New Addition - Duane or Diane?

[Rock Soup]

Hi, we found a Sulcata tortoise in our backyard on Jan 4th, 2017. We took it in and are just in love with it. I think it's a boy based on comparable pics I found online. My husband thinks it's a girl because it likes to soak in it's warm morning bath for over an hour every day! What do you think? Duane or Diane? Or too young to tell yet? It's been raining recently in San Diego, so we have been keeping it indoors in a terrarium 36"x18"x12". We have it filled with different substrates. On the right side, it's loose coco coir. In the middle is organic soil to grow greens and flowers and on the left side is also organic soil topped with fir bark. We have a lighting controller set to 90 degrees and a UVB terrarium hood lamp. I mist the terrarium 1-2x a day. On sunny days, I put him him in the backyard in an enclosed area, it's now filled with weeds from all the rain we got and he loves to go exploring. On Jan 24th, he was 3.5" and weighed in at 151 grams. Today, Feb 15th, he's about 4" and weighs 181 grams. Any guess on how old he is? I've been feeding him the grass and weeds from our backyard and occasionally bok choy and some other dark greens from our organic garden. He has a big appetite for such a little critter. He also enjoys chewing on his Turtle Bone supplement. I had sprinkled some Reptivite with D3 on his food, but he didn't care for it. Since he's eating his Turtle Bone daily, should I still give him the powder? His shell is rock solid all over. At what size can he start living outside and I don't have to worry about him being carried away by a predatory bird? Any other advice? He's so cute and just makes me smile with his little waddle.

 

[cmacusa3]

Great looking Sulcata and yes it's to early to tell if it's male or female, it could take a few more years to be certain. Sounds like your off to a great start with things. Have you checked out the Sulcata section on the forum?

http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/how-to-raise-a-healthy-sulcata-or-leopard-version-2-0.79895/

http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/beginner-mistakes.45180/

http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/for-those-who-have-a-young-sulcata.76744/

 

[Grandpa Turtle 144]

Hi

 

[Rock Soup]

Great looking Sulcata and yes it's to early to tell if it's male or female, it could take a few more years to be certain. Sounds like your off to a great start with things. Have you checked out the Sulcata section on the forum?

http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/how-to-raise-a-healthy-sulcata-or-leopard-version-2-0.79895/

http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/beginner-mistakes.45180/

http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/for-those-who-have-a-young-sulcata.76744/

Hi CMAC3! Thanks for the links. I've been reading up on Sulcatas as much as I can and this forum has been so helpful.

 

[Rock Soup]

Hi
View attachment 199934

Thanks Grandpa!

 

[cmacusa3]

Hi CMAC3! Thanks for the links. I've been reading up on Sulcatas as much as I can and this forum has been so helpful.

Great! The information you find here is the best up to date information you will find. Ask all the questions you want, we have plenty of very experienced keepers here that will help you out.

 

[Rock Soup]

Great! The information you find here is the best up to date information you will find. Ask all the questions you want, we have plenty of very experienced keepers here that will help you out.

Can you answer if the Turtle Bone is sufficient or should I also still sprinkle the powder vitamin over its food? I read somewhere that turtles know how much they need so access to a Bone is sufficient?

 

[cmacusa3]

Can you answer if the Turtle Bone is sufficient or should I also still sprinkle the powder vitamin over its food? I read somewhere that turtles know how much they need so access to a Bone is sufficient?

Here is what I do, everyone is different with their ideas. I have the cuttlebones in all of my enclosures so they can eat on it anytime they want, some do some don't, so I still sprinkle a little pinch of calcium powder on their food a couple times a week for my smaller torts.

 

[SarahChelonoidis]

Beautiful tortoise - too young to know the sex yet though. Interesting that it just appeared in your backyard as it looks like it was well cared for - you couldn't find the old owners?

 

[BILBO-03]

Hi and Welcome! also you have a beautiful tort there!

