So I adopted the special needs sulcata today.....

[lisa127]

And I am feeling a bit overwhelmed. He is in a temporary wooden enclosure right now (not big enough). I have to go shopping tomorrow for appropriate lighting and substrate. Right now since his back legs don't work well i put some paper shreds on the floor to give him traction. He has a heat lamp for now but not his uvb yet. It is sad to see him walk because he drags his back legs basically. I measured and weighed him. His shell is 9 inches SCL and 8 inches wide. He is 6 1/2 lbs. Pretty small. So do I give him lots of room like any other tortoise or keep things a little closer together since he doesn't get around as well as others? What elose should I do for him? @Tom and others

 

[Prairie Mom]

Hi Lisa
Sorry, I can't advise you properly. I'm sure help will be along soon I just wanted to cheer you on! See what others say, but it makes sense to me to have a smaller enclosure where water and food is easily accessible and expand as he gains strength. It's a shame that winter is approaching because natural sunlight would do this beasty wonders.

I have only seen severe MBD in mammals. Sorry not great tortoise experience, but my tortoise had some soft spots in her carapace when we got her. You already know that you can get calcium powder with D3. It may not hurt to experiment with bird vitamin drops in his water source from time to time as well. If you test it out, just put in small amounts to be sure that the sulcata is still willing to drink and soak in it. Daylight, good calcium rich food, and achieving proper temps and high humidity made a huge change rather quickly. I really did notice a big difference once I achieved what is recommended in the closed chamber discussions.

See what other members have to say. *IF they are comfortable with smaller sized housing this winter, one cheap and easy option is to buy the largest size Tupperware that you can (ones where YOU can fit inside). You can easily cut a side off the Tupperware and duct tape it to other giant Tupperware storage totes. You can make a pretty long sized enclosure by making a train of these bins attached to each other. Not pretty, but effective. This is what I did when we first got our Sulcata. I kept the lids on, cut holes in the lids for lights and CHEs and covered the lights and everything in an aluminum foil tent. Again--UGLY, but I achieved good temps and humidity.

I'm eager to hear what members with preferable Sulcata experience have to say to you. I think you did a wonderful thing! As your sulcata heals (which he will do under your care!!!) please show lots of photos and make threads like every proud parent! I want to see your sulcata photos at the top of the main forum page often!!

 

[Prairie Mom]

It's great that you tagged Tom. @Yvonne G and @SamAnn may have some good advice for you too. SamAnn just adopted a sulcata in similar condition and they are getting Bowser to walk for the first time!

 

[lisa127]

Thank you for your positive response. I have my redfoot living in a portable greenhouse for winter in my basement. The dimensions are 6 feet by 4 1/2 feet. I'm wondering if I should get one for this guy as well. I feel bad for him. Cleveland is not the best home for him but I want to do the best I can for him. Can you believe they think he is about 5 years old? At that small size....only 6 1/2 lbs.

 

[Prairie Mom]

Thank you for your positive response. I have my redfoot living in a portable greenhouse for winter in my basement. The dimensions are 6 feet by 4 1/2 feet. I'm wondering if I should get one for this guy as well. I feel bad for him. Cleveland is not the best home for him but I want to do the best I can for him. Can you believe they think he is about 5 years old? At that small size....only 6 1/2 lbs.

This sounds like a decent idea to me! As long as you can get the proper temps etc, but please take others' advice over mine. You may also just have to see how quickly this guy starts to recover and adjust as you go. My gut tells me that achieving proper light and climate with a rich calcium diet are the most important factor right now. After that, I would say helping this little guy to feel safe and acquire a routine every day are the next important thing. Poor baby! Does he/she have a name???

I live in a cold climate too. My winters are longer than Cleveland's. Yeah...it's not good to be a sully owner, but I'm so stinkin' stubborn that I'm determined to make it work. I'm so stubborn that I'm sending some stubbornness your way too and insist that YOU can make it work too!!! I guarantee that whatever you come up with for this winter, if you get those important demands met, you will have a NEW TORTOISE NEXT SPRING!!!

 

[leigti]

The portable greenhouse would probably work. It would definitely help keep the heat and humidity in. If you have a cuttlebone I would throw that in there for him. A very good UVB bulb, good diet, and hydration will go a long ways.

 

[lisa127]

The portable greenhouse would probably work. It would definitely help keep the heat and humidity in. If you have a cuttlebone I would throw that in there for him. A very good UVB bulb, good diet, and hydration will go a long ways.

Yes he has one. All of mine do. The greenhouse has worked wonderfully for my redfoot.

 

[lisa127]

Is he in pain?

 

[Big Charlie]

Poor little guy! Bless you for giving him a good home.

