Aloha from Frankie Baby

PHOhana

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Sep 15, 2021
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Location (City and/or State)
Arizona
Hello everyone,

I wanted to finally introduce myself and my baby sulcata, Frankie. Fair warning, this post is super long! Lol. My name is Riki and I live in Arizona with my family. We moved from Hawaii 6mos ago. We have now had 4 of the most amazing, crazy, eye opening, but also very loving weeks with our new family member. I’ll admit that I wasn’t sure I’d ever post anything and figured I’d just lurk and learn, but I have read the most informative posts (toms care sheets and others) and see that everyone here is just open and willing to help anyone who needs assistance. Frankie’s been the highlight of our year so far. We got Frankie from a pet store (yes I know, bad start already), and honestly wasn’t 100% prepared nor given the best info on care. I’m not sure how old he is, we’ve had him a month so maybe just a few months old. He fits tiny in the palm of my hand and weighs 57grams. Thank my lucky stars I found this forum the day he came home! (I know he may very well end up being a girl when he’s old enough to tell). We had a 20gal tank that he was in for less than 1.5 weeks before we got everything in to set him up in a closed enclosure. He’s not going to be in it forever, but we had to get him out of that tank ASAP. We have right now a 4’x2’ raised garden bed with a plastic greenhouse top. We know he’ll grow big quick and I am already thinking of how I am going to build his next (better) home.

His current greenhouse setup:
-It holds humidity very well, 80-85%, sometimes a little higher. I spray his enclosure every morning. What’s too much humidity?
-Daily morning soaks 20-30mins, 95deg max and he poops/pees every soak, then I change out dirty water, never letting the water go below 85deg.
-I have an infrared temp gun to check soaking water and enclosure/basking temps. Acurite digital display on both ends of enclosure to show temps and humidity levels.
-Substrate of 3-4 inch coco coir, damp and hand packed down, topped with 1in reptibark.
-Arcadia PRO t5 Fixture 12% Bulb 22.5" and 65watt incandescent flood light for basking both on a 12hr timer (8a-8p), 60watt CHE set at 80deg on a thermometer for night time heat
-Ambient temp of 85ish, sometimes goes up to low 90s (is that okay??), basking temp of 100, “cooler” side temp minimum 80.
-Bought a solarmeter 6.5R (wowzers!$). This is where I’m stuck and need the most advice. His Arcadia light is 20in above the substrate and the meter reads 3.2 under the very center. Is that too much? Too low? If the reading is good, is it okay to leave on 12hr cycle? He does not go outside at all. He’s an active little tort, walks on his bridge, eats/drinks, basks, but never running to hide.
-Black plastic humid hide on “cool” end and his little log hut on the opposite end. He prefers the log when he goes to sleep every night. Maybe the humid hide is too roomy? We put him in there but he just come out after about 3mins and goes to the other one.
-Working on real plants to add for more hiding/shade. Currently have a few fake ones that he does NOT chew on. Pretty basic compared to the awesome ones I’ve seen on TFO.
-Terracotta saucer for water and slates for basking and food area.
-Cuttlebone that he’s chewed on occasionally
-As for diet, he has spring mix (no spinach), mustard greens and wheat grass that I grew sprinkled with calcium/vitamin until I get his other grass growing. Have not tried any timothy or anything else yet. Still working on a better menu for him. Ordered the desert tortoise seed mix from SulcataFood and have that in a planter. Would it be okay to grow directly in his substrate so he can graze whenever? I read that chia sprouts are okay, but I don’t let him eat the seed. I let him have a sniff and he loved it. He’s had one single thin slice of strawberry since we got him.

Wow! That was super long! I’m so sorry, but thankful to anyone who made it to the end lol. Please let me know if there’s anything that I could improve on or if I’m doing okay. Frankie is one spoiled tort, but I wouldn’t have it any other way!


