Re: New sulcata owner

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Posted by Terry on January 10, 2001 at 12:23:14:

In Reply to: New sulcata owner posted by Joanna on January 10, 2001 at 11:00:51:

Hi and concrats on your new sulcata.

You mentioned " baby greens" can you explain what they are?Baby food or some sort or young leafy greens? If it's baby food I wouldn't give it to him.

Collard and kale are alright but should not make up the base diet, they can be mixed in with other greens though in smaller amounts.
Endive, Romaine, escarole, chicory, dandelion are some of the better greens to offer.

DON'T feed spinach, iceburg lettuce or chard/bok choy.
Fruits aren't recommended at all for sulcatas so no need to feed the apples. Fruits are too high in sugar.

No need to soak daily, every other day is fine or even every 3 days. But make sure he has drinking water available at all times. I use a sunny delight lid for the small torts to drink from.

You can grow a lot of your own food especially if you live in a warm climate.
Hibiscus flowers and leaves are great for sulcatas, mine prefer the red hibiscus flowers. So maybe plant a few bushes in your yard and offer the flowers.
Don't give in if he doesn't go for them straight away, I chop the flower up and mix it in with endive and romaine for my baby sulcata.
As he gets bigger you'll be thankful for the hibiscus bushes as they will provide a good amount of food for the tort.
I have 16 hibiscus bushes, 5 sulcatas.
The torts ( the bigger sulcatas) get all the flowers of the hibiscus bushes daily and gobble them down.
You can also grow your own opuntia cactus (prickly pear)and slice/chop the pads up, another great food you can grow in your own yard. My sulcatas get the cactus pads about once a week - every 10 days. I scrub the tiny spikes off and slice the cactus pads up.

Mulberry leaves are another food that's healthy and natural. We planted a mulberry tree and the sulcatas get the young branches of leaves, once again a healthy food grown in your own yard.

Smaller sulcatas aren't as keen on the cactus, hibiscus and mulberry as the older ones who gobble it up. But it's a good thing to prepare ahead of time, and still offer them now, mixed in with other greens.

I don't handle my tortoises too much as they don't really enjoy it. But sulcatas are very friendly torts who come plodding over whenever they see you. Hoping for food probably these are greedy tortoises!
So I would let your tortoise settle in and don't worry about it going into it's shell. It will soon get used to you and come over looking for a treat.

I live in Hawaii and house my tortoises outdoors year round. The humidity doesn't seem to be a problem .
The baby ( 80 grams)goes out in his own 6'-15' outdoor pen for 5 hours a day ( from 12-5). The pen recieves lots of sun, but there are shady areas as well for him to retreat to.I keep the grass very short for easy grazing and to make it easier to find him!
The only time he doesn't go out is if it's overcast or wet, as sulcatas can't tolerate cold/damp conditions.So he is brought indoors every evening.Young/small sulcatas don't have the body mass to protect them from chills/drafts, colder weather so although it's very healthy to put them outdoors on sunny days. They must be brought inside in the late afternoon, for the night. And not put outside until it's warmed up, not in the early morning.If it rains or becomes overcast and cold during the day, bring him indoors.
The adult, sub adult and juvenile sulcatas are out year round, day and night.
They have the whole yard to roam and all retreat to a 6'-8' garden shed in the evening.
They can tolerate a bit of rain etc, as long as they have a nice dry shelter to retreat to.

I'm sure everyone else will offer more advise. If you haven't already visit Sulcata Station linked at the end of my post. Also go down the forum and read all the sulcata posts.
Hope this helps.
Terry.

Sulcata Station

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Re: New sulcata owner Joanna 01/10/01 (1)
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: : Hi and concrats on your new sulcata. : You mentioned " baby greens" can you explain what they are?Baby food or some sort or young leafy greens? If it's baby food I wouldn't give it to him. : Collard and kale are alright but should not make up the base diet, they can be mixed in with other greens though in smaller amounts. : Endive, Romaine, escarole, chicory, dandelion are some of the better greens to offer. : DON'T feed spinach, iceburg lettuce or chard/bok choy. : Fruits aren't recommended at all for sulcatas so no need to feed the apples. Fruits are too high in sugar. : No need to soak daily, every other day is fine or even every 3 days. But make sure he has drinking water available at all times. I use a sunny delight lid for the small torts to drink from. : You can grow a lot of your own food especially if you live in a warm climate. : Hibiscus flowers and leaves are great for sulcatas, mine prefer the red hibiscus flowers. So maybe plant a few bushes in your yard and offer the flowers. : Don't give in if he doesn't go for them straight away, I chop the flower up and mix it in with endive and romaine for my baby sulcata. : As he gets bigger you'll be thankful for the hibiscus bushes as they will provide a good amount of food for the tort. : I have 16 hibiscus bushes, 5 sulcatas. : The torts ( the bigger sulcatas) get all the flowers of the hibiscus bushes daily and gobble them down. : You can also grow your own opuntia cactus (prickly pear)and slice/chop the pads up, another great food you can grow in your own yard. My sulcatas get the cactus pads about once a week - every 10 days. I scrub the tiny spikes off and slice the cactus pads up. : Mulberry leaves are another food that's healthy and natural. We planted a mulberry tree and the sulcatas get the young branches of leaves, once again a healthy food grown in your own yard. : Smaller sulcatas aren't as keen on the cactus, hibiscus and mulberry as the older ones who gobble it up. But it's a good thing to prepare ahead of time, and still offer them now, mixed in with other greens. : I don't handle my tortoises too much as they don't really enjoy it. But sulcatas are very friendly torts who come plodding over whenever they see you. Hoping for food probably these are greedy tortoises! : So I would let your tortoise settle in and don't worry about it going into it's shell. It will soon get used to you and come over looking for a treat. : I live in Hawaii and house my tortoises outdoors year round. The humidity doesn't seem to be a problem . : The baby ( 80 grams)goes out in his own 6'-15' outdoor pen for 5 hours a day ( from 12-5). The pen recieves lots of sun, but there are shady areas as well for him to retreat to.I keep the grass very short for easy grazing and to make it easier to find him! : The only time he doesn't go out is if it's overcast or wet, as sulcatas can't tolerate cold/damp conditions.So he is brought indoors every evening.Young/small sulcatas don't have the body mass to protect them from chills/drafts, colder weather so although it's very healthy to put them outdoors on sunny days. They must be brought inside in the late afternoon, for the night. And not put outside until it's warmed up, not in the early morning.If it rains or becomes overcast and cold during the day, bring him indoors. : The adult, sub adult and juvenile sulcatas are out year round, day and night. : They have the whole yard to roam and all retreat to a 6'-8' garden shed in the evening. : They can tolerate a bit of rain etc, as long as they have a nice dry shelter to retreat to. : I'm sure everyone else will offer more advise. If you haven't already visit Sulcata Station linked at the end of my post. Also go down the forum and read all the sulcata posts. : Hope this helps. : Terry.

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