- Joined
- Jan 7, 2013
- Messages
- 17
Hello!
I’ve been using this forum for reference for some time now but I finally have a question of my own. I own a sulcata who is about 8 years old and had a beautiful shell up until last winter.
Disclaimer: Sorry for the novel but I want to answer as many questions you might naturally have before you can give any sound advice.
I’ve just moved to north Georgia from Nebraska a couple of years ago. In Nebraska over the winter I kept “Hank†in a large stock tank with a heating element in my relatively warm basement. His shell has always been beautiful.
I feed him various greens and veggies and Mazuri diet. While the weather was nice we got him out in our half acre back yard to graze and catch some sun as much as possible. The nights have turned and the days have hardly been over 60F so we keep him mostly in his new enclosure.
His “new†(meaning since the move) puts him in a garage (no artificial heat aside from his heating element… I wish the South had a better appreciation for basements ) the substrate is cypress mulch and he has a red heat lamp on the enclosed side and just a white flood light on the open side. (See pictures.) He has a water dish that is large enough for him to lie in (not pictured). It started last winter and his shell has mostly healed over the summer but already, after two weeks full time in his enclosure it has started again.
His scutes are experiencing what looks like rapid growth/separating and deep fissures. I have begun bathing him once a week (so he is in the tub right now for the second time in two weeks) and have attempted to apply olive oil and then buff it off with a soft cloth. I’ve not seen a difference yet, but surely it doesn’t help overnight. I’ve also considered coconut oil or purchasing vitashell. I don’t want to slather the kid once a week in this junk. I want to know what is causing the problem.
My hypothesis is that he spends most of his time under the red heat lamp and has since grown since the enclosure was built. (There is a little more than 12†when he is standing between him and the light.) I think it’s drying him out too much. What is the solution? Build up the enclosed side to be higher so the light isn’t directly on top of him but still keeping him warm? A different heat source? I’m not interested in pig blankets, but maybe a ceramic element? I can’t figure out a way to add humidity since the housing is in an open environment. Maybe even a different type of substrate? I just don’t know. Perhaps it is something I haven’t even considered or don’t know about.
Aside from all of this he is alert, active, and eats well.
Any advice or input would be beyond greatly appreciated. This big guy is my baby and I’m kind of freaking out.
<3 Thanks in advance!!! <3
-Andrea
P.S. These photos were taken just moments ago after I took him out of his bath, so you'll see a bit of water of him. I did the best I could getting clear pictures but this boy is a mover and shaker!
I’ve been using this forum for reference for some time now but I finally have a question of my own. I own a sulcata who is about 8 years old and had a beautiful shell up until last winter.
Disclaimer: Sorry for the novel but I want to answer as many questions you might naturally have before you can give any sound advice.
I’ve just moved to north Georgia from Nebraska a couple of years ago. In Nebraska over the winter I kept “Hank†in a large stock tank with a heating element in my relatively warm basement. His shell has always been beautiful.
I feed him various greens and veggies and Mazuri diet. While the weather was nice we got him out in our half acre back yard to graze and catch some sun as much as possible. The nights have turned and the days have hardly been over 60F so we keep him mostly in his new enclosure.
His “new†(meaning since the move) puts him in a garage (no artificial heat aside from his heating element… I wish the South had a better appreciation for basements
) the substrate is cypress mulch and he has a red heat lamp on the enclosed side and just a white flood light on the open side. (See pictures.) He has a water dish that is large enough for him to lie in (not pictured). It started last winter and his shell has mostly healed over the summer but already, after two weeks full time in his enclosure it has started again.
His scutes are experiencing what looks like rapid growth/separating and deep fissures. I have begun bathing him once a week (so he is in the tub right now for the second time in two weeks) and have attempted to apply olive oil and then buff it off with a soft cloth. I’ve not seen a difference yet, but surely it doesn’t help overnight. I’ve also considered coconut oil or purchasing vitashell. I don’t want to slather the kid once a week in this junk. I want to know what is causing the problem.
My hypothesis is that he spends most of his time under the red heat lamp and has since grown since the enclosure was built. (There is a little more than 12†when he is standing between him and the light.) I think it’s drying him out too much. What is the solution? Build up the enclosed side to be higher so the light isn’t directly on top of him but still keeping him warm? A different heat source? I’m not interested in pig blankets, but maybe a ceramic element? I can’t figure out a way to add humidity since the housing is in an open environment. Maybe even a different type of substrate? I just don’t know. Perhaps it is something I haven’t even considered or don’t know about.
Aside from all of this he is alert, active, and eats well.
Any advice or input would be beyond greatly appreciated. This big guy is my baby and I’m kind of freaking out.
<3 Thanks in advance!!! <3
-Andrea
P.S. These photos were taken just moments ago after I took him out of his bath, so you'll see a bit of water of him. I did the best I could getting clear pictures but this boy is a mover and shaker!
