New owner of a baby sulcata tortoise

[Chelsie Pemberton]

hello everyone. So we just got a baby sulcata tortoise and we are in love. Unfortunately we had one already and it died. I want to make sure I'm doing everything right. I know about the uvb and heat. Also humid levels and food. I want to confirm the temperature. Humidity levels? Lights on at night or not? Soakings per week? It seems that with all the reading I have done each website has different recommendations and I can't handle another death. Neither can my kids. Thanks in advance.

 

[Grandpa Turtle 144]

Hello Chelsie

 

[Tom]

hello everyone. So we just got a baby sulcata tortoise and we are in love. Unfortunately we had one already and it died. I want to make sure I'm doing everything right.

1. I know about the uvb and heat.
2. Also humid levels and food.
3. I want to confirm the temperature.
4. Humidity levels?
5. Lights on at night or not?
6. Soakings per week?

It seems that with all the reading I have done each website has different recommendations and I can't handle another death. Neither can my kids. Thanks in advance.

Hello and welcome.

I'll answer all your questions, but let me explain that most sulcatas in this country are started all wrong and far too dry as hatchlings. A large percentage of them die weeks or months after purchase even though the new owner has done everything "right". The breeders don't want to hear it and most of them don't realize that they are at fault for the death of that baby 6 months later. They either don't even know the baby died, or if they do hear about the death, they blame it on the new keeper.

This is all further complicated by all the wrong and conflicting info circulating around on the web. People spend hours doing their "research" but if you read the wrong stuff, what good did one minute of that research do?

Your dilemma is deciding if all of MY info is more wrong stuff, or if this is the "right" way and you want to follow it. I encourage you to look at people's results and ask them to explain or verify their claims. Me included.

So the death of your last baby might have had nothing to do with you. Whether or not your current baby survives has everything to do with how it was started. Where did you get it? Do you know how it was started? Read these for more explanation:
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/how-to-incubate-eggs-and-start-hatchlings.124266/
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/hatchling-failure-syndrome.23493/

Everything you need is right here in these three threads:
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/
All of your questions are answered and explained in these threads.

Okay. Now on to your specific questions. I've separated them and numbered them so I don't miss any:
1. What UV source are you using? Coil bulb? Heat source? Night heat?
2. What did your research tell you about the humidity and food? Different sources are all over the map on these.
3. Ambient no lower than 80 day or night, basking area 95-100 for about 12 hours a day. Ambient can creep into the low 90s during the day.
4. 80% ambient and 100% in the humid hide.
5. Dark at night, but still warm. Use a CHE on a thermostat. I will explain this if needed.
6. 7 soaks per week until he is over 100 grams. At that point you can skip a day once in a while. At 1000 grams 3-4 soaks a week is enough in most cases. At 10+ pounds once or twice a week will do it. The tortoise should have drinking water at all times.

Please come back with lots of question after reading those threads.

 

[Big Charlie]

Welcome Chelsie! I hope your tort has a long and happy life.

 

[ZEROPILOT]

Welcome

 

[saginawhxc]

Welcome Chelsie. I know all the conflicting information out there can be confusing and frustrating.

When we got our tortoise about 8 months ago I made the decision to tune out all the noise from the other sites and trust in Tom's care sheets and all the other great people here. Most of them have nothing but praise and positive results for the methods advocated here. This includes myself and my baby sulcata. He has grown from 40g when we got him to over 360g just 8 months later. His growth has been super smooth. He is active, alert, has a huge appetite, and seems about as healthy as can be. I feel the wonderful people here are to thank for that. All in all I'm glad I tuned out all the noise and trusted in this site.

Welcome to the forum. Update us often, participate in conversations, learn along with us, and most importantly have fun.

 

[Maro2Bear]

I second Saginaw's comments to follow Tom's advice here on the forum. Hopefully, you have a hatchling that was started off properly, and not dry. Then, it's all up to you to maintain proper conditions, heat, humidity, daily soaks, lighting, weeds, grass, mazuri...good mixed diet. An enclosed roomy chamber, with a nice safe humid hide.

We have had our hatchling now for about 2.5 years - went from 40 grams to 30 pounds now. Not one issue.

Good luck, read the Tortoise Forum daily.

 

[saginawhxc]

We have had our hatchling now for about 2.5 years - went from 40 grams to 30 pounds now.

Yikes. I'm putting mine on a diet.

 

[Chelsie Pemberton]

So we did get our tortoise from the pet store and they did have them In the same enclosure of many others. Including different breeds. I do know they didn't know what they were talking. About because they said they only soaked them once a week and that they don't need humidity at all because their desert. Now I'm scared that no matter what I do it will still die. The temp in the tank is aboit 85. After reading more on here I need to do more.

 

[Yvonne G]

Welcome to the Forum!

 

[Tom]

So we did get our tortoise from the pet store and they did have them In the same enclosure of many others. Including different breeds. I do know they didn't know what they were talking. About because they said they only soaked them once a week and that they don't need humidity at all because their desert. Now I'm scared that no matter what I do it will still die. The temp in the tank is aboit 85. After reading more on here I need to do more.

