LilyPlath
New Member
Hello tort friends,
As the title states, I inherited an abandoned Sulcata. She is 32 years old and a whopping...8 pounds. She did not receive great care, being fed only kale and water every other day for many years. Her original owner had a house fire and lost almost everything, so I took in Lily temporarily. However, the owner's life situation has drastically changed since the fire, so he is not taking her back. I considered rehoming her and even called a few sanctuaries, but nobody had availability. I have the resources, I've read up on Sulcatas and know what to expect, and I'm totally smitten, so...here I am!
Lily has metabolic bone disease. The pyramiding is significant, and due to an acute bacterial illness last year, she lost most of her scales. Since entering my care, her skin lesions have healed and she has even started growing again! The vet initially told me to just make her comfortable, but it's clear that Lily is not ready to go just yet.
I live in an apartment. I know that's not ideal. However, my building has a nice outdoor space to bask in during warmer months. My partner and I will be moving into a garden apartment later this year, so she will definitely have dedicated outdoor space from then on. For now, it's far too cold out anyway, so she is indoors. At first she was roaming my apartment freely because that's what her prior owner did. But then she started brumating, which I have come to find out is life-threatening. I have since contained her in a 55-gallon bin-turned-enclosure. Her substrate is a mix of Zoo Med Forest Floor cypress mulch and Eco Earth.
I have graduated Lily from kale to a mix of dandelion, collard greens, prickly pear, and the occasional strawberry. She absolutely positively will not eat hay, soaked or not. I've also ordered Mazuri pellets and calcium powder, which I understand I should use sparingly.
Any recommendations for lamps? I have the Fluker's large sun dome for basking, but I suspect she is still not getting warm enough.
Thanks!
As the title states, I inherited an abandoned Sulcata. She is 32 years old and a whopping...8 pounds. She did not receive great care, being fed only kale and water every other day for many years. Her original owner had a house fire and lost almost everything, so I took in Lily temporarily. However, the owner's life situation has drastically changed since the fire, so he is not taking her back. I considered rehoming her and even called a few sanctuaries, but nobody had availability. I have the resources, I've read up on Sulcatas and know what to expect, and I'm totally smitten, so...here I am!
Lily has metabolic bone disease. The pyramiding is significant, and due to an acute bacterial illness last year, she lost most of her scales. Since entering my care, her skin lesions have healed and she has even started growing again! The vet initially told me to just make her comfortable, but it's clear that Lily is not ready to go just yet.
I live in an apartment. I know that's not ideal. However, my building has a nice outdoor space to bask in during warmer months. My partner and I will be moving into a garden apartment later this year, so she will definitely have dedicated outdoor space from then on. For now, it's far too cold out anyway, so she is indoors. At first she was roaming my apartment freely because that's what her prior owner did. But then she started brumating, which I have come to find out is life-threatening. I have since contained her in a 55-gallon bin-turned-enclosure. Her substrate is a mix of Zoo Med Forest Floor cypress mulch and Eco Earth.
I have graduated Lily from kale to a mix of dandelion, collard greens, prickly pear, and the occasional strawberry. She absolutely positively will not eat hay, soaked or not. I've also ordered Mazuri pellets and calcium powder, which I understand I should use sparingly.
Any recommendations for lamps? I have the Fluker's large sun dome for basking, but I suspect she is still not getting warm enough.
Thanks!