Re: heartbroken

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Posted by Terry on November 23, 2000 at 12:35:06:

In Reply to: heartbroken posted by Stephanie on November 23, 2000 at 10:29:55:

Hi,
first of all I'm sorry to hear that you lost one of your sulcatas. I know that must have been devastating for you.

I live in Hawaii so I don't know what the climate is like in your area.
But can you tell us how big the hutch is?
With a ceraminc heat bulb and a pig blanket, I'm guessing it's quite big.

My sulcatas overnight shelter is a 6'-8' garden shed.I bought it second hand for $100 , one of the best things I have ever bought, as the torts love .On cold nights I use a 150 watt Pearlco ceramic heat bulb, hung from the ceiling of the shed.
The floor is plain old garden soil, which drains quickly as the shed doors are open during the day, giving it a good airing out.
The shed is in an area of the yard that doesn't get very wet if it rains, but allows the sun in during the day to dry and warm it up.

Of course this is just for overnight, it rarely gets too cold here for the sulcatas to not be able to roam the yard during the day.

I don't know what type of hay you're using but I had a problem with Timothy Hay.
I used it as a substrate in the shed with my first sulcata and twice she came down with RNS ( runny nose syndrome).
I changed the hay about every 2-3 days, but it was musty, dusty and damp ( from urine).
As soon as I got rid of the hay and just used plain garden soil the RNS went away. Touch wood it hasn't returned in more than two years, since I discontinued using hay as a subtrate.That was my experience with hay .

If you're going to have both a ceramic heat bulb ( which provides all around heat) and a pig blanket. I would monitor the temperatures carefully.Make sure the tortoise can get completely away from the heat. Also I wouldn't place the pig blanket directly under the ceramic bulb. I think that would be too much over head ( all around) and under belly heat.

It would help if we knew how big the hutch is, and if this is going to be just for overnight, or is it winter housing?

Have you thought about joining an email list, you could join the Sulcata Station list, African Tortoise List or Tortoise Trust list.
You'll find all 3 at egroups.com.

Joining a list would put you in touch with a lot more keepers from all over the US and world.

Hope this helps,
Terry.

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: Hi, : first of all I'm sorry to hear that you lost one of your sulcatas. I know that must have been devastating for you. : I live in Hawaii so I don't know what the climate is like in your area. : But can you tell us how big the hutch is? : With a ceraminc heat bulb and a pig blanket, I'm guessing it's quite big. : My sulcatas overnight shelter is a 6'-8' garden shed.I bought it second hand for $100 , one of the best things I have ever bought, as the torts love .On cold nights I use a 150 watt Pearlco ceramic heat bulb, hung from the ceiling of the shed. : The floor is plain old garden soil, which drains quickly as the shed doors are open during the day, giving it a good airing out. : The shed is in an area of the yard that doesn't get very wet if it rains, but allows the sun in during the day to dry and warm it up. : Of course this is just for overnight, it rarely gets too cold here for the sulcatas to not be able to roam the yard during the day. : I don't know what type of hay you're using but I had a problem with Timothy Hay. : I used it as a substrate in the shed with my first sulcata and twice she came down with RNS ( runny nose syndrome). : I changed the hay about every 2-3 days, but it was musty, dusty and damp ( from urine). : As soon as I got rid of the hay and just used plain garden soil the RNS went away. Touch wood it hasn't returned in more than two years, since I discontinued using hay as a subtrate.That was my experience with hay . : If you're going to have both a ceramic heat bulb ( which provides all around heat) and a pig blanket. I would monitor the temperatures carefully.Make sure the tortoise can get completely away from the heat. Also I wouldn't place the pig blanket directly under the ceramic bulb. I think that would be too much over head ( all around) and under belly heat. : It would help if we knew how big the hutch is, and if this is going to be just for overnight, or is it winter housing? : Have you thought about joining an email list, you could join the Sulcata Station list, African Tortoise List or Tortoise Trust list. : You'll find all 3 at egroups.com. : Joining a list would put you in touch with a lot more keepers from all over the US and world. : Hope this helps, : Terry.

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