Some percentage of the dry started ones survive and are perfectly fine. Don't be discouraged yet. At lest now you know what is going on and why these things are happening. For many years most of us did not know what was going on, and many people still don't.

Follow the info in those care sheets, soak daily, and your baby has a good chance of making it and being just fine. We will help you along the way.

Or, if you prefer, you could take the baby back to the pet store, explain why (mixing species, wrong set up, wrong info, dry start, etc…), and demand a full refund. If enough people do that and they start losing money, they will reconsider what they are doing and learn something new, or they will go out of business. At the very least you should have a conversation with the owner or manager and explain what you've learned so far. If they hear it enough times and start losing business over it, they will eventually have to come around. Invite them here. We will be happy to teach them.

Then you can buy a properly started baby, and have a bunch of money left over too, since they are much cheaper directly from the breeder.

 

[Gillian M]

A very warm welcome to the forum.

Please post pics of your tort and his enclosure.

 

[Chelsie Pemberton]

Hello and welcome.

I'll answer all your questions, but let me explain that most sulcatas in this country are started all wrong and far too dry as hatchlings. A large percentage of them die weeks or months after purchase even though the new owner has done everything "right". The breeders don't want to hear it and most of them don't realize that they are at fault for the death of that baby 6 months later. They either don't even know the baby died, or if they do hear about the death, they blame it on the new keeper.

This is all further complicated by all the wrong and conflicting info circulating around on the web. People spend hours doing their "research" but if you read the wrong stuff, what good did one minute of that research do?

Your dilemma is deciding if all of MY info is more wrong stuff, or if this is the "right" way and you want to follow it. I encourage you to look at people's results and ask them to explain or verify their claims. Me included.

So the death of your last baby might have had nothing to do with you. Whether or not your current baby survives has everything to do with how it was started. Where did you get it? Do you know how it was started? Read these for more explanation:
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/how-to-incubate-eggs-and-start-hatchlings.124266/
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/hatchling-failure-syndrome.23493/

Everything you need is right here in these three threads:
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/
All of your questions are answered and explained in these threads.

Okay. Now on to your specific questions. I've separated them and numbered them so I don't miss any:
1. What UV source are you using? Coil bulb? Heat source? Night heat?
2. What did your research tell you about the humidity and food? Different sources are all over the map on these.
3. Ambient no lower than 80 day or night, basking area 95-100 for about 12 hours a day. Ambient can creep into the low 90s during the day.
4. 80% ambient and 100% in the humid hide.
5. Dark at night, but still warm. Use a CHE on a thermostat. I will explain this if needed.
6. 7 soaks per week until he is over 100 grams. At that point you can skip a day once in a while. At 1000 grams 3-4 soaks a week is enough in most cases. At 10+ pounds once or twice a week will do it. The tortoise should have drinking water at all times.

Please come back with lots of question after reading those threads.

Thank you Tom for all the great information.... now I'm worried though because we bought the tortoise from the pet store and it was in an enclosure with many other tortoises of other species also.... I do not want this one to die.... too many tears..... I need to change some things in the enclosure. It's about 85 degrees inside and I'm using a uv light that is not a coiled one. I'm using reptile bark inside the enclosure and need to get something fully enclosed for it to burrow in. I got a open ended log for it I also need to get another thermostat to determine temp right under light. I'm soaking him/her daily like you said. Not sure if I should use a spray bottle to moisten the inside. Food is spinage, kale, carrots so far.... just got it yesterday.... I do not want to lose another one..... please let me know if I'm doing anything else wrong.... has water all the time too. at night time the temp stays at 70 in my house. I turned off all lights at night time. I want to do everything right.

 

[Chelsie Pemberton]

Thank you Tom for all the great information.... now I'm worried though because we bought the tortoise from the pet store and it was in an enclosure with many other tortoises of other species also.... I do not want this one to die.... too many tears..... I need to change some things in the enclosure. It's about 85 degrees inside and I'm using a uv light that is not a coiled one. I'm using reptile bark inside the enclosure and need to get something fully enclosed for it to burrow in. I got a open ended log for it I also need to get another thermostat to determine temp right under light. I'm soaking him/her daily like you said. Not sure if I should use a spray bottle to moisten the inside. Food is spinage, kale, carrots so far.... just got it yesterday.... I do not want to lose another one..... please let me know if I'm doing anything else wrong.... has water all the time too. at night time the temp stays at 70 in my house. I turned off all lights at night time. I want to do everything right.

Sorry couldn't find my other response so this one is similar....

I want to do everything I can to help this little guy survive.

I just got back home and I know I'm going to over think everything. But it seems that he's not moving much.

 

[Big Charlie]

Sorry couldn't find my other response so this one is similar....

I want to do everything I can to help this little guy survive.

I just got back home and I know I'm going to over think everything. But it seems that he's not moving much.

