grantmorton
New Member
I i know it’s early but does anyone have opinions on if this sulcata tortoise is a male or female. i’ve been wondering if it’s male or female since day one but i just can’t decide please tell me what y’all think thanks!gender
- Thread starter grantmorton
- Start date
I i know it’s early but does anyone have opinions on if this sulcata tortoise is a male or female. i’ve been wondering if it’s male or female since day one but i just can’t decide please tell me what y’all think thanks!
Tortoisesarecool
Active Member
I think it is a male
Tortoisesarecool
Active Member
Tortoisesarecool
Active Member
Use this to help
grantmorton
New Member
Thank you that helps a lot!!
Tortoisesarecool
Active Member
Your welcome!
Tortoisesarecool
Active Member
Good luck with your tort!
grantmorton
New Member
Oh and one last question i’m going to the store tomorrow what should i add to my setup i’ve had this setup since aug 2 that’s when i got him i turn the lamp off at 11 and turn it back on at 8 and i feed him lettuce and gourmet tortoise food from zoo med every once and awhile but lettuce every night and i mist him once a day and usually have water in his bowl 
Clueless Tortoise
Active Member
A) I think it is a male, but to be certain, can you hold out his/her tail straight so I can see the length?
B) You are going to need a much larger tank than that as he gets bigger. For right now its probably fine, but here are some definite things you need to add: UVB light ( t5 or t8 depending on the enclosure size. 10.0 is the best in my experience.) Do not use the coiled bulbs for they are not effective. For substrate, I suggest coco coir. Also you need a thermometer / hydrometer. These things are 100% needed. I suggest scooting the basking lamp over to one side of the enclosure, so there is a thermal gradient instead of just the middle. A warm/ basking spot to a cool spot. I will link a trusted care guide suggested by many experts. Let me find it. Lastly you need calcium and vitamins to help your tort from getting MBD and pyramiding.
grantmorton
New Member
A. thanks i will take a pic of his/hers tail in just a minute
B. i will get all the stuff you suggested and when it’s time i’m going to get a bigger tank till it can live outside, when it’s living outside i’m going to put 2ft high fence in a pretty big area and i’m going to have a little house built for him.. i was imagining like having a ramp into a little house with the things u said inside and have like a flap door that he can crawl in and out.. i’m guessing when it starts raining he will go in there and when it’s winter do i need to bring him inside or can he stay in his little hut.
Is there anything i should add to what i will so once he’s that big or is that all good
thanks!
Clueless Tortoise
Active Member
Okay; Ive listed the care sheet and items needed below. The items linked are on amazon, but can be purchased in just about any pet store. This is just one of the care sheets I could find, but there are plenty of good ones. As for the items, their are also different brands and options, but here are the most reasonable and affordable.
Care sheet: https://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/african-spurred-tortoise-sulcata-care-sheet.52524/
Necessities:
Coco coir: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00BUFSX7G/?tag=exoticpetnetw-20
Reptisun T8 10.0 UVB: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0009YJ3BE/?tag=exoticpetnetw-20
UVB fixture: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07Z1RG271/?tag=exoticpetnetw-20
thermometer / hydrometer : https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01H1R0K68/?tag=exoticpetnetw-20
Calcium ( I use this brand but I have the one without D3 which I recommend. You can get the one without D3 at almost any pet store, but I recommend this brand) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0013F2IHO/?tag=exoticpetnetw-20
Multivitamins: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00BS96HRM/?tag=exoticpetnetw-20
Optional Items (recommended):
Infrared thermometer: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00DMI632G/?tag=exoticpetnetw-20
Cleaner ( reptile safe ): https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07D8FCXKJ/?tag=exoticpetnetw-20
Lighting and heat powered central ( digital ): https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0012GTRSW/?tag=exoticpetnetw-20
Diet:
Your torts diet should not be made up of just lettuce. You need a staple of grasses and safe weeds, with a side of leafy greens such as mustard green, kale, turnip greens, etc. Occasional foods include carrots, tomato ( very little ), squash, cucumber. Their #1 staple should be grasses, weeds, clover, and sometimes dandelion. Please make sure none of the weeds / plants given are poisonous and are chemical free and untreated. This includes soil with pesticides and fertilizer.
