Hello from Saginaw, Michigan

saginawhxc

Well-Known Member
Joined
Mar 24, 2016
Messages
897
Location (City and/or State)
Saginaw, Michigan, USA
Hello. The girlfriend and I are borderline animal hoarders. Well that isn't entirely fair the title animal hoarder tends to bring up images of people that have too many pets to the point that they can't adequately take care of them. We aren't to that point yet.

In fact I believe I take care of all my babies excellently.

Prior to this last weekend we had two dogs, a cat, two guinea pigs, and a bearded dragon. Several years ago we started researching tortoises and the decision was made to get one. Earlier this year the decision was made to finally follow through on that this year.

The girlfriend knew she didn't really want one of the smaller breeds like a Russian. She decided she wanted a Sulcata, but after extensive research I admitted that even though I thought they were insanely cool I thought a Redfoot would be more up our alley. I just know that it is going to ultimately be me doing the bulk of the work associated with this thing.

So we went to a Reptile Expo just to check things out this weekend. No plans on purchasing a tortoise. Somehow we ended up coming home with a Sulcata hatchling.

Being someone who tends to do a lot of research on my pets and is very serious about making sure that they are well cared for I have been doing nothing but scouring the internet for anything and everything related to Sulcatas.
Over the years whenever the research bug would hit me on the subject of Tortoises this site always seemed to stand out. There seems to be a TON of conflicting information on the internet about these animals (noticed the same thing with Bearded Dragons), but overall this site seemed to have the best information.

So here I am. Hopefully I can manage to take care of this thing properly, and hopefully this site and the wonderful people here can help me on that journey.

The first few days we started with a setup suggested to us by the person that sold us the tortoise. We started with a tub that is 22x16x7. He has a basking bulb that keeps the basking spot about 110, a cfl UVB bulb, and at night a red basking bulb. For substrate we used coco coir with a layer of timothy hay on top of it. He started with one hide in the cool corner with the hay removed.

For food we were told mostly leafy greens. Glancing at a few food lists and unsure of exactly what we were doing we WAY overbought on greens for the first week. We are using a mix of kale, red and green lettuce, dandelion, and endive. I chop it up fresh every day when I get home from work. At this point a little of the food is disappearing but I'm yet to see him eat. The girlfriend says she witnessed him eating a piece of kale.

Since we got the little guy I have been doing tons of reading all around the internet. I decided I'm going to ignore most of the conflicting information and go with the information found here. I am replacing the cfl UVB with a mercury vapor, and replacing the night light with a ceramic heating lamp. I also pulled out most of the hay, and started misting the enclosure down fairly heavily to try to raise the humidity. I don't have a humidistat inside the enclosure but decided I'll pick one of those up to.

For now basking spot is about 105-110, cool side in about 85, his hide seems to stay around 80, and night time temps range from about 85 near the bulb to low 70's in his hide.

Sorry for the long rambling post, but I figured better to have tons of information than none.

House vote is in. His name is Mr T, and if he turns out to be a she than it becomes Mrs T.

IMG_7331.jpg
 

SarahChelonoidis

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5 Year Member
Joined
Apr 20, 2015
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1,895
Location (City and/or State)
Toronto, Canada
Welcome. Glad it sounds like you're on top of things so far. Your night time lows are too low though, especially if it's sleeping in the hide. 80F is a safer low overall. You'll get lots of helpful advice here - many well seasoned Sulcata keepers to be found.
 

Yvonne G

Old Timer
TFO Admin
10 Year Member!
Platinum Tortoise Club
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Jan 23, 2008
Messages
93,391
Location (City and/or State)
Clovis, CA
Hi, and welcome to the Forum!

I'm always worried when I see a baby picture where the eyes are closed. Most tortoises will open their eyes almost immediately when disturbed. It could be the CFL that is causing the closed eyes. Glad to see you're getting rid of that.
 

DandR

Member
Tortoise Club
Joined
Aug 30, 2015
Messages
37
Location (City and/or State)
Hawaii
Welcome! THIS site is the only one you'll need to raise your baby properly. The sulcata keepers here are very knowledgeable and current on caretaking practices. Following their advice will lead to a healthy baby. It saved the lives of my 2 rescues.
 

saginawhxc

Well-Known Member
Joined
Mar 24, 2016
Messages
897
Location (City and/or State)
Saginaw, Michigan, USA
Wellington, I've already read most of those, and they are the source of some of the changes I've been already implementing. It seems half of everything I purchased on day one is being replaced already. Oh well. Live and learn. I would rather all my animals be healthy and happy, and for that this site has been a blessing.

Went shopping this evening to track down a ceramic heat emitter and both pet stores in town were actually sold out. So I ordered one of Amazon and Mr T has to spend two more nights under the red bulb. I did reposition his hide though so it would heat up and hopefully stay darker on the inside. I'm staying up past my bed time right now to watch the temps inside before I go to bed.
 

Grandpa Turtle 144

Well-Known Member
5 Year Member
Joined
Apr 3, 2013
Messages
10,878
Hello
I was born in Saginaw , Mi . many many years ago . Now I'm happy I'm in Phx AZ . ImageUploadedByTortoise Forum1458877983.130419.jpg
 
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