Aloha,

Riki & FrankieC201B4D2-F28D-48F8-81A9-B76A9399964B.jpeg90534E08-31AF-4596-BA00-899A30156223.png8B771198-7E3C-48C2-8E68-9946EDD85150.jpeg
 

Ray--Opo

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Welcome! I see you definently read the caresheets. You can never have to much humidity. Your Arcadia UVB should hang 10 to 12 inches. Try mazuri Reptile diet. The 5m21 type is preferred by tortoises then the LS( low starch). You can find online or check with your local feed and seed store.
 

PHOhana

New Member
Joined
Sep 15, 2021
Messages
8
Location (City and/or State)
Arizona
Welcome! I see you definently read the caresheets. You can never have to much humidity. Your Arcadia UVB should hang 10 to 12 inches. Try mazuri Reptile diet. The 5m21 type is preferred by tortoises then the LS( low starch). You can find online or check with your local feed and seed store.
Thank you! Oh yes I’ve read the care sheets only about a thousand times haha! I just wanted to get things right for Frankie. I have been meaning to get some mazuri pellets and plan to this weekend. I will adjust my Arcadia uvb accordingly, any idea what the ideal reading should be on it? I appreciate all the help! ?
 

Ray--Opo

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Thank you! Oh yes I’ve read the care sheets only about a thousand times haha! I just wanted to get things right for Frankie. I have been meaning to get some mazuri pellets and plan to this weekend. I will adjust my Arcadia uvb accordingly, any idea what the ideal reading should be on it? I appreciate all the help! ?
@Tom or @Markw84 would know what the UVB reading should be. Let's see if we can get their help.
 

Markw84

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Thank you! Oh yes I’ve read the care sheets only about a thousand times haha! I just wanted to get things right for Frankie. I have been meaning to get some mazuri pellets and plan to this weekend. I will adjust my Arcadia uvb accordingly, any idea what the ideal reading should be on it? I appreciate all the help! ?
I like a UVI reading of about 3.5 at tortoise level. With your Arcadia T5 12% that should be with it mounted about 18-20" high. If you have a solarmeter 6.5 you can measure and be certain.
 

PHOhana

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Joined
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Messages
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Location (City and/or State)
Arizona
I like a UVI reading of about 3.5 at tortoise level. With your Arcadia T5 12% that should be with it mounted about 18-20" high. If you have a solarmeter 6.5 you can measure and be certain.
Thank you @Markw84 ! It’s currently 20in high and reads at 3.2. I can lower it just a tiny bit to even it out to 3.5. I appreciate your help!
 

Ray--Opo

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I like a UVI reading of about 3.5 at tortoise level. With your Arcadia T5 12% that should be with it mounted about 18-20" high. If you have a solarmeter 6.5 you can measure and be certain.
Thanks Mark, I was a little off on the height of the light. I was going by info from other threads I have read.
 

Ray--Opo

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Here is a informative site from Arcadia.
 

Ray--Opo

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Location (City and/or State)
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I like a UVI reading of about 3.5 at tortoise level. With your Arcadia T5 12% that should be with it mounted about 18-20" high. If you have a solarmeter 6.5 you can measure and be certain.
Mark with the proper UVB light in a enclosure, but a tortoise that doesn't get outside natural sunlight. Is D3 needed as a supplement in the calcium?
 

Markw84

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Mark with the proper UVB light in a enclosure, but a tortoise that doesn't get outside natural sunlight. Is D3 needed as a supplement in the calcium?
We really don't know how much UV exposure a tortoise needs, let alone the differences (if any) between species. Technically my answer would be no. But what is "proper UV light"?. Importantly tortoises all have altered behavior patterns in captivity. I the wild they hide most all the time, especially the first few years. In captivity, they become used to the safety of no predators or scary things pretty quickly and come out to wait for food and will just sit in the food dish or water dish. They very well be getting too much UV! Especially UVA. A typical UV bulb puts out 30% of its 'light" as UVA. And the light is far less intense in total intensity - so the reflex to get away from too much is altered.

I personally err on the side of less UV. MIne run 2-4 hours per day midday only. I then do add some D3 dietary to be sure.
 

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