8 MONTH OLD SULCATA TORTOISE

[DonatelloTheSulcata]

I have an 8 month old sulcata tortoise, I was talking with another breeder and you should never buy from petco for any tortoise species the UVB ray makes the babies blind, thankfully I found out soon and he is not, I have ordered new bulbs and will keep the Day and night one on during the day, for 90-100 degrees, and make sure to humidify his cage, spray him with water, bathe him, take him outside to prevent pyramiding, Please leave some comments on what I could feed him, he likes grass, kale, and lettuce which is very rare for babies to graze but he loves grass. I live in Draper Utah, I really want him to have a rich and fulfilling life so leave comments on recommendations for food, cages, etc.

 

[DonatelloTheSulcata]

Also, when it is night keep the night one on and put a towel over the part that is not covered by the bulb to increase humidity

 

[Tortoisefanatic88]

Welcome to the forum. Please read Tom's stickies above and your tortoise will have a great life. That is great that your tortoise already likes to graze. Please post some pictures of your sulcata

 

[Tom]

I have an 8 month old sulcata tortoise, I was talking with another breeder and you should never buy from petco for any tortoise species the UVB ray makes the babies blind, thankfully I found out soon and he is not, I have ordered new bulbs and will keep the Day and night one on during the day, for 90-100 degrees, and make sure to humidify his cage, spray him with water, bathe him, take him outside to prevent pyramiding, Please leave some comments on what I could feed him, he likes grass, kale, and lettuce which is very rare for babies to graze but he loves grass. I live in Draper Utah, I really want him to have a rich and fulfilling life so leave comments on recommendations for food, cages, etc.

Sounds like you gotten some mixed up info.

UVB rays do not make babies blind. UVB is necessary. That is why you take them out in the sun. I think what you are referring to is that SOME of the cfl type UV bulbs sold by pet stores can be damaging to tortoise eyes.

Taking them outside does not prevent pyramiding. Growing them in the right conditions is what prevents it.

Here is how to raise and care for them:
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/how-to-raise-a-healthy-sulcata-or-leopard-version-2-0.79895/

Here is what to fed them:
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/for-those-who-have-a-young-sulcata.76744/

Here is what NOT to do:
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/beginner-mistakes.45180/


Read those three threads and I think all your questions will be answered. Hopefully those threads will inspire lots of new questions too. Come back and ask them when you are done.

 

[DonatelloTheSulcata]

Sounds like you gotten some mixed up info.

UVB rays do not make babies blind. UVB is necessary. That is why you take them out in the sun. I think what you are referring to is that SOME of the cfl type UV bulbs sold by pet stores can be damaging to tortoise eyes.

Taking them outside does not prevent pyramiding. Growing them in the right conditions is what prevents it.

Here is how to raise and care for them:
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/how-to-raise-a-healthy-sulcata-or-leopard-version-2-0.79895/

Here is what to fed them:
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/for-those-who-have-a-young-sulcata.76744/

Here is what NOT to do:
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/beginner-mistakes.45180/

http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/beginner-mistakes.45180/


With the sun glow bulb i will get what is a good uvb to use then? @Tom

 

[Yvonne G]

I use either one or the other of these type bulbs:



If you use the Mercury Vapor Bulb (MVB) the one on the left, it provides heat along with UVB so you won't need the sun bulb you mentioned above.

 

[DonatelloTheSulcata]

@Yvonne G Thanks so much! So i just need that one on amazon to promote shell activity and such and stop pyramiding and take him outside and such, and it replaces UVB so I just need that and the night one going in the day and the night one for night?

 

[DonatelloTheSulcata]

@DeanS Can you confirm that is a good bulb for the sun and UVB, also I would turn it on and my night bulb as well to emit 90-100 degrees F for my tortoise, I take him outside everyday and soak him everyday but he is pyramiding a little bit, any advice? (by pyramiding i mean his shell rose from the cracks by a cenimeter or two which can be reversed

 

[Blakem]

You must have misread what I said. The coil uvb bulb you had can cause blindness.

 

[Tom]

@DeanS Can you confirm that is a good bulb for the sun and UVB, also I would turn it on and my night bulb as well to emit 90-100 degrees F for my tortoise, I take him outside everyday and soak him everyday but he is pyramiding a little bit, any advice? (by pyramiding i mean his shell rose from the cracks by a cenimeter or two which can be reversed

From the care sheet I linked:
"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. 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".

UV:
Tortoises MUST have regular exposure to the right kind of UV rays. Real sunshine is best, but be careful. Shade should always be available as babies can overheat and die surprisingly quickly. If your tortoise can get some regular sunning time in a safe outdoor enclosure, even just a couple of times a week for most of the year, you don't need any artificial UV. Its okay if you have to skip two or three weeks of sunning time during a cold winter spell. If you live somewhere with long frozen winters, then some artificial UV might be in order for that time of year. I prefer mercury vapor bulbs. Long florescent UV tubes seem to work okay too nowadays, but I have yet to test that theory. I recommend against any type of coil or cfl UV bulb. I have personally seen these cause eye issues too many times. More research is needed to find out exactly what the problem with the cfl UV bulbs is, but there is no denying that there is a problem at least some of the time."

 

[Tom]

@DeanS Can you confirm that is a good bulb for the sun and UVB, also I would turn it on and my night bulb as well to emit 90-100 degrees F for my tortoise, I take him outside everyday and soak him everyday but he is pyramiding a little bit, any advice? (by pyramiding i mean his shell rose from the cracks by a cenimeter or two which can be reversed

Here is how to prevent pyramiding. Also from the care sheet:
"
There are many things listed as causes of pyramiding. I can refute each one with multiple examples. Lack of UV, lack of calcium, too much protein, too much food, the wrong foods, fast growth, wrong temperatures, small enclosures, not enough exercise, indoor housing, etc. None of these factors CAUSES pyramiding. They can all be somehow related to it, but they don't cause it. Simply put, pyramiding is caused by growth in conditions that are too dry. This is true for any species of tortoise, even the ones that don't typically pyramid. To prevent pyramiding I use a closed chamber and keep the ambient temperature 80 or higher all the time, I keep humidity around 80%, I offer a humid hide that holds 95-100% humidity, I soak daily to ensure good hydration, and I spray the carapace with plain water several times a day. Sulcatas hatch during the African rainy season. It is hot, humid, rainy and marshy. It makes no sense to keep them in a dry box, with dry substrate, and a hot desiccating bulb overhead. Simulating this rainy season has grown me hundreds of smooth leopard and sulcata babies, as well as a few other species too. There are literally hundreds of examples of other people succeeding using the same basic philosophy here on this forum. So please, don't keep sulcatas and leopards in desert-style enclosures. It is not healthy for them. They are not the least bit prone to shell rot, like some other species are, and they DO NOT get respiratory infections from high humidity as long as temps are 80 or higher everywhere in the enclosure, day and night. I don't say these things and come up with these assertions lightly. Its not that I raised one tortoise this way, and everything went okay. I have raised literally hundreds of them this way and had no problems."

Please read those links. All this and more is explained in them.

 

[DonatelloTheSulcata]

I know this is a recommended one from another tortoise owner he said to get the mercury sun glow bulb it has UVB and does not cause blindness

 

[Blakem]

Glad you joined. The sun glo bulb is good. Follow the threads that Tom attached and your sulcata will be on the right track. Welcome to the forum! Glad you decided to join us. I believe you're the person I've been speaking to from Instagram.