 

[leigti]

I think it's great that you took him in. Sometimes people don't want the ones that aren't "pretty" or have issues. I would make sure that whatever surface he is walking on it is relatively firm. Some people have put their tortoise in a deep tub of water and held them up just enough so that they move their back legs and sort of swim. I realize this is an as easy with the bigger ones but it can be done.

 

[Prairie Mom]

Is he in pain?

Here is a link to SamAnn's first introduction thread about her special needs sulcata...
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/new-rescue-mom-here.129191/#post-1206964
When I had basically the same conversation about MBD that I had here with you, Yvonne spoke up and said that the reason they don't move around much is because they are in pain and suggested the possibility of seeing a vet for pain meds. I tagged SamAnn. Hopefully they'll visit the site over the next few days and can tell you what they did.

 

[lisa127]

Here is a link to SamAnn's first introduction thread about her special needs sulcata...
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/new-rescue-mom-here.129191/#post-1206964
When I had basically the same conversation about MBD that I had here with you, Yvonne spoke up and said that the reason they don't move around much is because they are in pain and suggested the possibility of seeing a vet for pain meds. I tagged SamAnn. Hopefully they'll visit the site over the next few days and can tell you what they did.

Thank you!!

 

[lisa127]

So this morning I went and bought uvb lighting and food. I bought him collard greens, turnip greens, dandelions and hay. I think I screwed up on the uvb. I bought the reptisun t5 high output flourescent, but when I got home discovered it is the 5.0 and not 10.0. The fixture is about 18 inches above his shell. Should I take it back or will that work?

I soaked him this morning and he pooped while soaking g so no constipation problems. He also ate some of the collard and turnip greens with a little arugula.

We have named him Scooter since he can only scoot with his back legs.

Should I assume he will never be a large sulcata (if he is able to recover)?

 

[Prairie Mom]

I think I screwed up on the uvb. I bought the reptisun t5 high output flourescent, but when I got home discovered it is the 5.0 and not 10.0. The fixture is about 18 inches above his shell. Should I take it back or will that work?

My confidence wanes a bit when I start chatting about electronics and gadgetry. I probably wouldn't exchange it, but see what other people say. The T5 is just the size of the bulb that fits into your light fixture. I believe the lower the "T" the less energy it requires to function, so you picked an energy efficient light. Nice

As for the 5.0 vs 10.0... PLEASE double check what I'm telling you here...
I think the main difference between the two is how large of an enclosure you are trying to light and the proximity from the animal absorbing the UVB. If I were lighting a larger and taller area, I would really try to get the strongest output available for indoors over winter. BUT your tortoise is going to be in a relatively smaller enclosure with the light at a distance of about 18inches. Your UVB doesn't have to travel too far to reach your tortoise. I think this should do the trick. Make sure there are lots of hides and maybe even a hanging plant or something to filter light so Scooter (cute name!) can take breaks from the bright light.

Also, there is nothing better than natural sunlight. If you come across a day that is sixty degrees and dry, I would take him out for about an hour and then bring him in for a really warm soak and dry him well before putting him in his nice warm enclosure.

 

[lisa127]

Thanks for your help. After watching him I do not think I'm going to worry right now about getting him out of this small enclosure. It is difficult for him to get around. My very active redfoot could never be in this small enclosure but I'm thinking king maybe it's what scooter needs right now. My heart breaks watching him try to get around.

 

[lisa127]

@Tom I know what temps are recommended for a hatchling indoors, but what should I be shooting for with this guy?

 

[Tom]

@Tom I know what temps are recommended for a hatchling indoors, but what should I be shooting for with this guy?

The 5.0 bulbs produce very little UV. I would go back for the 10.0.

I would use the same temps for any sulcata indoors. No lower than 80, basking area around 100.

There is no way to know what size this guy will reach. Some of these cases end up fine and grow tremendously and other barely grow at all. Time will tell.

 

[lisa127]

The 5.0 bulbs produce very little UV. I would go back for the 10.0.

I would use the same temps for any sulcata indoors. No lower than 80, basking area around 100.

There is no way to know what size this guy will reach. Some of these cases end up fine and grow tremendously and other barely grow at all. Time will tell.

What about night temps?

 

[Tom]

What about night temps?

No lower than 80.

I will sometimes set my thermostats into the low 70s in summer here to try to start the hot days a little cooler, but it near or above 100 here everyday in summer. In winter I bump them up to 85-86 since the days are shorter and cooler, but these are for outdoor tortoises. Indoors I would set ambient no lower than 80 day or night year round, and still offer a basking area around 100 degrees for 12-13 hours a day.

 

[Yvonne G]

Also, if you plan on placing the light on that screen, don't. The small screening filters out the UVB and this tortoise needs all he can get.