Care sheet: https://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/african-spurred-tortoise-sulcata-care-sheet.52524/
Necessities:
Coco coir: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00BUFSX7G/?tag=exoticpetnetw-20
Reptisun T8 10.0 UVB: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0009YJ3BE/?tag=exoticpetnetw-20
UVB fixture: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07Z1RG271/?tag=exoticpetnetw-20
thermometer / hydrometer : https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01H1R0K68/?tag=exoticpetnetw-20
Calcium ( I use this brand but I have the one without D3 which I recommend. You can get the one without D3 at almost any pet store, but I recommend this brand) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0013F2IHO/?tag=exoticpetnetw-20
Multivitamins: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00BS96HRM/?tag=exoticpetnetw-20
Optional Items (recommended):
Infrared thermometer: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00DMI632G/?tag=exoticpetnetw-20
Cleaner ( reptile safe ): https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07D8FCXKJ/?tag=exoticpetnetw-20
Lighting and heat powered central ( digital ): https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0012GTRSW/?tag=exoticpetnetw-20
Diet:
Your torts diet should not be made up of just lettuce. You need a staple of grasses and safe weeds, with a side of leafy greens such as mustard green, kale, turnip greens, etc. Occasional foods include carrots, tomato ( very little ), squash, cucumber. Their #1 staple should be grasses, weeds, clover, and sometimes dandelion. Please make sure none of the weeds / plants given are poisonous and are chemical free and untreated. This includes soil with pesticides and fertilizer.
Clueless Tortoise
Active Member
Depends on where you live in the winter. If it gets cold and snows, definitely bring him in. I would recommend bringing him in during the winter months anyway, because if they get too cold they can easily get sick and even die.
grantmorton
New Member
Alright thank you this helps so much!!!
Pastel Tortie
Well-Known Member
This is the link for the current, updated care sheet in the sulcata section. ?
www.tortoiseforum.org
The Best Way To Raise A Sulcata, Leopard, Or Star Tortoise
I chose the title of this care sheet very carefully. Are there other ways to raise babies? Yes. Yes there are, but those ways are not as good. What follows is the BEST way, according to 30 years of research and experimentation with hundreds of babies of many species. Babies hatch during the...
www.tortoiseforum.org
Last edited:
The earliest you can sex a sulcata is around 14". Some of them not until 16" or more. You won't know the sex until then. The chart the Tortoisesarecool posted for you I for desert tortoises. Sulcatas don't have chin glands, and no tortoise begins to show the secondary sexual characteristics shown on that chart until they begin nearing maturity.
You enclosure is much too small, and much too dry. Your tortoise is pyramiding due to the incorrect growing conditions. I see one lamp. What is in there?
There are four elements to heating and lighting:
- Basking bulb. I use 65 watt incandescent floods from the hardware store. Some people will need bigger, or smaller wattage bulbs. Let your thermometer be your guide. I run them on a timer for about 12 hours and adjust the height to get the correct basking temp under them. I also like to use a flat rock of some sort directly under the bulb.
- Ambient heat maintenance. I use ceramic heating elements or radiant heat panels set on thermostats to maintain ambient above 80 degrees day and night for tropical species. You'd only need day heat for a temperate species like Testudo or DT.
- Light. I use LEDs for this purpose. Something in the 5000-6500K color range will look the best. Most bulbs at the store are in the 2500K range and they look yellowish. Strip or screw-in bulb types are both fine.
- UV. If you can get your tortoise outside for an hour 2 or 3 times a week, you won't need indoor UV. If you want it anyway, get one of the newer HO type fluorescent tubes. Which type will depend on mounting height. 5.0 bulbs make almost no UV. You need a meter to check this: https://www.solarmeter.com/model65.html
Please read the care sheet linked by Pastel Tortie above this post and make the necessary changes before any more irreparable damage is done. You cannot undo pyramiding that has already happened, but with the right changes, you can prevent future pyramiding and minimize the damage.
I can say without a doubt that it is absolutely either male or female. 
grantmorton
New Member
alright after football i’m going to the store i will send you pic of what the tank looks like after, how bad is the pyramiding when i look up pyramiding is it going to look like the pictures i see when he’s older
THEIF!!!I can say without a doubt that it is absolutely either male or female.
How bad it looks will depend entirely on what you do now. You can stop it early, or keep doing what you are doing and watch it get worse. Every day it goes dry, irreparable damage is done. As soon as it is in the correct conditions, it will stop getting worse and start getting better.
grantmorton
New Member
alright tom i have a uvb and a heat lamp and i have a night lamp in the gray light i have a temp and hydro meter i have lettuce with two tomatoes sprinkled with calcium and i have spring water with to drops of tortoise water like chemical killer or something the left is his basking spot and right is his food and water log is his shade anything else i need i’m going to store again tomorrow
