Re: New sulcata owner

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Posted by EJ on January 11, 2001 at 11:14:14:

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

Joanna, As you say there is a great deal of info out there. Some of it seeming to conflict. It appears that everyone is keeping these tortoises 'the right way' and will defend 'the right way' to no end and of course their way is 'the right way'. (I guess I'm no different)(sorry about that). With this medium it makes the new keepers job a little more interesting. There is also a benefit to this little trend. If you are not paying attention it can cause you problems.
The few things that I try to stress is temperature (100 at the high end to a low end of 75F), Water available at all times.(via a shallow dish that should be cleaned out daily), Finally a varied diet high in fiber consisting of grasses and dark leafy greens. The only one I don't recomend is spinach. Then of course there is calcium (provide cuttle bone and calcium carbonate at every feeding) and UV. (I recomend an Active uv Heat bulb 100w flood 8 - 10 inches above the substrate at one end in a 3 ft long enclosure) That gives you a decent temperature gradient with a background temp of 70F.
Whatever your setup watch your tortoise. Let it tell you what it likes. Sulcatas are active (very active) and they like to eat alot. I feed mine more than all they can eat and do not feed them again until it is gone. No more than once a day.
Ed

: We purchased a sulcata hatchling 3 days ago and, after reading many care sheets and advice, we are quite confused with all the different opinions. If any knowledgable person has any advice for us, we would really appreciate it. There is so much conflicting information out there, and it is hard to tell who is really an expert and who is as new to this as us.

: Here's how we are caring for Mortimer so far...
: Housing: He is in a 36 X 18 inch plastic container. We cut out most of the top and put a screen over it so the cats and dog don't bother him.
: Substrate: There are several layers of newspaper down right now. I am in the process of sterilizing a mixture of 2 parts organic topsoil and one part playground sand. I put the mixture in the oven at 300 degrees for 10 minutes, then stir it and bake for 10 more minutes. The top soil is still quite damp, so I am going to try to dry it in the sun for a while.
: Food: Mixed baby greens, a tiny bit of shreaded carrots, collards, kale, and grass freshly trimmed from the back yard. I also give him 1 or 2 small pieces of apple as a treat, which he still won't take from my hand. He eats a small amount of this mixture, sprinkled with the 1:1 mixture of Herptivite and Rep-Cal Phosphorous-free calcium with D3 that we have for our bearded dragon, each day.
: Light and heat: He has an 18 in. full spectrum bulb and a basking lamp. We also just bought an under tank heater, but I am not sure if it should go on the same side as the basking lamp. Also, should his hide out go on the warm or the cool side? His lights are both on the 12 cycle that Chloe, the bearded dragon, is on.
: Soaking: He gets soaked in a shallow container for 10 - 15 minutes every day or every other day. I have heard that this should encourage him to poop, but so far he has only urinated. Is this normal?

: We plan to move him outside when he gets bigger. He has not been out to grave yet because it is still quite cool, even here in Florida. When we do, is there any reason why Chloe(bearded) and Mortimer(tortoise) can't come into contact with each other (supervised, of course) when we take them out to bask and graze?
: Also, it gets quite humid here, especially in the summer - do we need to make any provisions for that when we move him outside?

: The day we got him, he walked around in my hands and didn't seem a bit shy. Now, when I go in his cage or pick him up, he immediately goes into his shell. Does he just need time to get used his new surroundings?

: We would greatly appreciate any good advice on caring for our new baby.

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: Joanna, As you say there is a great deal of info out there. Some of it seeming to conflict. It appears that everyone is keeping these tortoises 'the right way' and will defend 'the right way' to no end and of course their way is 'the right way'. (I guess I'm no different)(sorry about that). With this medium it makes the new keepers job a little more interesting. There is also a benefit to this little trend. If you are not paying attention it can cause you problems. : The few things that I try to stress is temperature (100 at the high end to a low end of 75F), Water available at all times.(via a shallow dish that should be cleaned out daily), Finally a varied diet high in fiber consisting of grasses and dark leafy greens. The only one I don't recomend is spinach. Then of course there is calcium (provide cuttle bone and calcium carbonate at every feeding) and UV. (I recomend an Active uv Heat bulb 100w flood 8 - 10 inches above the substrate at one end in a 3 ft long enclosure) That gives you a decent temperature gradient with a background temp of 70F. : Whatever your setup watch your tortoise. Let it tell you what it likes. Sulcatas are active (very active) and they like to eat alot. I feed mine more than all they can eat and do not feed them again until it is gone. No more than once a day. : Ed : : We purchased a sulcata hatchling 3 days ago and, after reading many care sheets and advice, we are quite confused with all the different opinions. If any knowledgable person has any advice for us, we would really appreciate it. There is so much conflicting information out there, and it is hard to tell who is really an expert and who is as new to this as us. : : Here's how we are caring for Mortimer so far... : : Housing: He is in a 36 X 18 inch plastic container. We cut out most of the top and put a screen over it so the cats and dog don't bother him. : : Substrate: There are several layers of newspaper down right now. I am in the process of sterilizing a mixture of 2 parts organic topsoil and one part playground sand. I put the mixture in the oven at 300 degrees for 10 minutes, then stir it and bake for 10 more minutes. The top soil is still quite damp, so I am going to try to dry it in the sun for a while. : : Food: Mixed baby greens, a tiny bit of shreaded carrots, collards, kale, and grass freshly trimmed from the back yard. I also give him 1 or 2 small pieces of apple as a treat, which he still won't take from my hand. He eats a small amount of this mixture, sprinkled with the 1:1 mixture of Herptivite and Rep-Cal Phosphorous-free calcium with D3 that we have for our bearded dragon, each day. : : Light and heat: He has an 18 in. full spectrum bulb and a basking lamp. We also just bought an under tank heater, but I am not sure if it should go on the same side as the basking lamp. Also, should his hide out go on the warm or the cool side? His lights are both on the 12 cycle that Chloe, the bearded dragon, is on. : : Soaking: He gets soaked in a shallow container for 10 - 15 minutes every day or every other day. I have heard that this should encourage him to poop, but so far he has only urinated. Is this normal? : : We plan to move him outside when he gets bigger. He has not been out to grave yet because it is still quite cool, even here in Florida. When we do, is there any reason why Chloe(bearded) and Mortimer(tortoise) can't come into contact with each other (supervised, of course) when we take them out to bask and graze? : : Also, it gets quite humid here, especially in the summer - do we need to make any provisions for that when we move him outside? : : The day we got him, he walked around in my hands and didn't seem a bit shy. Now, when I go in his cage or pick him up, he immediately goes into his shell. Does he just need time to get used his new surroundings? : : We would greatly appreciate any good advice on caring for our new baby.

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