Does she look healthy

Jan A

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Thank you for helping me with my baby know that she is loved and will update you on changes
Tarra, welcome to the forum. You can read the care sheet & ask as many questions as you want. We are here to help.

This is a lot of information to take in all at once, so have patience with the concepts you're now learning about. They work. The old ways don't work very well. When I get my tort soon, for all my reading here, I'm still going to have questions.

Some of us are cranky. We care about torts. So stay on board, post pictures & questions & let us help you do the best you can for your tort. At least 2 or more of us at any one time have unlimited patience.
 

Maggie3fan

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Tarra, welcome to the forum. You can read the care sheet & ask as many questions as you want. We are here to help.

This is a lot of information to take in all at once, so have patience with the concepts you're now learning about. They work. The old ways don't work very well. When I get my tort soon, for all my reading here, I'm still going to have questions.

Some of us are cranky. We care about torts. So stay on board, post pictures & questions & let us help you do the best you can for your tort. At least 2 or more of us at any one time have unlimited patience.
Who's cranky?????
 

Jan A

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Joined
Jan 9, 2021
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Location (City and/or State)
Boulder, CO
Thank you for helping me with my baby know that she is loved and will update you on changes
Tarra, welcome to the forum. You can read the care sheet & ask as many questions as you want. We are here to help.

This is a lot of information to take in all at once, so have patience with the concepts you're now learning about. They work. The old ways don't work very well. When I get my tort soon, for all my reading here, I'm still going to have questions.

Some of us are cranky. We care about torts. So stay on board, post pictures & questions & let us help you do the best you can for your tort. At least 2 or more of us at any one time ha unlimited patience.
Who's cranky?????
You, me, @Blackdog...others can chime in.
 

Maggie3fan

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I came for advice now wile she is young you didn't have to be so harsh
I'm sorry, I didn't mean to sound so "harsh". But please understand, I was simply trying to sound stern because if you don't change the way now how you are feeding her and keeping her she will be grossly deformed like Mary Knobbins, chance of MBD, (metabolic bone disease) be extremely unhealthy with soft bones...please read that care sheet and understand I just want your tortoise to be healthy.
 

Tarra

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May 10, 2021
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Mount Vernon
I'm sorry, I didn't mean to sound so "harsh". But please understand, I was simply trying to sound stern because if you don't change the way now how you are feeding her and keeping her she will be grossly deformed like Mary Knobbins, chance of MBD, (metabolic bone disease) be extremely unhealthy with soft bones...please read that care sheet and understand I just want your tortoise to be healthy.
I have got a heat lamp and heating bulb and thermometer and humidity reader coconut fiber substrate I also ordered her some monazury and calcium
 

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Sarah2020

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There is no instant fix as changes take time to implement and for tortoise to adjust. Read the care sheet, adjust and then continue. Picture taken through humid glass so difficult to see best take it out and photo top and underneath with care. Also try to maintain a weekly weight log. Sunday am soak is followed by weigh in and it is rewarding to see growth and health as a keeper. Enjoy...
 

csheikh

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What would be the best bedding for her tank and how much outside time should she have I truly want her to stay beautiful and healthy
The best bedding would be cypress mulch mixed with dirt. She should get an hour outside in the sun. To prevent serious calcium deficiencies, you should give her reptile calcium twice a week in her food. You can get most of this stuff from Flukers and ZooMed including a UVB light which is needed if it's an indoor enclosure. Water should be available at all times too.
 

nicoleann2214

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NY
The best bedding would be cypress mulch mixed with dirt. She should get an hour outside in the sun. To prevent serious calcium deficiencies, you should give her reptile calcium twice a week in her food. You can get most of this stuff from Flukers and ZooMed including a UVB light which is needed if it's an indoor enclosure. Water should be available at all times too.
@Tom
 

Tarra

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Mount Vernon
There is no instant fix as changes take time to implement and for tortoise to adjust. Read the care sheet, adjust and then continue. Picture taken through humid glass so difficult to see best take it out and photo top and underneath with care. Also try to maintain a weekly weight log. Sunday am soak is followed by weigh in and it is rewarding to see growth and health as a keeper. Enjoy...
Thank you love her very much and want her to be happy and healthy
 

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Tom

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I put her inclosure in front of a window so she can get sun even when she is inside
Hi Aranda. You've gotten the usual bad care advice, but we will help you sort it all out.

Sulcatas hatch at the start of the hot wet humid rainy season over in Africa. This being the case, they need warm temps, high humidity, and excellent hydration 24/7. They don't do well in dry conditions, outside all day, or with cold nights. I'm glad you are willing to make some changes.

Fine grade orchid bark is the best substrate. If you can't find that, coco coir will work, but its messy. Plain cypress mulch will work, and that might be easiest and cheapest for you to find there in TX. Sand is a potential skin and eye irritant, and it will also likely cause a fatal impaction.

Be careful putting the enclosure near a window. It will over heat surprisingly quickly, and the glass filters out all the UV, so there is no benefit to it.

Limit outside time to warmer sunny weather. About one hour per inch of tortoise is a good guideline.

Soak the tortoise every day.

Your enclosure is going to need an upgrade. Its impossible to maintain the correct conditions in something like that.

All this and so much more is in the care sheet. I recommend reading through it a couple of times, and then feel free to ask all your questions.
 
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zovick

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I put her inclosure in front of a window so she can get sun even when she is inside
Glass blocks out the UV rays of the sun, so even though the tortoise is getting "sun" in a window, it is not the same (or as beneficial) as getting unfiltered natural sunlight outdoors or from a good UV-emitting strip fluorescent light placed over the enclosure.
 

Tarra

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May 10, 2021
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Mount Vernon
Glass blocks out the UV rays of the sun, so even though the tortoise is getting "sun" in a window, it is not the same (or as beneficial) as getting unfiltered natural sunlight outdoors or from a good UV-emitting strip fluorescent light placed over the enclosure.
Oh she has a florescent light
 

Tarra

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May 10, 2021
Messages
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Location (City and/or State)
Mount Vernon
There is no instant fix as changes take time to implement and for tortoise to adjust. Read the care sheet, adjust and then continue. Picture taken through humid glass so difficult to see best take it out and photo top and underneath with care. Also try to maintain a weekly weight log. Sunday am soak is followed by weigh in and it is rewarding to see growth and health as a keeper. Enjoy...
I don't think I can weigh her
 

csheikh

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I don't think I can weigh her
I just use a kitchen scale, and l put plastic wrap on to the surface before weighing the tortoise and remove the plastic after, so it's not unhygienic.
 
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