a little help

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redreatta

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hello all. i was hoping someone could give me some pointers on raising a baby sulcata tortise.....we bought him about two weeks ago, and come to find out we were givin the wrong info on how to raise and care for IGGIE...at first we had him in a 30 gallon glass tank,with a uva-uvb daytime heat lamp set roughly 12 inchs above him,gave him fresh water in a small lid daily and fresh mustard,collard greens romaine lett. his bedding is alfalfa pellets,and a 100 watt heat lamp for night time...i have a point and click temp reader it was registering 94 degrees in its hottest point and 75 in its coolest....and he was very perky,,,would move about the tank all day........now i have built a tort table for him.....alot bigger,much more room....i let him run the whole thing with a heat lamp in one corner and a uva-uvb daytime lamp in the other corner and he has slowed down alot!!!!!! he sleeps all day and doesnt move as much....the heat range is 70-90 degrees ia all areas. we took him to the vet and she gave us shots to give to him every 3 days because of parasites in his stomach...and eyedrops......i guess i am asking WHAT SHOULD I DO????????????? i would love some expert advise on how to raise him...............please any help would be awsome
 

Yvonne G

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I know that we all tell you not to use aquariums for desert-type tortoise babies, but let me ask you this: If it was working, why did you change it?

My GUESS is that it isn't warm enough for him. The light also plays a big part in their activity. Sometimes too much UV can be harmful to little babies. Did you say that the UV fixture is 12" from the floor of the habitat? And it needs to be on one end so that he can get away from it if he wants to.

Because baby tortoises are on "slow cook," its a good idea to soak them daily for about 15 minutes each time. When they get to be about a year old, you can go to two or three times a week, and if you see him drinking on his own, you can do away with the soaking.

I know they tell you to keep babies on alfalfa pellets, but that's old school. Now-a-days we encourage you to use a substrate that you can moisten. My personal choice is orchid bark. Second choice is cypress mulch. Quite a few folks like a mixture of part Play Sand (from a big box store) and part coconut coir (Bed-A-Beast). These substrates are easier for the baby to walk on, and you can moisten them to keep up the humidity in the habitat. It has been determined that lack of humidity plays a large part in the pyramiding of the sulcata's carapace.

You want to try for a warm end and a room temperature end in the habitat. He needs to be able to get his body temperature up in the 80's in order to digest his food, then go to the cooler end and cool down a bit. Right under the light should be HOT, with it getting less hot as he moves away from the light.

I don't think you'll see much activity until the de-worming program is over with. The de-wormers make the tortoise feel pretty sick.

Good luck with your new baby, and:

708762z877w1gh49.png


to the forum!!

Yvonne
 

TortieGal

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Hi Welcome! Wow you have to give him shots and eye drops, I bet he doesn't like that one bit! I'm really glad my vet gave Herman His wormer by mouth. I did have to give him antibiotics but he will eat anything in some squash. I'm really glad you found the fourm you will get lots of good advice here. It sounds like your little guy is a bit cold. Good luck and keep us updated.
 
M

Maggie Cummings

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Here's a link to the care sheet that I prefer to use. The de-wormer you are giving him makes him feel sick, so that could be one thing that's wrong. Another could be the UVB light...is it a coil light? They aren't very good. They have been known to cause eye damage. I had one hatchling die and another was blinded because of those lights. Because he is in such a large tort table I would get a 100 watt Trex flood type bulb and I bet he perks right up. So I think your bulb is bad, the wormer is making him sick and he needs a different bulb...:)
 

redreatta

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emysemys said:
I know that we all tell you not to use aquariums for desert-type tortoise babies, but let me ask you this: If it was working, why did you change it?

My GUESS is that it isn't warm enough for him. The light also plays a big part in their activity. Sometimes too much UV can be harmful to little babies. Did you say that the UV fixture is 12" from the floor of the habitat? And it needs to be on one end so that he can get away from it if he wants to.

Because baby tortoises are on "slow cook," its a good idea to soak them daily for about 15 minutes each time. When they get to be about a year old, you can go to two or three times a week, and if you see him drinking on his own, you can do away with the soaking.

I know they tell you to keep babies on alfalfa pellets, but that's old school. Now-a-days we encourage you to use a substrate that you can moisten. My personal choice is orchid bark. Second choice is cypress mulch. Quite a few folks like a mixture of part Play Sand (from a big box store) and part coconut coir (Bed-A-Beast). These substrates are easier for the baby to walk on, and you can moisten them to keep up the humidity in the habitat. It has been determined that lack of humidity plays a large part in the pyramiding of the sulcata's carapace.

You want to try for a warm end and a room temperature end in the habitat. He needs to be able to get his body temperature up in the 80's in order to digest his food, then go to the cooler end and cool down a bit. Right under the light should be HOT, with it getting less hot as he moves away from the light.

