Re: Need yr expertise in bb sulcata care & husbandry...

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Posted by Marissa on December 27, 2000 at 22:15:36:

In Reply to: Re: Need yr expertise in bb sulcata care & husbandry... posted by EJ on December 27, 2000 at 11:25:15:

so let's say you are like...say the hundreds of people I must talk to in a year coming in from all over the 'Net. I post those recommended temps on my caresheet or they see them somewhere and because their pet shop told them to house in a 10-gallon fishtank, they are trying to make the basking spot 100F. Of course in a fishtank that small, or really in most fishtanks, there really is no temperature gradient, or not much of one. They may offer a water dish but it may be too small to get into for soaking or too high to really drink from. The tortoise begins to overheat and then slowly dehydrate. Over time, if the tortoise does not get sick because of these "ideal" temps, urates begin to crystallize in the urine and a bladder stone or two begins to form. After it gets big enough and starts knocking around in the bladder, the tortoise loses it's appetite (happened to my tort from the stones shifting) and the extreme lethargy sets in. Soon the bladder stone gets so large that nothing will make it pass besides surgery. Let's say surgery is performed and the tortoise lives through it...well if the conditions for the environment aren't changed you are probably looking at a grim situation. Your temp range is fine, IF the enclosure is adequate and well-ventilated. However, in my experience with helping people over the past few years, the vast majority of newcomers to tortoise-world are finding cute sulcatas in stores and most that come to me are coming to me with questions...and armed with incorrect information...I would say that there are huge amounts of people out there that NEVER came online looking for info and might have only relied on their petshop for info...and from the sampling of people coming to me, I can only guess it's worse out there. That is the reasoning behind my info. I certainly don't think temps in the low 70's for a cool zone are too cold...or cold enough to lose a tortoise. My basking spot gets to about 96F and my cool zone is about 72F and my indoor pen is 3x5...and I have had no problems in the past few years...really ever in fact. Sorry you disagree with my reasoning, but I hope, again, that explains my point of view. I am not looking to make you agree with me here Ed, I feel confident with my advice based on the type of situations the people that email me have their tortoises in. For an experienced person like yourself, well you know better and can use good judgement when making temperature gradients.

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: so let's say you are like...say the hundreds of people I must talk to in a year coming in from all over the 'Net. I post those recommended temps on my caresheet or they see them somewhere and because their pet shop told them to house in a 10-gallon fishtank, they are trying to make the basking spot 100F. Of course in a fishtank that small, or really in most fishtanks, there really is no temperature gradient, or not much of one. They may offer a water dish but it may be too small to get into for soaking or too high to really drink from. The tortoise begins to overheat and then slowly dehydrate. Over time, if the tortoise does not get sick because of these "ideal" temps, urates begin to crystallize in the urine and a bladder stone or two begins to form. After it gets big enough and starts knocking around in the bladder, the tortoise loses it's appetite (happened to my tort from the stones shifting) and the extreme lethargy sets in. Soon the bladder stone gets so large that nothing will make it pass besides surgery. Let's say surgery is performed and the tortoise lives through it...well if the conditions for the environment aren't changed you are probably looking at a grim situation. Your temp range is fine, IF the enclosure is adequate and well-ventilated. However, in my experience with helping people over the past few years, the vast majority of newcomers to tortoise-world are finding cute sulcatas in stores and most that come to me are coming to me with questions...and armed with incorrect information...I would say that there are huge amounts of people out there that NEVER came online looking for info and might have only relied on their petshop for info...and from the sampling of people coming to me, I can only guess it's worse out there. That is the reasoning behind my info. I certainly don't think temps in the low 70's for a cool zone are too cold...or cold enough to lose a tortoise. My basking spot gets to about 96F and my cool zone is about 72F and my indoor pen is 3x5...and I have had no problems in the past few years...really ever in fact. Sorry you disagree with my reasoning, but I hope, again, that explains my point of view. I am not looking to make you agree with me here Ed, I feel confident with my advice based on the type of situations the people that email me have their tortoises in. For an experienced person like yourself, well you know better and can use good judgement when making temperature gradients.

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