Welcoming home our newest family member

ahawashin

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Aug 28, 2014
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Our newest member an African spurred tortoise ( sulcata )
We decided to name him/her Koopa troopa
He been exploring his indoor enclosure
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lismar79

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bouaboua

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Hello and Welcome. You sure have a special and cute one. Just lovely. Welcome.
 

G-stars

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I use peat moss and on top of that top soil. You could also buy spaghnum moss to put in his hides. You can get this at your local hardware store.


— Gus
 

G-stars

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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.


— Gus
 

G-stars

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I would spray it down yes. You want it damp not muddy. Peat moss retains water really well.


— Gus
 

Jabuticaba

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Way too cute! Congrats.


May
THBs: Darwin & Merlin
Aussies: Dax, Vegas, & Cricket
IG: @AUSSOMEAUSSIES
 

ahawashin

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Hi I got a question
I found some chayote in the farmers market and can the tortoise eat cabbage ?
 

Jabuticaba

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Yellow Turtle01

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Coco coir is amazing for humidity too. Make sure to give him daily soaks even if he;s visiting his bowl :D
He is really cute! Congrats a new baby :p
 

ahawashin

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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 ?
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Smile

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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).
 

Tom

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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.

Your tortoise is probably a female.

Cabbage, and most other store bought foods are not the best diet for your little one. Please read this:
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/for-those-who-have-a-young-sulcata.76744/

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

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


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?
 
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