Hello everyone! As the title suggests, I will be receiving a baby sulcata on Tuesday from Underground Reptiles and I couldn't be happier, although I am also a little concerned that I won't get everything right and the little guy won't have a good start. I've done a lot of research but it just seems like there are so many conflicting views out there. So I will tell you what I've done and bought to prepare for his arrival and your thoughts on it would be greatly appreciated. First, I have a 8 by 4 foot enclosure with heat lamps, uvb lights, che, hides and a mix of topsoil (with nothing added) and about 20% playsand for the substrate (about 7 inches deep). Of course I also have a shallow water bowl that can be climbed into. This is currently holding a tegu which I am in the process of rehoming (I realized that I am much more of a tortoise person than a lizard person.) That is where the sulcata will go (hopefully soon) but in the meantime I have a 40 gallon breeder tank with a wire mesh lid that I will be keeping him in. The substrate is a mixture of eco earth and cypress mulch and the hide has moss in it which I will keep moist for the humidity. I have a zoo med powersun mvb for the uva, uvb, and heat in a clamp lamp with a dimmer and a laser thermometer to keep an eye on the temperature. Also a hydrometer for the humidity. Now comes the part I am most concerned about. His food. I bought a bag of collard greens, some 100% Timothy hay bites, ZooMed grassland tortoise food, a 2 oz sample of ZooMed gourmet tortoise food and grass and weeds from my yard. Do you think he will eat any or all of it, and more importantly, do you think he should? Any suggestions about his food and temporary enclosure, or any criticisms or maybe even, dare I say it, praises would be greatly appreciated. Just in case you were wondering, I will be soaking him every day and also let him spend time outside everyday to get natural sunlight and do some grazing. I know this was very long, but I want to do everything right that I possibly can for him. oh, and I will be including pictures of him and his enclosure as soon as I get him.
To be a newbie on Tuesday!
- Thread starter Feyotter
- Start date
hello and welcome
, it sounds like you're going to be a great human for one lucky tort
have you seen the care sheets yet? i would advise against the clamp lamp, from what i have heard... its known for them to fail, fall and start fire
keep on reading, asking and posting pictures! someone, lots of people, will help
, it sounds like you're going to be a great human for one lucky tort have you seen the care sheets yet? i would advise against the clamp lamp, from what i have heard... its known for them to fail, fall and start fire
keep on reading, asking and posting pictures! someone, lots of people, will help
daniellenc
Well-Known Member
Your enclosure sounds good though you may want to find a way to cover the lid to hold in heat and humidity. I assume you'll have a few hides too? For food I'd get some more variety but also ask what he's being fed so you can mimick that. Only your tort knows what it'll eat so offer as much variety as possible and pay attention to his favorites.
Thank you! I have looked at several care sheets, that's why I am a little confused. Lol! I am just going to use the clamp lamp as a fixture for the mvb, I'm not actually going to clamp it up I will just be setting it on top of the wire mesh top. I hope that will be ok, what do you think? Thanks for reading and replying!hello and welcome
have you seen the care sheets yet? i would advise against the clamp lamp, from what i have heard... its known for them to fail, fall and start fire
keep on reading, asking and posting pictures! someone, lots of people, will help
Thanks! I have some ceramic tiles that I will be putting on top of the mesh to cover most of the lid. I think that will work. Once I get him I am going to call Underground Reptiles to ask what exactly he has been eating. Hopefully they will tell me. Great idea about offering the variety, I will definitely do that.
personally, i would go for overkill.. screw it in place and cage it. pictures, and more pictures
best way to get experienced keepers to help advice 'tweeks' you're already doing amazingly by seeking advice, happy tortin'
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Hi
I'm glad to be here!
Welcome!
Thank you. This should be fun.
