Hello! Meet me and Otto!

[Scawtey]

Hello everyone,

My name is Scott and I'm excited to join the TortoiseForum Family! My girlfriend recently got me a wonderful birthday present, a 1 year old Sulcata Tortoise. I currently have him in this set up:

-10 gallon tank
-Hollow log fixture for shelter
-Heat mat on one side of the cage
-Coconut Fiber Substrate
-Food Dish
-Thermometers on each side of the tank

I'm wanting to know what the best food is for him. I purchased some zoo-med pellets and also some Calcium powder to put on them, as well as some romaine lettuce. I also plan on building a turtle box before too long, since it sounds like he will be outgrowing his cage quickly.

Please let me know anything else I need to know about raising my young tortoise!

Here he is, meet Otto :]

Thanks!

 

[dmmj]

Welcome to the forum, I hope you enjoy your visits here. Is it the angle of the pic or does otto look a little flat? Otto is a palindrome BTW.

 

[JoesMum]

Hello and welcome

I'll let the Sulcata experts give more specific advice, but to me 10 gallon sounds very small for any size Sulcata.

Please read Tom's Beginner Mistakes[url] thread as it has much useful information.

What temperature do you have:
- warm end?
- cool end?
- under the basking lamp?
- overnight minimum?

Do you have a source of UVB? This is essential for Vitamin D3 which is is turn essential for absorption of Calcium which is in turn essential for healthy bone and shell development.

We love pics and they replace a thousand words when it comes to explaining your setup [/url]

 

[cemmons12]

Welcome to the forum. Wow, I am sure Tom will kick in before long
If it were me, as far as what you are keeping him in, I would go to walmart or lowes and get the biggest rubber maid tub you can find. Sully's need tons of space! The one i got for my sully was like $20 or so. Its like a 55 gallon size I believe. I will just stop there for now.... Good luck...

 

[Scawtey]

Hello and welcome

I'll let the Sulcata experts give more specific advice, but to me 10 gallon sounds very small for any size Sulcata.

Please read Tom's Beginner Mistakes[url] thread as it has much useful information.

What temperature do you have:
- warm end?
- cool end?
- under the basking lamp?
- overnight minimum?

Do you have a source of UVB? This is essential for Vitamin D3 which is is turn essential for absorption of Calcium which is in turn essential for healthy bone and shell development.

I'm trying to maintain around 85 - 90 degrees on the warm end, and 70-75 on the cool end. I've only had him for one night now so haven't really got an accurate recording of my overnight temps. I had to order a UVB lamp, but it should be here within the next couple days.

I know the 10 gallon seems to be small for him, even at around 3.5 inches. If I got a large rubbermaid container, what would be the best method to keep it heated?

Thanks for all the help already guys![/url][/quote]

 

[JoesMum]

Do you have a basking lamp? Your tort needs 95-100 directly under that.

Basking helps your tort to digest food.

 

[wellington]

Hello and WELCOME. Please, please read the threads at the bottom of my post. They will help you raise a happy, healthy, smooth sulcata. The 10 gallon tank is way to small and will be impossible to hold the right temps. and humidity will be hard because it will probably always be too wet. Get the plastic tote as suggested, they are cheaper then buying a larger aquarium and then follow the threads below. Diet should be mixed dark greens and outside in warm/hot weather for some grazing on pesticide/fertilizer free grass and weeds. Good luck.

 

[pam]

Welcome

 

[Scawtey]

Thank you so much for the help! I am going right now to get a plastic tub. I think the store I live by has a 35gallon as their largest. Then will I just fill the substrate up at the bottom? Also, The heating pad should still go right under the plastic?

One more question, I read somewhere this morning that you should not keep the water dish in the cage, as the humidity from it can cause RI's. Is this true?

Thank you again!

 

[dmmj]

Humidity does not cause RI's RI's are caused by being cold and wet, it is always good to keep a water dish for them.

 

[ALDABRAMAN]

Welcome!

 

[Scawtey]

Humidity does not cause RI's RI's are caused by being cold and wet, it is always good to keep a water dish for them.

Thank you for clearing this up! I am going to go and get a plastic tub right now, and set everything back up and I'll take a picture of it all when it's done.

Thanks again for the help everyone

 

[JoesMum]

A heat pad is not particularly effective IMO. Most people use a basking lamp and maybe a ceramic heat emitter to maintain temps at night.

You must have a UVB source. The coil bulbs are not recommended as they can cause eye damage.

Many TFO members swear by a combined MVB lamp by day which provides both basking heat and UVB.

 

[cemmons12]

As far as heating mine, I have the top over half cover'd up, then I have a thick screen with a metal frame on the hot end that came off of a smaller glass aquarium that the UVB/heat light sits on. My tub stays at just the right temps.

 

[Scawtey]

Another question,

Should I keep his lamp on with the Blue Day Bulb on all the time? Or at night time should I switch it to an Infrared Heat bulb?

 

[dmarcus]

Hello and welcome to the forum..

 

[Oogway]

welcome

 

[Scawtey]

Thank you all! This forum has provided me with so much more information than I could ever find on the web. I'm looking forward to learning a lot about parenting my tortoise, and my stay here.

 

[Jacqui]

Hi and welcome! At night, turn off the day light as they need "nighttime" too for their sleeping cycle. You can use the other light, but I really don't like using them myself. Why are you wanting to use it? If I need extra heat, especially for like at night when I don't want light, a ceramic heat emitter (CHE) works well.

 

[jacquiroell]

If I need extra heat, especially for like at night when I don't want light, a ceramic heat emitter (CHE) works well.

What wattage do you suggest?