I think it's best I try to play tough love when he's better. He wouldn't even eat his pellets & he loves those. But loves romaine more.
Temps/humidity: when I spray down his enclosure, the humidity/temp goes up to 80/85 respectively. I cover with foil to keep as much moisture in as possible. But before long I need to do it again and again. So as for spraying, him and his enclosure get sprayed often. I need to build a top but havent gotten to do so yet sunday. Thinking of somehow setting up an auto mister. His temps right now are:
Hide: 77, basking 87, overall 77.5. But I just turned the thermostat up from night temps. Umm, that's only 3 isn't it? I apologize for my ignorance.

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This was him last night right after I put him in. He perished his territory & went straight to bed.

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That's perused. Not perished.

 

[Blakem]

Bump!