baby sulcatas not sleeping in the hide?

[shane42096]

I have two baby sulcatas from the tortoisesupply and they are in a zoo med tortoise house. I have a uvb and a 100 watt basking spot on it, but they stay out all day. They NEVER go in the dark hide at all to sleep. Should I be worried?

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Also, where should I put moss at?

 

[surie_the_tortoise]

my baby sulcata has 2 hide spots but preffers her fav corner to sleep . i wouldnt worry about it. do they sleep in the same spot or where ever they pass out at?

 

[shane42096]

Nope, they just kinda sleep wherever. I keep the light on all day and all night.

 

[surie_the_tortoise]

would turn the lights off at night. 12 on 12 off is a good rule of thumb. it confuses them if on all the time . can get a night time heat lamp for a heat source if dont have other ways to heat

 

[shane42096]

Yes, what should the temp be at night?

 

[jagsrule100]

Yes, what should the temp be at night?

No lower than 75 degrees at night, also if you are using a coiled uvb bulb i would change it immediately. I use MVB which has both the heat and uvb the tortoise needs.

 

[shane42096]

Nope, its not a coil. I don't believe In them and believe they should be taken of the market.

 

[surie_the_tortoise]

do you soak them , spray or have easy acces to get into water ?

 

[jagsrule100]

Nope, its not a coil. I don't believe In them and believe they should be taken of the market.

That's good =). Then just turn it off at night and make sure the temp doesn't go under 75 and you'll be set.

 

[shane42096]

I soak in the morning and night, and spray 3 times a day. I have an exo Terra monsoon timer mister that I will be setting up.

 

[surie_the_tortoise]

sounds like your on the right track. good luck with your babies

 

[Dizisdalife]

75 degrees is too cold for a tortoise that is kept in a humid environment. He should be kept at 80 degrees, maybe even 85. I would not guess about these temps. Get a good thermometer and a thermostat to control the heat source(s) for your enclosure.

If you baby is staying under the spot light all the time it is probably too cold for him. Use a temp gun to check the basking temp under the light and around the basking spot. He should warm up and then move off the spot for a while before coming back to it to warm up again.

 

[Tom]

I don't like those enclosures. They are too open for a baby, and they are too small for any species of adult. So the first thing I would do, is get a better enclosure. If you put your basking bulb on a 12 hour timer, and a ceramic hearing element on a thermostat set to 80, your temps and lighting will be all set. You can add a tube florescent to your light timer if you want to make it nice and bright in there for day time. And yes, it does need to be dark at night, but still warm.

About your original question: I have seen this many times with babies in these ZooMed enclosures. Something about it is not to their liking. Might be too cold. Too dark and cavernous? I have seen that most sulcata babies avoid dark holes in the ground. You would think they would take to them, but they don't. They much prefer to use bushes, root balls or any other above ground debris like logs or sheets of bark. I think large holes are signs of danger to them, as in whatever dug that big hole might either eat, crush or eject them. That being said, your baby sulcatas NEED a humid hide. I would use a small plastic shoe box or something of that nature. Make a very small hole, just big enough for them to get in and out of, and keep it damp in there. This must be kept warm. Around 80 at the minimum. You might need to put them in there after lights out for a while until they learn to use it on their own and get comfortable with it.

The next problem you will encounter will likely be that one tortoise uses the humid hide regularly while the other chooses to avoid its competitor/tormentor and sleeps outside in the dry air. This is one reason why they should not be kept in pairs. The one who doesn't use the hide box will grow slower and pyramid more, I predict. This will lead to an ever increasing size discrepancy and further stress and problems for the losing tortoise.

Read the threads in my signature for more info.

 

[shane42096]

I don't like those enclosures. They are too open for a baby, and they are too small for any species of adult. So the first thing I would do, is get a better enclosure. If you put your basking bulb on a 12 hour timer, and a ceramic hearing element on a thermostat set to 80, your temps and lighting will be all set. You can add a tube florescent to your light timer if you want to make it nice and bright in there for day time. And yes, it does need to be dark at night, but still warm.

About your original question: I have seen this many times with babies in these ZooMed enclosures. Something about it is not to their liking. Might be too cold. Too dark and cavernous? I have seen that most sulcata babies avoid dark holes in the ground. You would think they would take to them, but they don't. They much prefer to use bushes, root balls or any other above ground debris like logs or sheets of bark. I think large holes are signs of danger to them, as in whatever dug that big hole might either eat, crush or eject them. That being said, your baby sulcatas NEED a humid hide. I would use a small plastic shoe box or something of that nature. Make a very small hole, just big enough for them to get in and out of, and keep it damp in there. This must be kept warm. Around 80 at the minimum. You might need to put them in there after lights out for a while until they learn to use it on their own and get comfortable with it.

The next problem you will encounter will likely be that one tortoise uses the humid hide regularly while the other chooses to avoid its competitor/tormentor and sleeps outside in the dry air. This is one reason why they should not be kept in pairs. The one who doesn't use the hide box will grow slower and pyramid more, I predict. This will lead to an ever increasing size discrepancy and further stress and problems for the losing tortoise.

Read the threads in my signature for more info.

I took that board out so they have the whole enclosure now. I am going to put on big moist hide in there, but put to whole and have a plastic separator for now. Thanks for the advice!