Mike5656
New Member
Ok before I start this might turn out to be a lengthy post.
So As I put on my introduction post me and my partner bought a Sulcata on Saturday. We saw Blastoise and we automatically fell in love with her. The guy in the shop told us that they had only got her in an hour before we arrived and swapped her for another Tort (red flag no 1) and that she is around 2 - 3 years old so we asked if Blastoise had a health check up. (Red flag no.2) the guy told us that it is very hard to do a health check up on Tortoise's I was skeptical because when we researched into the Sulcata we found so much info on them but this particular pet shop has been open since I was a little kid (I am now 25) so I presumed that if they were dodgy they would of been shut down after 20+ years. so we bought the kit which included a thermometer, viv, lights, supplements and stuff to put on the flooring of the viv.
We got home, set everything up correctly she wasn't coming out of her shell, we thought that after moving her from one place to the other it was just shock so we got on with our day as normal and she decided to come out, however, I could tell something was off because she looked like she was struggling to walk on the flooring that was provided to us and was nearly falling over at some points (red flag number 3). I looked up the proper enclosures for Sulcatas and they are a lot bigger than what we got sold.
We then got reading the subject of 'pyramiding' and noticed that Blastoise had started to do so (red flag number 4) obviously we were concerned so we contacted the vet the next day and made an appoint shortly followed by a phone call to the pet shop. when we rang them they tried to assure us that the enclosure was the right size for her and that we could not return it as it is now second hand (red flag number 5) but there is no damage done to the enclosure what so ever and then continued to say that they have been selling exotic animals for over 20 years and they know what they are talking about.
So after getting nowhere with this arrogant A hole I hung up and we headed up to the hardware store and a shop called pets at home where we got new lights, sand, soil and wood and build our own enclosure. an hour after putting her in there and she seemed a lot more happier and active.
So yesterday we took her to the vet and the vet confirmed that the pyramiding is quite common for Sulcatas, however, the vet was quite supprised when we told her that she was around 2 years old as whoever had her last has really under fed her so she isn't as big as she would at her age. she also confirmed that the enclosure that was sold to us was way too small. After going to see the vet we felt a lot better and more educated.
I would like some advice on how to raise her confidence and gain her trust after reading some posts on here a lot of Sulcatas are quite confident and not shy at all, Blastoise always hides in her shell whenever we go near her enclosure. We just want her to know that we are going to care for her.
We are currently giving her grass and weeds, however, she seems to be sticking her nose up at it and only wanting the foods that she can only occasionally have, we think that her previous owner was feeding her the wrong type of foods so if any hints on how to get her to eat the grass would be appreciated.
and lastly we are going to be going to the pet shop we got her from and demand a refund on the kit they sold us as it was not fit for purpose, the lights were not hot enough, the viv was too small, I know for a fact they are going to be A holes about it again like they were on the phone, however, i was thinking of using this counter argument which the long and short of it is if they can sell a 2nd hand malnourished Sulcata and have no problems with it then they can take back the equipment which is basically brand new. anyone had any similar problems to this?
Sorry for the long winded post!
I have also attached a picture of the enclosure that we build, she seems soooooooo happy in it
So As I put on my introduction post me and my partner bought a Sulcata on Saturday. We saw Blastoise and we automatically fell in love with her. The guy in the shop told us that they had only got her in an hour before we arrived and swapped her for another Tort (red flag no 1) and that she is around 2 - 3 years old so we asked if Blastoise had a health check up. (Red flag no.2) the guy told us that it is very hard to do a health check up on Tortoise's I was skeptical because when we researched into the Sulcata we found so much info on them but this particular pet shop has been open since I was a little kid (I am now 25) so I presumed that if they were dodgy they would of been shut down after 20+ years. so we bought the kit which included a thermometer, viv, lights, supplements and stuff to put on the flooring of the viv.
We got home, set everything up correctly she wasn't coming out of her shell, we thought that after moving her from one place to the other it was just shock so we got on with our day as normal and she decided to come out, however, I could tell something was off because she looked like she was struggling to walk on the flooring that was provided to us and was nearly falling over at some points (red flag number 3). I looked up the proper enclosures for Sulcatas and they are a lot bigger than what we got sold.
We then got reading the subject of 'pyramiding' and noticed that Blastoise had started to do so (red flag number 4) obviously we were concerned so we contacted the vet the next day and made an appoint shortly followed by a phone call to the pet shop. when we rang them they tried to assure us that the enclosure was the right size for her and that we could not return it as it is now second hand (red flag number 5) but there is no damage done to the enclosure what so ever and then continued to say that they have been selling exotic animals for over 20 years and they know what they are talking about.
So after getting nowhere with this arrogant A hole I hung up and we headed up to the hardware store and a shop called pets at home where we got new lights, sand, soil and wood and build our own enclosure. an hour after putting her in there and she seemed a lot more happier and active.
So yesterday we took her to the vet and the vet confirmed that the pyramiding is quite common for Sulcatas, however, the vet was quite supprised when we told her that she was around 2 years old as whoever had her last has really under fed her so she isn't as big as she would at her age. she also confirmed that the enclosure that was sold to us was way too small. After going to see the vet we felt a lot better and more educated.
I would like some advice on how to raise her confidence and gain her trust after reading some posts on here a lot of Sulcatas are quite confident and not shy at all, Blastoise always hides in her shell whenever we go near her enclosure. We just want her to know that we are going to care for her.
We are currently giving her grass and weeds, however, she seems to be sticking her nose up at it and only wanting the foods that she can only occasionally have, we think that her previous owner was feeding her the wrong type of foods so if any hints on how to get her to eat the grass would be appreciated.
and lastly we are going to be going to the pet shop we got her from and demand a refund on the kit they sold us as it was not fit for purpose, the lights were not hot enough, the viv was too small, I know for a fact they are going to be A holes about it again like they were on the phone, however, i was thinking of using this counter argument which the long and short of it is if they can sell a 2nd hand malnourished Sulcata and have no problems with it then they can take back the equipment which is basically brand new. anyone had any similar problems to this?
Sorry for the long winded post!
I have also attached a picture of the enclosure that we build, she seems soooooooo happy in it
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, well done you 
