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Posted by Marissa on May 04, 2000 at 19:10:44:
In Reply to: Can you all help me with something??? posted by TŪmmy BŪy on May 04, 2000 at 10:07:33:
Tommy Boy,
Okay this is going to sound sorta harsh but your information is pretty incorrect and misleading. I'll detail it out for you.
Okay first of all there is NO SUCH THING as an African Spur-Thighed Tortoise. There is either an African Spurred Tortoise (Geochelone Sulcata) or a Mediterranean Spur-Thigh Tortoise (Testudo Graeca)...
Yes the sulcata eats on land...and yes tortoises eat different things, but the main part of Sulcata's diet DOES NOT consist of fruits and vegetables. In fact, fruits do not really occur in the sulcata's natural range and are not part of a wild sulcata diet. Fruits can be acidic and can lead to diarrhea and bowel problems as well as not really providing the right types of nutrients, too high in sugars, and low in fiber for this herbivorous grazing animal. Most vegetables are very high in protein and if fed even in moderation can contribute to pyramiding and other possible metabolic problems. This is a grazing animal and at least 75% of the diet should consist of grasses, weeds, clovers, and vetches. The other 25% can consist of dark, leafy greens like dandelion flowers and leaves , chickory, escarole, turnip and mustard greens, hibiscus flowers and leaves, Opuntia Cactus, and watercress. Fruit is not recommended and I never feed fruit to my sulcata. It IS NOT a very good idea to feed the young sulcatas some sort of pellet, in fact, most commercial tortoise diets are too high in protein to even be good for them, besides which no commercial diet can replicate a natural one and as such, is not a good substitute. Romaine lettuce is not the most nutritious green, and spraying with calcium spray will not replace nutrients. It will only add calcium as that is all you are spraying on. To supplement with calcium, you will also want a calcium powder (I prefer) that contains D3 like Rep-Cal. In additon, a reptile multivitamin is also recommended.
Yes a UVB light is also recommended highly for mostly or partly indoor tortoises. However, UVB lights only last about 1 year, some even less so they need to be replaced on schedule.
A tank is not recommended as housing for really any tortoise, including a sulcata. There is no fishtank made today that I am aware of that will even fit an adult sulcata into it...unless you custom built one which would be somewhat silly.
As most sulcata that I see at a small age do not really drink water from a dish, more likely they tromp through it and mess in it, it is recommended to soak sulcatas to replace any hydration lost in a captive environment where they might become somewhat dehydrated (i.e. glass tanks). Sulcatas soak up fluids through the cloacal opening so you may never see the tortoise drink (I only saw it twice wtih my 3 year old) they are still rehydrating.
You have your heart in the right place to try to help educate new owners, but you will not be doing them or the tortoises you are trying to help a service if you provide conflicting, incorrect, or confusing information. If you are looking for information to put up on a website, why don't you feel free to link my Sulcata Care Sheet? The link is below. If you would like to write your own, then use references like my care sheet and other materials in books and on the Internet to do so and to make sure you have the right information. I had my own care sheet put through a rigorous peer review before I even published it online. Remember most people's work is protected and cannot legally be reproduced without credit to the author so don't just copy and paste text to a site and put your name to it. Good luck! Feel free to write me with questions...