Hello everyone! My little guy doesn't get here until Tuesday, but I have his temporary enclosure all ready so I thought I would include some pics and see what you thought. I decided to go with a black plastic 21 gallon trough instead of the 40 gallon breeder tank because I read that the little sulcatas shouldn't be able to see out because it will stress them too much. So I followed the advice of Mr Kenan from Kamp Kenan (from his YouTube videos) who had almost the exact same setup for baby sulcatas. I have moistened moss inside his hide and the substrate is a mixture of eco earth and cypress mulch. I'm using a Powersun MVB for the heat, light, and uvb (100 watts) and a ceramic tile under the light to bask on. Also in there is a shallow clay plate that I have water in. The temperatures are definitely at a gradient as they go from 105 degrees under the light to 80 degrees over near the hide. I was worried about the humidity with the enclosure being so open, but according to the hydrometer I have in there near the hide it is about 75%. So how do the temps and humidity sound to you guys, and how does it look overall? I still have time to tweak it if necessary before he (or she) gets here. One last thing, I do have a ceramic heat emmiter (is that spelled right?) for at night, but will I really need to use it if the room the little guys in never goes below 70 degrees?
daniellenc
Well-Known Member
Can you use the lid of that tub to enclose it and place your MVB on top of a hole you cut? Your humidity will plummet fast if not and heat escape. Also, that power sun on for a few hours will get well over 105 and for hatchlings 80 degrees at nights is important. I ditched my MVB for a CHE (ceramic heater) on a thermostat and UVB lights I turn off at night. MVB may be good for daytime basking but night heat and humidity will suffer.
Unfortunately the tub was originally to be used for mixing cement so it didn't come with a lid. The MVB is on a dimmer so if it starts going above 105 I can just dial it back. And I guess I will be using the CHE at night since the temp needs to stay up at 80 degrees. My house is at or above 80 degrees at night in the summer (I have no ac) but I usually keep it at about 68 degrees in the winter. I'll just have to keep an eye on the temps. I don't know what to do about the humidity, but if it stays st about 75 percent will that be ok? Also, keep in mind that this is all just temporary as I have a completely enclosed 8 foot by 4 foot by 4 foot cage that I made for my tegu and as soon as he has gone to his new owner (probably within 2 weeks) the tortoise will be going in there. It already has reptisun uvb lights, basking lights, and even some sedum growing so it's all ready to go. I'm going to put the entire trough in there with a ramp going up into it and then down into it so that he can go in and out whenever he wants but still be in an enclosed cage.
I just want to do right by my little guy, so if you think it would be better to have him in the 40 gallon breeder tank in spite of it being all glass I will. At least then the walls of the tank would be higher so the heat source will be further from the tortoise and a little more controllable and I would be able to cover the screen top with ceramic tiles everywhere except where the light was. That would help keep the heat and humidity in. The tub was only $12 and I'm sure I can find a use for it. The only problem with the glass tank aside from the tortoise being able to see through it is it has less surface area than the tub and I'm just wondering if it will be enough for him. So, if I could get some opinions as to either tub or tank from this experienced panel that would be great!
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Hi and welcome to the TFO. I have one observation for you to consider. Namely, an enclosure of 4' x 8' is quite large for a hatchling sulcata and depending upon how deep your substrate will be and much the tortoise likes to dig into and/or bury itself in the substrate, you could end up spending quite a bit of time looking for the baby. When you first start using that enclosure in a couple of weeks, you might want to consider dividing it in half with some bricks or a board for the first 6-9 months or even longer until it develops a daily routine and you have a feel for the tortoise's habits. Once the tortoise is used to things and begins to grow larger, the divider can be removed to double the available space without stressing the tortoise by moving it into a totally new enclosure.
That is an excellent idea! I will definitely do that. I have plenty of bricks to use but I'll make sure to only put them 2 bricks high to avoid any horrible accidents. I don't want to change my sulcata into a pancake!
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Maybe you should use cinder blocks. No danger of them falling over on the tortoise.
That's doable too. And also a good idea.
Hi all! Taking into consideration comments from several people, and from my research, I decided to stick with the tub for now as it has more area for the tortoise to walk around in, and it can't be seen through. With that in mind I changed how the MVB is set up by putting it on a clamp and raising it to about 12 inches from the tile. Now the basking area is at between 90 and 100 degrees (more to the higher end of that) and the rest of the enclosure is at about 80, 82 degrees. I was still worried about the humidity, but as you can see it is at 80 percent near the hide - probably higher inside of it. What do you think? Good for him?
daniellenc
Well-Known Member
Definitely better. You can even partially cover it to hold humidity as humidity always rises after misting but with open air flow will decrease quickly.
