hi. need some advise from anyone in uk with experience of sulcata care.
we have a 2yr old female, for approx 1 month. yes we didn't know it was a get 'huge' tortoise!!, no the pet shop didn't advise us!! and yes i have read stuff and thought...what have we done!! BUT we are reading and researching and have plans!.
as we are in the uk, she is currently being kept indoors. we have made a 5ft by 4ft tort table, which the viv we were sold for her forms part of. we have stopped using the heat mat as have read they can cause burns. temp is 20-30 (cold & warm ends).
have 2 problems-
1)Substrate. we are currently using a combo of wood chip, reptile sand and a earth/coconut/soil-which is sold as a brick that you add water too and it swells. Is this ok to use?. have read loads about this but most info seems to be from U.S and we don't have half the substrate they seem to use.
2) she currently weighs 8oz, which doesn't seem much and she hardly eats anything! which doesn't seem right from what i have read. she seems perfectly healthy, active at times (she did pace her viv-hence the tort table) but seems to like the colder areas of her enclosure. we give her hay and grass from the garden (not many weeds or dandalions at the mo) and some of the dried food from the pet shop. the occasional treat of cabbage etc plus supplement. do they eat less in the winter months? is this about the right weight?
any help would be grateful, as bit green to tortoise care. thanks
we have a 2yr old female, for approx 1 month. yes we didn't know it was a get 'huge' tortoise!!, no the pet shop didn't advise us!! and yes i have read stuff and thought...what have we done!! BUT we are reading and researching and have plans!.
as we are in the uk, she is currently being kept indoors. we have made a 5ft by 4ft tort table, which the viv we were sold for her forms part of. we have stopped using the heat mat as have read they can cause burns. temp is 20-30 (cold & warm ends).
have 2 problems-
1)Substrate. we are currently using a combo of wood chip, reptile sand and a earth/coconut/soil-which is sold as a brick that you add water too and it swells. Is this ok to use?. have read loads about this but most info seems to be from U.S and we don't have half the substrate they seem to use.
2) she currently weighs 8oz, which doesn't seem much and she hardly eats anything! which doesn't seem right from what i have read. she seems perfectly healthy, active at times (she did pace her viv-hence the tort table) but seems to like the colder areas of her enclosure. we give her hay and grass from the garden (not many weeds or dandalions at the mo) and some of the dried food from the pet shop. the occasional treat of cabbage etc plus supplement. do they eat less in the winter months? is this about the right weight?
any help would be grateful, as bit green to tortoise care. thanks