 

[Tom]

Hello and welcome! What a lucky find!

Here are my thoughts based on your posts and pics:
1. No way to know the sex yet. You can usually tell by 3-4 years old.
2. No way to know the age of yours. It probably hatched last summer, but that is just a guess. If its been surviving on its own outside, it might be 5 years old.
3. Supplements: You should do some calcium once or twice a week and vitamins once a week. You can also offer cuttle bone. The cuttle bone might be ignore for months and then devoured in a day, or the tortoise might periodically nibble on it when it feels the need. It does no harm to offer it.
4. Your diet sounds EXCELLENT! You get an A+ in this department.
5. I think you need a bigger enclosure. A lot bigger. A closed chamber would also help to keep the needed warmth and humidity inside the enclosure where you want it. Open tops are difficult to manage.
6. Daily soaks are ideal! Another A+ for you!
7. I don't like store bought bagged soil as a tortoise substrate because there is no way to know what composted yard waste it is made from. Is it chemically treated grass clippings? Oleander and azalea trimmings? Or is it harmless leaf litter? No way to know. The people who make it do not intend for it to be lived on in a closed environment. I find fine grade orchid bark (AKA "fir bark") works the best, and you already have a good source for it. Soil can also be messy as it turns to mud when wet.
8. By the time they are about 5", I leave them outside most of each day, weather permitting, but bring them in at night. When they are 8-10" I move them outside full time with a heated night house and a very large enclosure. Here is one example: http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/another-night-box-thread.88966/
You are probably about one year away from that, but some grow faster than others...

All of this and more is explained in those threads that Craig linked for you, but it sounds like you are off to a great start.

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi, and welcome to the Forum!

I hate to be Debbie Downer, but as much as you have fallen in love with this little animal, can you imagine how his real owner feels about losing him?

Put up fliers on the utility poles in your neighborhood. Place a 'Found' ad in the newspaper. Put up an ad on craigslist.com. After you've exhausted all efforts to find who he belongs to, then you can settle down and start making plans for YOUR tortoise.

 

[Patty P]

I agree with Yvonne. I am surprised microchipping is not more popular with tortoises here in the US. I believe it is required in the United Kingdom.

 

[JoesMum]

I agree with Yvonne. I am surprised microchipping is not more popular with tortoises here in the US. I believe it is required in the United Kingdom.

In the UK torts must be microchipped to get their papers before being sold.

The very old, pre CITES, wild caught ones don't have to be done. We had Joe chipped though just in case he should ever escape

 

[cmacusa3]

I agree with Yvonne. I am surprised microchipping is not more popular with tortoises here in the US. I believe it is required in the United Kingdom.

A Sulcata can be bought for 50.00, I don't think most people will pay to have a small tortoise microchipped. I can see it for a large adult tortoise that has more value

 

[Tidgy's Dad]

Hello, and a very warm welcome to Tortoise Forum to you, Duane or Diane.

 

[Rock Soup]

Beautiful tortoise - too young to know the sex yet though. Interesting that it just appeared in your backyard as it looks like it was well cared for - you couldn't find the old owners?

Nope, the neighbors were surprised too and he's become very popular in our neighborhood.

 

[Patty P]

Rock Soup- You said you found the Sulcata, but maybe on some cosmic level, the tortoise actually found you!

Did you decide whether to call the tortoise Duane or Diane?

 

[Rock Soup]

Rock Soup- You said you found the Sulcata, but maybe on some cosmic level, the tortoise actually found you!

Did you decide whether to call the tortoise Duane or Diane?

Actually our step-daughter found it. She's one of those people that has lots of activities happen to her, some good some bad. Like she found a 3 legged kitten that someone dumped in a trashcan. I'm glad the tortoise was healthy and didn't get mauled by the coyotes or hawks that live in the canyons nearby. If it's a boy, it's Duane the Rock Soup. If it's a girl - Diane, the Rockette Soup. So until we are sure, we refer to it as Soup.