Yes that would be fine. It should say on the packaging how high the bulb needs to be mounted above the substrate
Tortoise dragging back legs and shell has pyramiding and looks slanted not round. Help??!?
- Thread starter TortosieK
- Start date
Yes that would be fine. It should say on the packaging how high the bulb needs to be mounted above the substrate
Ok thank you very much for your help.
Let me explain Sulcata mental bullying: Snuggling up together is actually one tortoise invading the other’s space. It’s getting too close and telling the other to move out. The smaller, fitter one will know the larger one is weak and will try to capitalise on it. Eating together is also invading space - a battle of wills.
It will end in up in one of two ways:
- One will give up and stop eating and become withdrawn and sick
- Physical bullying = One mounting or ramming or biting the other ... and Sulcata fights can draw blood.
They must be separated particularly as one of your torts is already very unhealthy.
Yep, that’s fine. You will need the same setup for both tortoises. Two of everything
Ohh ok I understand now, thank you very much. I will separate them then. I shoud leave the Larger one in the bigger cage and the little one in a smaller cage right?
Go as big as you can for both. Sulcatas grow rapidly and you will soon have two 100lb+ bulldozers on your hands. A bigger enclosure ensures you are not having to start over too often
Ok thank you, and by start over do you mean make another large enclosure?
Your tortoises will outgrow the space that is suitable for them now. The bigger you can go now, the less often you will have to construct something even bigger. In a few years you will need two secure outdoor enclosures and two separate heated night boxes so they can live outdoors 24/7 year round. This species does not hibernate and gets too big to lift and move easily.
My thought was that while the animal is having difficulty walking, the smaller enclosure would be a better fit.
Hi again, for a substrate, I bought brown mulch and wanted to know if that was good to use for the tortoises? I provided a picture of the mulch.
ricks45
New Member
I see this repeated in many places and wonder what they do in the wild? Do they each dig their own burrow as soon as they hatch? Or do they share burrows until they get larger and decide to dig one? I also have seen pictures and videos of large scale breeders facilities with SEVERAL large adult sulcatas sharing burrows. Please explain. Rick
In the wild they head for shelter as soon as possible and have the option of leaving if things get too crowded. There is no option to leave in captivity.
The dynamics of a group are different to pairs in any case. If there are only two tortoises there is a dominant one and a subordinate one. The subordinate is the only object of attention and , because it is in captivity, it cannot escape. It is pairs that we actively discourage.
In groups there are many tortoises and the "attention" dished out by the dominant animal is spread out. It is very unlikely that one tortoise will be constantly harrassed by the dominant animal. There are no guarantees of happiness even in a group, so the breeder will be alert to trouble and ready to separate.
Keeping tortoises in captivity is not keeping them in natural conditions. In the wild these animals will avoid competition if at all possible as it is in their own best interests.
I don't know what kind of mulch it is, but I would steer clear of something that's dyed.
