Dry or wet? I'm so confused.

[ladyfce]

My boyfriend and I keep a large variety of exotics and aren't easily stumped. However last December we got two Sulcata hatchlings and were very excited we learned everything we could about husbandry for the creatures and thought we were doing a really good job. Well 6 months later in a one week period our Sulcatas went from being sturdy shells and heavy eaters to lethargic and soft shelled and within weeks of each other they died. This is something that I am pretty ashamed of because we don't lose animals like that and we were bewildered because we followed the care sheets to a T. We came to the conclusion that we must have kept them too dry that even with regular soakings that Sulcatas need high humidity as hatchlings and with that information that we would try again we got another two Sulcatas that we still have and they appear to be doing really well still today. About three weeks ago we decided to get another pair and something strange happened, a week after the seemingly heathy tortoises came in they died a few days apart. It appeared that their plastron sunk in on itself over night. I called the breeder and they told us we should not soak the tortoises and their deaths were due to too much water and that we should only have them in an enclosure with a water dish and keep them very dry. So I come to you. How should Sulcatas be kept? In a hot humid environment (for babies) or in a dry hot desert with minimal soaking ?

 

[RuthJanice]

Welcome to the forum. To answer you question, Sulcatas need humidity. They cannot be raised the dry desert way. They do need warm temps, however, they are born during the rainy season and need to be kept humid to ensure nice smooth growth. There is a link at the bottom on my post that will give you a wealth of information from one of the best. Also, it is no recommended to keep them in pairs. They are solitary animals and they will compete and bully for food, space, etc. I am so sorry to hear of your loss.

 

[wellington]

Week, from what you said the breeder told you, we now know why the tortoises are dying. I would not purchase from them again. Below are Toms threads on the proper raising of sulcatas to be healthy and smooth. Please read them and follow them. You may still have problems, even if you follow it to a tee, as your were obviously started out bad. However, Toms threads will give you the best chance. A quick run down. Humidity 80%, temps all over day and night, 80 degrees with a basking area of 95+. Coconut coir, cypress mulch are your better substrates. Soak in warm water every day for 20-30 minutes until they are around 1 1/2 years then it can be cut back to every other day until larger. Feed every day as much as they will eat and have water available to them 24/7 in a low sided dish, large enough for them to get into.
So sorry for all your losses. Sorry, you got very bad info from someone that should know better.

 

[mainey34]

Hello and welcome. So sorry to hear of your losses and confusing advise..seems to me that the breeder has given you wrong information. They need humidity, hydration to survive. They are living things. I guess i just dont get their logic. Anyways. You have been given some reading, and suggestions..i hope it works out for you.

 

[sibi]

Hi and welcome. You said the first two sulcadas were raised wet; that is, they were soaked often. Could you give me a rundown of that care sheet? The reason why I ask is because part of your confusion comes from the fact that you raised them wet, and they died. I believe there may be another reason why they may have died. Perhaps you soaked the babies, but not enough. Also, whatever the care sheet says, there may have been some other thing, like temperatures, that could have contributes to their deaths. All this is an attempt to understand what happened so that mistakes aren't repeated. Following Tom's care sheets may be all you need to know from this day forward, but if it happened to me, I'd want to understand why those babies died.

 

[ladyfce]

Actually the first two were raised in a completely dry terrarium and soaked every two days as instructed from the breeder and they had little to no constant humidity. Which is what we were told was right and seemed to be verified by some online research but we have changed the setup for the torts we still have and they keep a 80% humidity level along with soaking daily their shells seem to be getting much stronger with this new change

 

[lkwagner]

Didn't read the whole thing but there was another thread about this. Someone else had something go wrong and they found their sulcatas sunken in too. Wonder if it was the same breeder. I'll try and find the thread I just read it this morning. You should too

 

[Saleama]

If they are started poorly at the breeder or wholesaler, they might have already had too much wrong with them to make it. I bought all mine from reputable people and they all seem to be doing great with the humid closed chamber way.

 

[Levi the Leopard]

To understand if you need to raise them "dry" or "wet" you need to look at where Sulcata Tortoises come from. You need to know what the conditions are like when they hatch. What they experience in nature is what you want to copy in your home. They hatch when it is hot, humid, wet and green food grows everywhere! No one is positive what hatchlings do in the wild. People can only guess. What we DO KNOW is the time of year they hatch and what those weather conditions are like. It is NOT a hot, dry, barren desert. So to put them in a dry terrarium is completely unnatural. Once you understand that they were created to grow in the hot and humid conditions, it makes perfect sense to raise them that way in captivity.
Because I don't live in that part of Africa with those weather conditions I use closed chambers to recreate 80% humidity and 80F+ temperatures.
If you buy a baby that didn't start naturally from day 1, then he/she is already damaged when coming home to live with you. Internal organs can have damage from being kept too dry and because they look good on the outside you wont know the extent of that damage until they pass. Does this make sense to you? Who would house a polar bear in the AZ desert without trying to re create a snowy paradise? Who would try to keep fish in a bowl of dirt? Who would keep earthworms in a tub with no dirt? Neither should people raise Sulcata or Leopard hatchlings in hot, dry conditions.

Sorry you lost the babies. I, too have lost a baby to this. It's hard. My baby had her plastron sink in, too. The best thing you can do is learn from the past. Now you know the answer and you should help spread the knowledge.

 

[sibi]

That's exactly what I wanted you to know based on tne incorrect information you were given by the breeder. You probably didn't have the right temps for them either. But, you said that the second set of sullies died too, right? If the first set were raised dry, and the second set wet, what else happened to the second set since they were suppose to be raised wet. I want temps, substrate, humidity, soaks, diet, etc. Any instructions you were given for the wet babies would be helpful.

 

[Tom]

Here is what is going on:
http://tortoiseforum.org/thread-23493.html

Because of how the breeder started those babies, they were doomed the day you bought them. The chronic dehydration that they experienced for the few days and weeks right after hatching damages their internal organs. It sometimes takes weeks or months for them to die from it and it does not matter what the new keeper does with them.

Those babies were a ticking time bomb. It would not have mattered how you kept them.
Read number one here:
http://tortoiseforum.org/thread-45180.html