New to forum and new sulcata!

[Erik Elvis]

Hey guys. New to the forum. Got a new "yearling" sulcata and was wondering about my set up. Unfortunately many years ago I had a sulcata that died from Ingesting the walnut substrate and became impacted. Never again! Using Cyprus mulch and dirt mix.

First off I think my yearling is kinda small. Prob about 4". Has started to show slight pyramiding. So need to fix this early. Have been soaking him 4-5 days a week. Not sure if excessive for a turtle this age. Also feeding him a mushed up mix of mazuri and finely chopped hay. He seemed to take to it quickly. No romaine or anything yet. Add the calcium 1 or 2 days a week.

As far as housing he's currently in the zoo med tortoise pen. I really like it. For heat I have a ceramic at night which is in the open area. Keeps it mid 80's. He tends to sleep outside the hide. Wondering if I should move it to over the hide so it warms up and he goes in there. I'm using a mercury bulb for heat now and the basking area is between 95-98 degrees. The house generally stays between 72-75 In the summer. I'm Going to change over to a fluorescent uvb and regular heat light soon.

Overall he seems fairly active. And is warming up to me staying out of his shell when I come up to him and when I take him out to soak. (Had him about 3 weeks)

Any suggestions for me?

Thanks Erik!

 

[Tom]

Hello and welcome.

Post some pics of the set up and tortoise for us to get a better idea of things there. And please go into your user profile and add your location, so we can offer better advice tailored to your specific climate and environment. Different advice for Philly vs. Phoenix.

Here is the proper care info for this species:
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/beginner-mistakes.45180/
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/how-to-raise-a-healthy-sulcata-or-leopard-version-2-0.79895/
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/for-those-who-have-a-young-sulcata.76744/

 

[Tidgy's Dad]

Hello, and a very warm welcome to Tortoise Forum.

 

[Erik Elvis]

I will try to get some pics up later. And I'm in Delaware. Not far from philly!

 

[Tom]

I will try to get some pics up later. And I'm in Delaware. Not far from philly!

What a good guess!!! Well in that case, don't house your tortoise the same way someone in Phoenix might!!!

Those ZooMed houses are big enough for a hatchling, but way too open unless you are using it inside a warm humid reptile or fish room. These tortoises grow at wildly different rates depending on a lot of variable, so I don't know what size yours is. My "yearlings" are 8-10" and 1000 grams at 12-14 months old. That would be WAY too bog for one of those ZooMed houses. My general strategy is to start them in something 2x4' or 4x4' and then move them up to a 4x8' closed chamber once they put on a little size. Concurrently, I'll use a large outdoor enclsoure for sun, exercising and grazing during nice weather. I let babies have about an hour of outside time for every inch of tortoise. Once they reach 5-6" I will leave them outside all day, but bring them into their warm humid chambers every night.

Most of the care info that is out in the world for these guys is wrong. Its based on 30 year old incorrect assumptions about how they live in the wild. They are NOT desert animals and babies hatch in the wild during hot humid rainy monsoon conditions. Its all explained in those threads above.

 

[Erik Elvis]

Here's why I just changed the light set up to. 24" T5 ho 5.0 for uvb and a regular old 100w basking lamp. Not sure what to do about night heating yet. The ceramic is just sitting on the wood right now. (Not turned on)

 

[Erik Elvis]

As you can see the "yearling" is pretty small. SPoon for scale.

 

[Tom]

He's been raised in conditions that were too dry, and your enclosure is too dry too. That is one problem with the ZooMed houses. Can't use damp substrate. These guys need a closed in top and damp substrate as babies. If they don't get this, they grow really slow and pyramid.

 

[Erik Elvis]

Is there a remedy for this? There is some organic potting soil under the Cyprus but not much. I try to mist the cage once a day. Is he old enough that I can be less vigilant with humidity?

 

[Tidgy's Dad]

Your substrate needs to be moist (not wet) and warm.
You need a closed chamber to keep in the humidity. Cover the top for now. (but leave a gap for the lights).
Mix water directly into the substrate by hand, mixing doesn't cut it.

 

[Erik Elvis]

Ugh I'm stressed. Thanks for the replies guys. And tom I somehow missed the links in your original post. It must be from using my phone. On the iPad I noticed them. They helped.

 

[Erik Elvis]

Ok. Gonna run to lowes and get some plexiglass. Will likely need a lower watt heat bulb too for the day. And use a CHE on a thermostat all day.

 

[Stuart S.]

Welcome Erik! It can be overwhelming at first but you will figure it out very quickly! These folks know what they're talking about good luck with your baby!

 

[Erik Elvis]

Ok here's what I ended up with. The first green house came broke so I had to wait for this one. Humid hide is about 78 degrees with 73% humidity. I'm adjusting the lights in main area. Humidity is mid 60's. after a few days of tweaking should be good.

I did weigh him for the first time about 4 days ago. He was 144g. I weighed him again this morning at 146g. Tonight he was 154g. His did not poop when I soaked him today though

 

[Erik Elvis]

I've officially named him Helmut.

 

[Bee62]

View attachment 215315
I've officially named him Helmut.

LOL ! Helmut is a german name, or not ?

Helmut is cute ! Good luck with him.

Greetings from Germany.

Sabine

 

[Erik Elvis]

German name for sure! Thanks!

 

[Big Charlie]

View attachment 215315
I've officially named him Helmut.

Helmut because he looks like a helmet?

 

[Erik Elvis]

Helmut because he looks like a helmet?

More or less. Didn't want to just call him helmet so switched it up with the German name Helmut. Helmet would have been just as cool though. And if it turns out to be a girl (and I hope it is) I can still live with that name.

 

[Maro2Bear]

View attachment 215313
Ok here's what I ended up with. The first green house came broke so I had to wait for this one. Humid hide is about 78 degrees with 73% humidity. I'm adjusting the lights in main area. Humidity is mid 60's. after a few days of tweaking should be good.

I did weigh him for the first time about 4 days ago. He was 144g. I weighed him again this morning at 146g. Tonight he was 154g. His did not poop when I soaked him today though

Hey Erik, triple check your temperatures, 78 inside your humid hide, based on Tom's guidance and my experience with our Sully, is way too low. Had you said 95, it would be good. Low temps coupled with high humidity is recipe for issues. High heat high humidity is what you are aiming to achieve. Closed chambers, CHE, IS what you need. Nice moist substrate.


Info right from @Tom 's link on temp, humidity:

Heating and Lighting:
I use a 65 watt incandescent flood bulb on a 12 hour timer and adjust the height of the fixture to get a hot spot of around 100 directly under the bulb. Then I use a ceramic heating element set to 80 degrees on a reptile thermostat to maintain my ambient temperature in the enclosure. Sometimes the basking lamp raises the day time ambient into the low 90s. "Ambient should be no lower than 80, but drifting up to 90 during the heat of the day is good…" This is fine and the thermostat will keep your CHE off during these times, but ready to click on after the basking lamp clicks off and the ambient temperature starts to drop at night. I use long florescent tubes when I want to brighten up the whole enclosure and I run these on the same timer as the basking bulb. The above are just what works for me and are suggestions for what might work for you. Every enclosure and home is different, and some customization will usually be necessary to get things "just right".