Congrats! If that is a plastic water dish you may want to sub it for a terra cotta plant saucer. Those plastic ones are hard for them to get into and can be a flip hazzard. Here is a care sheet for your guy. He's going to need a warm and humid enclosure.
I agree. Also would be a good idea to switch out the substrate for something that holds humidity better. Try to aim for at least 70-75% humidity levels to prevent pyramiding.
I kinda figured that out after I watched him struggling to get out of it I'm scared he might flip over in the water
I put ceramic shallow pots for him for now
And as far as the substrate that's the only thing they had I will go to petsmart and get the right one
I change it about every 6 months. But that's because I keep mine outside all day and put them in for the night. Also if you do daily soaks they tend to release their bowels in the water and not in their enclosure. It really all depends on how well you keep up with the cleaning of the enclosure.
hi I just changed his substrate and here is pics is this fine or do I need to do something else to make it better , also sprayed it with water I figured ill spray it twice a day maybe it'll get good humidity the.
Also kept the big bowl just empty I saw that he likes climbing in and out of it
He didn't eat nothing yet only nipping on it
Is that normal ?
I'm not sure if that substrate is optimal, but I use Eco-Earth and it works really well... the only downside to it IMO is that my little guy is always dirty because of it and ends up soiling his water bowl every three hours or so because of it. When did you get it? Mine still doesn't eat a lot like most sulcata tortoises do and he's been here for about two weeks now. As long as he's alert, gets soaked, and defecates often, then there's really nothing to worry about. If you're having humidity problems, cover the screen top of the cage with paper towels and aluminum foil on top of it. That's what I'm doing for my tank and it stays humid enough to the point where I only have to mist it once a day (in the morning when the lights go on).
Your first substate was ideal. It just needed to be dampened. Orchid bark is the best substrate for sulcatas.
Glad you switched water bowls. Those pet store ones can drown a tortoises. The one you have now still has sides that are too tall and steep and its too slick. If your tortoise deosn't feel comfortable with its water bowl it won't use it. Terra cotta plant saucers work best.
Your tortoise needs a humid hide. I like to use black dish washing tubs from Walmart. $1.82. Flip it upside down and cut out a door hole.
If your baby is not eating there is a serious problem. Hatchlings do not have the margin of error to accommodate your learning curve. You need to quickly learn and fix whatever is wrong. Your baby does not have time for you to figure this all out, so please read those threads and fix the problem. I'm going to guess the problem is temperatures. Can you tell us your four temperatures and what you are using to maintain them? Got UV? What kind?