I bought my tort from a pet store 17 years ago. I think he was started right but the pet store didn't have him in the right conditions. Even though I did many things wrong, I think the daily soakings were the life-saver he needed. If your baby wasn't at the pet store very long, he might be okay. It is normal for them to take awhile to acclimate to new conditions so the fact that he isn't moving doesn't mean much yet.

 

[Tom]

Thank you Tom for all the great information.... now I'm worried though because we bought the tortoise from the pet store and it was in an enclosure with many other tortoises of other species also.... I do not want this one to die.... too many tears..... I need to change some things in the enclosure. It's about 85 degrees inside and I'm using a uv light that is not a coiled one. I'm using reptile bark inside the enclosure and need to get something fully enclosed for it to burrow in. I got a open ended log for it I also need to get another thermostat to determine temp right under light. I'm soaking him/her daily like you said. Not sure if I should use a spray bottle to moisten the inside. Food is spinage, kale, carrots so far.... just got it yesterday.... I do not want to lose another one..... please let me know if I'm doing anything else wrong.... has water all the time too. at night time the temp stays at 70 in my house. I turned off all lights at night time. I want to do everything right.

All of this is explained in those links, but I'll hit some high points here:
1. 85 degrees where? There are four temps for you to know, monitor, and adjust if needed. Warm side, cool side, basking area and overnight low. Which one of these is 85?
2. The reptile bark is the best substrate. Keep it damp and use about a 4" layer. Dump water into it periodically to keep the lower layers damp and the slow evaporation will help maintain humidity. How much water to dump and how often is determined on a case by case basis. You'll have to watch it and adjust as needed.
3. Yes, you need a humid hide.
4. Daily soaks are good. Spraying the enclosure doesn't do much, but spraying the tortoise several times a day is good.
5. Spinach and kale should only be fed in small amounts once in a while. Carrots are really too high in sugar and should not be fed very often at all. Read the diet thread for good food suggestions. You need high fiber, high calcium to phosphorous ratio foods. Grasses, leaves, weeds, succulents and some flowers.
6. 70 is much too cool at night. Keep it 80-ish. This is most easily accomplished using a ceramic heating element and a thermostat. It will also be easier in a closed chamber instead of an open topped enclosure.

 

[Chelsie Pemberton]

A very warm welcome to the forum.

Please post pics of your tort and his enclosure.

All of this is explained in those links, but I'll hit some high points here:
1. 85 degrees where? There are four temps for you to know, monitor, and adjust if needed. Warm side, cool side, basking area and overnight low. Which one of these is 85?
2. The reptile bark is the best substrate. Keep it damp and use about a 4" layer. Dump water into it periodically to keep the lower layers damp and the slow evaporation will help maintain humidity. How much water to dump and how often is determined on a case by case basis. You'll have to watch it and adjust as needed.
3. Yes, you need a humid hide.
4. Daily soaks are good. Spraying the enclosure doesn't do much, but spraying the tortoise several times a day is good.
5. Spinach and kale should only be fed in small amounts once in a while. Carrots are really too high in sugar and should not be fed very often at all. Read the diet thread for good food suggestions. You need high fiber, high calcium to phosphorous ratio foods. Grasses, leaves, weeds, succulents and some flowers.
6. 70 is much too cool at night. Keep it 80-ish. This is most easily accomplished using a ceramic heating element and a thermostat. It will also be easier in a closed chamber instead of an open topped enclosure.

Ok so I had a 75 watt bulb In and in the basting spot it got too high close to 110 and overall temp was 85. Shaded cool spot was 75.
I took the 75 watt bulb and put in a 50 watt bulb. Now the basting area is only 94 and the overall temp is 82.
Today he got fed grass and grape leaves from the backward.... no problem here with the fress food from the yard.
Humidity level
Says it's at 25%. Not sure if this is high enough.

 

[Big Charlie]

Ok so I had a 75 watt bulb In and in the basting spot it got too high close to 110 and overall temp was 85. Shaded cool spot was 75.
I took the 75 watt bulb and put in a 50 watt bulb. Now the basting area is only 94 and the overall temp is 82.
Today he got fed grass and grape leaves from the backward.... no problem here with the fress food from the yard.
Humidity level
Says it's at 25%. Not sure if this is high enough.

25% isn't high enough. Is your chamber covered?

 

[Chelsie Pemberton]

25% isn't high enough. Is your chamber covered?

It has a screen over it. But that's it

 

[Tom]

Ok so I had a 75 watt bulb In and in the basting spot it got too high close to 110 and overall temp was 85. Shaded cool spot was 75.
I took the 75 watt bulb and put in a 50 watt bulb. Now the basting area is only 94 and the overall temp is 82.
Today he got fed grass and grape leaves from the backward.... no problem here with the fress food from the yard.
Humidity level
Says it's at 25%. Not sure if this is high enough.

75 in the shaded cool spot is too low.

25% humidity is much too low.

Read the care sheet…

Your baby does not have time for you to figure this out the hard way.