Clarifying myths from Indonesian breeders and sellers

[Justincl]

Hi so i've heard abt a lot of outdated or sketchy info from the breeders and sellers here I am creating this thread so that the experts here can help me clarify these myths so that indonesian sulcata owners or any other sulcata owners will not get tricked by the sellers.

1. Soaking a baby sulcata (soft plastron) for too long can make the plasteon softer

2. Light passing through the shell indicates mbd

3. Baby sulcata DON'T require substrate and we can just use pvc carpeting or newspapers

4. Sulcatas are desert tortoises which means they beed a DRY environment and you don't need to measure humidity

5. Keep feeding the baby sulcata pellets so that the lil guy's plastron hardens faster (I am personally confused regarding this)

6. The main food of sulcatas either adult or babies are mainly GROCERY veggies

7. Some plant protein should be there in their diet ex: steamed carrots, beansprouts

8. Baby sulcatas can be fed pepaya so that they can poop or urate easily once a week


Also if i may ask how do you guys see if the baby sulcata peed on substrate? As i am currently using cocohusk and its hard for me to see where the lil guy urinated as the cocohusk that i bought (ezoterra) has a rather minty smell so i cant find the pee spot or wether he did urinate

 

[Hamiltondood]

Hi so i've heard abt a lot of outdated or sketchy info from the breeders and sellers here I am creating this thread so that the experts here can help me clarify these myths so that indonesian sulcata owners or any other sulcata owners will not get tricked by the sellers.

1. Soaking a baby sulcata (soft plastron) for too long can make the plasteon softer

2. Light passing through the shell indicates mbd

3. Baby sulcata DON'T require substrate and we can just use pvc carpeting or newspapers

4. Sulcatas are desert tortoises which means they beed a DRY environment and you don't need to measure humidity

5. Keep feeding the baby sulcata pellets so that the lil guy's plastron hardens faster (I am personally confused regarding this)

6. The main food of sulcatas either adult or babies are mainly GROCERY veggies

7. Some plant protein should be there in their diet ex: steamed carrots, beansprouts

8. Baby sulcatas can be fed pepaya so that they can poop or urate easily once a week


Also if i may ask how do you guys see if the baby sulcata peed on substrate? As i am currently using cocohusk and its hard for me to see where the lil guy urinated as the cocohusk that i bought (ezoterra) has a rather minty smell so i cant find the pee spot or wether he did urinate

pretty sure ALL of these are wrong.

1. nope. soaking actually hydrates them which is way better. daily misting (shell) is great too. please please please provide water in their enclosure, too.
2. tortoise shells shouldn't let light pass through..?
3. they need substrate, it's better for them and more "natural". i've heard their legs can be splayed out too if the tortoise doesn't have a textured surface to walk on but i'm not sure if that's true
4. nope, wild sulcatas hatch in the monsoon season. hatchlings and baby need at least 80% humidity.
5. they need a very varied diet. here's what they need to eat: https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/for-those-who-have-a-young-sulcata.76744/
hatchling's shells will be a little "soft" after hatching, it'll harden up after a while.
6. they need to be fed mostly grasses and weeds.
7. on tortoise table, it says that bean sprouts shouldn't be fed due to too much protein. carrots are too sweet to be fed, too.
8. they shouldn't be fed fruit. they will excrete urates if they are dehydrated or need a little more water. daily soaks = no urates
they will always poop, maybe even too much ? ? if you feed"watery" foods (cucumber, aloe vera, romaine, cactus pads, etc), they may have a laxative effect on your tortoise.

you cannot really tell where your tortoise urinates, mine pees a lot in his water and in his food bowl
i just spot clean and remove 2/3 of his substrate every 1 1/2-2 months. make sure you remove his poop too
i hope this clears stuff up a little ?

 

[Tom]

Hi so i've heard abt a lot of outdated or sketchy info from the breeders and sellers here I am creating this thread so that the experts here can help me clarify these myths so that indonesian sulcata owners or any other sulcata owners will not get tricked by the sellers.

1. Soaking a baby sulcata (soft plastron) for too long can make the plasteon softer

2. Light passing through the shell indicates mbd

3. Baby sulcata DON'T require substrate and we can just use pvc carpeting or newspapers

4. Sulcatas are desert tortoises which means they beed a DRY environment and you don't need to measure humidity

5. Keep feeding the baby sulcata pellets so that the lil guy's plastron hardens faster (I am personally confused regarding this)

6. The main food of sulcatas either adult or babies are mainly GROCERY veggies

7. Some plant protein should be there in their diet ex: steamed carrots, beansprouts

8. Baby sulcatas can be fed pepaya so that they can poop or urate easily once a week


Also if i may ask how do you guys see if the baby sulcata peed on substrate? As i am currently using cocohusk and its hard for me to see where the lil guy urinated as the cocohusk that i bought (ezoterra) has a rather minty smell so i cant find the pee spot or wether he did urinate

1. False. Good hydration helps them with the long process of growing and thickening their plastron, and all their other bones and keratin too.
2. False. That is ridiculous. Light will pass through parts of your body too. Do you have MBD?
3. It is certainly possible for them to survive with no substrate, but it is better for them to be on substrate.
4. False. They don't come from a desert. They come from grassland and forest edge areas. It takes a lot of annual rainfall to maintain grasslands and forests. By definition, this means its not a desert. Furthermore, babies hatch at the start of the hot, wet, humid, rainy, monsoon season over there in Africa. When they emerge from their nests, it is usually into rain and puddles, not burning sun and arid weather.
5. Some types of pellets, like both types of Mazuri or ZooMed pellets, are beneficial as a supplemental food to add variety and fiber to an otherwise varied diet of more "natural" foods like weeds, leaves, flowers and grasses. Pellets are not "necessary", and do not do anything more than any other balanced, varied and correct diet.
6. False.
7. Some plant protein is good for a well hydrated baby. Clover, alfalfa, beans or bean sprouts, and plantain all fit this bill. Carrots do not. Moderation is key.
8. They should never be fed fruit. Its not good for them. They poop just fine without papaya.

You can't tell if they've peed on the substrate and you don't need to know anyway. It does no harm and doesn't matter.

 

[Justincl]

Thx tom now any indonesian sulcata keepers that are on the forum can keep their minds at ease