- Joined
- Jul 21, 2014
- Messages
- 19
Hello all tortoise lovers,
a couple months ago I purchased a baby sulcata tortoise- the cutest thing alive. This is by far not my first tortoise, but my first hatchling- and sulcata. Watching him grow has been a joy- however there are not many photos of baby Sulcatas around, and I’m starting to worry if what I see on his( or her) shell is just what normal growth looks like in a baby sulcata or the onset of pyramiding. I’ll attach photos below.
He is currently in a 32’’ by 20’’ enclosure, until he gets a little bigger and I can safely build him an outdoor enclosure. The substrate is a mixture of coconut coir and reptibark, which I mist a couple times a day. He has two hides, one on the warm side and one on the cool- both I mist daily, and both are enclosed to help maintain humidity. I live in Florida, and he lives outside but inside- on my lanai ( a screened in patio) as I kept him inside, but couldn’t maintain a humidity I liked so I figured the natural Florida humidity and temps would help. I feed him daily with biweekly dustings of calcium powder. His food includes a variety of store bough greens including: Endive, escarole, kale, spring mix, romaine, arugula, green leaf lettuce, and dandelion greens. I’ll pair three or four of these greens in his salad per day, and rotate them out on a weekly basis- keeping endive and escarole as a staple. I’ve also started to mix in grass clippings as well. He has an 85w UVA/UVB lamp, which creates a basking temp of ~95 degrees (although I never see him basking). I also do my best at giving him daily 30 min soaks- although every once in a while I skip a day.
Is there anything I’m doing wrong, or could be doing better? He is approximately three months old and I want the absolute best for him. Any advice is helpful
here’s the little guy
a couple months ago I purchased a baby sulcata tortoise- the cutest thing alive. This is by far not my first tortoise, but my first hatchling- and sulcata. Watching him grow has been a joy- however there are not many photos of baby Sulcatas around, and I’m starting to worry if what I see on his( or her) shell is just what normal growth looks like in a baby sulcata or the onset of pyramiding. I’ll attach photos below.
He is currently in a 32’’ by 20’’ enclosure, until he gets a little bigger and I can safely build him an outdoor enclosure. The substrate is a mixture of coconut coir and reptibark, which I mist a couple times a day. He has two hides, one on the warm side and one on the cool- both I mist daily, and both are enclosed to help maintain humidity. I live in Florida, and he lives outside but inside- on my lanai ( a screened in patio) as I kept him inside, but couldn’t maintain a humidity I liked so I figured the natural Florida humidity and temps would help. I feed him daily with biweekly dustings of calcium powder. His food includes a variety of store bough greens including: Endive, escarole, kale, spring mix, romaine, arugula, green leaf lettuce, and dandelion greens. I’ll pair three or four of these greens in his salad per day, and rotate them out on a weekly basis- keeping endive and escarole as a staple. I’ve also started to mix in grass clippings as well. He has an 85w UVA/UVB lamp, which creates a basking temp of ~95 degrees (although I never see him basking). I also do my best at giving him daily 30 min soaks- although every once in a while I skip a day.
Is there anything I’m doing wrong, or could be doing better? He is approximately three months old and I want the absolute best for him. Any advice is helpful
here’s the little guy