I just got a new sulcata! (on wed) and im a bit worried! he hasnt pooped and he has some black stuff around his mouth! is it poop?
emysemys said:Hi SavannanSpike:
Welcome to the forum!!
May we know your name and where you are?
I start with a base of Spring Mix. That's a packaged mixture of baby lettuces that you can find in the produce section of the grocery store. To that I'll add some leaves from outside. I like to try to find dandelion, fillaree, clover, etc. There are lots of edible weeds growing now because of all the rain we've had.
Spike needs to have a night time period. Its pretty stressful for him to have the sun shining all night long. They sell other forms of heat that don't give off light. I like to use black or red bulbs, but they're getting hard to find because the country is phasing incandescent bulbs out in favor of the fluorescent bulbs. Speaking of which - DON'T BUY THE SPIRAL FLUORESCENT BULB! They are harmful to baby tortoises eyes. There is also a CHE or ceramic heat emitter. This is a little heater that screws into a light fixture and provides heat but no light. You can buy them in pet stores or online.
Tom said:Hi Savanna. It looks good and your baby looks like he's in great shape. Here are my suggestions for improvement:
1. It looks like the basking light is over your water bowl. I would move the water bowl more to the middle and put down a flat rock or a piece of slate or sandstone for him to bask on. This will help wear down his nails, make it easier to check your basking temp, and make much more efficient use of the electricity you are using since the rock will safely absorb and disperse the heat when he's not on it.
2. Semi-bury the water bowl so the top of the rim is flush with the substrate or close to it.
3. I used black tape to make a clear hide box like that more opaque. It worked okay for me. Just a few days ago I found black 12 quart dish washing tubs at Walmart for $2.25. I cut the door hole out, flipped it upside down and its working great.
That enclosure will work great... for the next two or three months when he outgrows it! Haha.
Now I can't wait to see what you do for outdoors...