Re: New sulcata owner and setup

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Posted by Lee Diane on October 19, 1999 at 20:43:12:

In Reply to: Re: New sulcata owner and setup posted by Marissa on December 29, 1998 at 09:15:08:

: Hi Brian,

: Welcome to the wonderful world of Sulcata keeping! If fed properly, the sulcata will grow slowly and steadily. Should be a few years before you need to house outside. Where do you live? If you have a small yard, you can knock together a protected outdoor pen for supervised outdoor time during nice weather. Direct sunlight is great for them. The best substrate to use is a 50/50 sterile soil and fine play sand mixture. Others use Aspen Particles, 100% alfalfa pellets, etc. I wouldn't recommend any bark or pebbles at this time. Your heating temps sound okay, but there is no UVB lighting which isn't good. You need to have UVB lighting on the tortoise for about 12 hours per day. Even with the outdoor time, I would still recommend getting the UVB light..I use a ReptiSun 5.0 bulb...and using that in the indoor enclosure. At the young growth stages, the UVB is very important for proper shell growth. CHeck out my Sulcata Care Sheet (link below) for more info)...feel free to e-mail me anytime...good luck!
: -Marissa Adams

Hello.. we are proud owners of an almost 3yr old female sulcata. We really do enjoy her. We recently moved to the mountains. The climate here is quite different than where we had lived previously. Our vet told us to use overhead heating for her, but he didnt tell us what will be the proper watts and proper temp that her habitat should be maintained at. She currently sleeps indoors and is outside during the day. She is getting quite large and harder to pick up and move daily. We would like to be able to keep her outside more often without fear of her getting to cold. Temperatures here during the fall and winter can and do drop into the 30's with highs only around 40. We have found a place to buy the heat/light fixtures but they are available in many differant wattage. If you have any suggestions we would greatly appreciate any advice that you may have. Her health is very important to us. We plan on having her in our family for many many years to come.
Thank you in advance Lee and Diane

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: : Hi Brian, : : Welcome to the wonderful world of Sulcata keeping! If fed properly, the sulcata will grow slowly and steadily. Should be a few years before you need to house outside. Where do you live? If you have a small yard, you can knock together a protected outdoor pen for supervised outdoor time during nice weather. Direct sunlight is great for them. The best substrate to use is a 50/50 sterile soil and fine play sand mixture. Others use Aspen Particles, 100% alfalfa pellets, etc. I wouldn't recommend any bark or pebbles at this time. Your heating temps sound okay, but there is no UVB lighting which isn't good. You need to have UVB lighting on the tortoise for about 12 hours per day. Even with the outdoor time, I would still recommend getting the UVB light..I use a ReptiSun 5.0 bulb...and using that in the indoor enclosure. At the young growth stages, the UVB is very important for proper shell growth. CHeck out my Sulcata Care Sheet (link below) for more info)...feel free to e-mail me anytime...good luck! : : -Marissa Adams : Hello.. we are proud owners of an almost 3yr old female sulcata. We really do enjoy her. We recently moved to the mountains. The climate here is quite different than where we had lived previously. Our vet told us to use overhead heating for her, but he didnt tell us what will be the proper watts and proper temp that her habitat should be maintained at. She currently sleeps indoors and is outside during the day. She is getting quite large and harder to pick up and move daily. We would like to be able to keep her outside more often without fear of her getting to cold. Temperatures here during the fall and winter can and do drop into the 30's with highs only around 40. We have found a place to buy the heat/light fixtures but they are available in many differant wattage. If you have any suggestions we would greatly appreciate any advice that you may have. Her health is very important to us. We plan on having her in our family for many many years to come. : Thank you in advance Lee and Diane

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