I don't think you'll see much activity until the de-worming program is over with. The de-wormers make the tortoise feel pretty sick.

Good luck with your new baby, and:

708762z877w1gh49.png


to the forum!!

Yvonne


emysemys said:
I know that we all tell you not to use aquariums for desert-type tortoise babies, but let me ask you this: If it was working, why did you change it?

My GUESS is that it isn't warm enough for him. The light also plays a big part in their activity. Sometimes too much UV can be harmful to little babies. Did you say that the UV fixture is 12" from the floor of the habitat? And it needs to be on one end so that he can get away from it if he wants to.

Because baby tortoises are on "slow cook," its a good idea to soak them daily for about 15 minutes each time. When they get to be about a year old, you can go to two or three times a week, and if you see him drinking on his own, you can do away with the soaking.

I know they tell you to keep babies on alfalfa pellets, but that's old school. Now-a-days we encourage you to use a substrate that you can moisten. My personal choice is orchid bark. Second choice is cypress mulch. Quite a few folks like a mixture of part Play Sand (from a big box store) and part coconut coir (Bed-A-Beast). These substrates are easier for the baby to walk on, and you can moisten them to keep up the humidity in the habitat. It has been determined that lack of humidity plays a large part in the pyramiding of the sulcata's carapace.

You want to try for a warm end and a room temperature end in the habitat. He needs to be able to get his body temperature up in the 80's in order to digest his food, then go to the cooler end and cool down a bit. Right under the light should be HOT, with it getting less hot as he moves away from the light.

I don't think you'll see much activity until the de-worming program is over with. The de-wormers make the tortoise feel pretty sick.

Good luck with your new baby, and:

708762z877w1gh49.png


to the forum!!

Yvonne
 

redreatta

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thank you for the info....i had changed it because i had read that aquariums were not good for him and thought that a larger are would be helpful. the uva uvb lamp is a EXO TERRA SOLAR GLOW 160 WATT SUN STIMULATING LAMP MERCURY VAPOR......sitting roughly 12 inches above his shell....its temps read 90 degrees in its hottest point. the area that he is in right now is roughly 3 ft. X 2 ft. i put a EXO TERRA 100 WATT HEAT LAMP(red) in at night. i only have the day bulb in from 7 am to 7 pm..... then the red bulb.....i built a corner spot that is shaded so if he needs to get out of the sun for a bit he can.....how hot should it be in there....is there one spot that needs to be hotter than 90 degrees.???
 

katesgoey

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krissgreeve said:
Hello all.
I was hoping someone could give me some pointers on raising a baby sulcata tortise. we bought him about one week ago, and come to find out we were given the wrong info on how to raise and care for IGGIE. At first we had him in a 30 gallon glass tank,with a uva-uvb daytime heat lamp set roughly 12 inches above him, gave him fresh water in a small lid daily and fresh mustard,collard greens moraine lett. his bedding is alfalfa pellets, and a 100 watt heat lamp for night time. I have a point and click temp reader it was registering 94 degrees in its hottest point and 75 in its coolest.

Thanks
I would change the substrate. I would also feed Spring Mix without the spinach and add calcium or a cuttlebone. Read through the Sulcata Central threads and this one, and go to www.africantortoise.com and/or www.sulcatacentral.com.
 

reptylefreek

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krissgreeve said:
Hello all.
I was hoping someone could give me some pointers on raising a baby sulcata tortise. we bought him about one week ago, and come to find out we were given the wrong info on how to raise and care for IGGIE. At first we had him in a 30 gallon glass tank,with a uva-uvb daytime heat lamp set roughly 12 inches above him, gave him fresh water in a small lid daily and fresh mustard,collard greens moraine lett. his bedding is alfalfa pellets, and a 100 watt heat lamp for night time. I have a point and click temp reader it was registering 94 degrees in its hottest point and 75 in its coolest.

Thanks
If you are also having these same questions you should probably start your own thread.
 

redreatta

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well.....i think iggie is doing better..he seems to be a little more energetic......am wondering how you obtain 70-80% humidity...and if a 1/4 cup of greens mixed with grasses is enough food for the 10-11 week old.....if i ever figure out how to post the pic i will....lol.thanks for the advise guys and gals........i know iggie thanks you
 

reptylefreek

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Personally I was just throwing in a small handfull, like a quarter cup, and if he ate it all I would put a little bit more in. But it also depends on how much room he has to get some exercise. My yearling gets fed every morning and if there isnt one leaf left when I get home I'll give him another serving. But Marlin also gets to cruize around his "yard" which is a large area. Some people also say a serving size as big as his shell, and there are quite a few people who feed babies twice a day in a little smaller servings. Kinda depends on who you talk to.
 
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