Hello! Sulcata rescuer joining

Hydro

New Member
Joined
Mar 20, 2018
Messages
19
Location (City and/or State)
Midlothian, IL
Hello everyone! I have quite a story for all of you to start my time on this forum. I work at a pet store south of Chicago, and this past weekend we had a reptile show nearby. I love reptiles and was sort of sad to have work the whole weekend, but now I'm glad I was there! This lady came in one night, saying she had "a turtle her kids found in the park" (whether or not this is the actual case is debatable). So I get called over, since everyone else knows I'm the one who loves anything cold-blooded, and even though I'm no tortoise expert I immediately recognized it as a young Sulcata tortoise. I could also tell the shell didn't seem quite right. She claims it was wandering in a park about 2 blocks from our store and she doesn't know what to do with it, but couldn't just leave it there. She apparently asked everyone there if they knew where it came from, and nobody did. My guess is either somebody bought it at the herp show and then abandoned it when they learned more about it, or some kid took it home and the parents said to get rid of it. Possibly the lady was even the parent getting rid of it. Unfortunately, our store can't take in abandoned animals, but I was loath to send her back out into 40 degree weather with this poor tortoise. So, being the overly-eager bleeding heart that I am, I personally took the little guy (or gal) from her and warmed it up under a spare heat lamp. He perked right up and immediately was trying to dig, splashing through the small water dish, and just generally causing havoc in the spare tank. After getting him home, he was eager to eat some spare timothy hay that I keep for my gerbil and equally happy to see a nice half-log hide to sleep in after. I did a little research, ending up here on this forum very often, and discovered the name for his shell problem is "pyramiding", which I am now trying to prevent getting any worse with a lot of moisture in his hide. I still don't have a very appropriate setup, but thanks to the info on here it's my top priority right now. I plan on building a nice enclosed one in my house and using Tom's method of cement blocks so he can go outside (supervised since he's so tiny and we get coyotes) when it warms up a bit. I'm adding a nice pic of him munching some hay, and I've also been giving him some fresh grass that's just coming up, and some mixed greens dusted with calcium. I plan to try and keep his diet mostly grass, though it'll be a bit tough at first since it's all really short still. Anyway, thank you all for this wonderful forum, I plan to utilize all the information here to give this little Sulcata a good home until I can find someone to take him... or more likely I fall in love and end up keeping him.

IMG_20180318_215448567.jpg
 

wellington

Well-Known Member
Moderator
10 Year Member!
Tortoise Club
Joined
Sep 6, 2011
Messages
49,655
Location (City and/or State)
Chicago, Illinois, USA
Hello and Welcome. I'm betting the lady that brought it in wanted it gone. With the cold nights we've been having, I doubt that little one would have lasted very long at all. One cold night took out an adult sulcata.
Please read the links Tom gave you.
 

Hydro

New Member
Joined
Mar 20, 2018
Messages
19
Location (City and/or State)
Midlothian, IL
Haha, I actually read those ones before I joined, but they're exactly what I plan on basing my care off of. I just need to get some supplies with my next paycheck and do a little construction so he has a suitable enclosure. I mainly joined so I could thank everyone for all the awesome info gathered here and ask any specific questions once I get down to the actual build.
 

Yvonne G

Old Timer
TFO Admin
10 Year Member!
Platinum Tortoise Club
Joined
Jan 23, 2008
Messages
93,405
Location (City and/or State)
Clovis, CA
It's quite ok to offer your new little guy some dark, leafy greens, like endive, escarole, mustard, collards, romaine - along with the grass and grass hay.
 

Hydro

New Member
Joined
Mar 20, 2018
Messages
19
Location (City and/or State)
Midlothian, IL
It's quite ok to offer your new little guy some dark, leafy greens, like endive, escarole, mustard, collards, romaine - along with the grass and grass hay.
Thanks for the info, I guess really I'm just not sure how often to add greens in addition to grass/hay. I've only had him a short time, but I gave him some "spring mix" with a tiny, tiny bit of chopped up bell pepper so that he could get some food in him. I just wanted to make sure I gave him something I could calcium dust, since who knows how long it's been since he ate anything- much less had any vitamins. He seems to really enjoy the fresh grass and hay though, so I guess I'm lucky in that regard.
 

Maro2Bear

Well-Known Member
5 Year Member
Joined
May 29, 2014
Messages
14,712
Location (City and/or State)
Glenn Dale, Maryland, USA
Good on you for jumping in to the rescue. Should we assume you started to provide daily warm water soaks? That will go a long way too in helping prevent pyramiding and keeping properly hydrated.

Good luck...and Welcome!
 

Hydro

New Member
Joined
Mar 20, 2018
Messages
19
Location (City and/or State)
Midlothian, IL
Good on you for jumping in to the rescue. Should we assume you started to provide daily warm water soaks? That will go a long way too in helping prevent pyramiding and keeping properly hydrated.

Good luck...and Welcome!

I just got him a nice little dish today (very shallow, like 1/2 inch deep, it was labeled as a "plate") that he can soak in whenever he wants, and seems to be doing so right now. I also made sure the substrate under his log hide is nice and moist. The standing humidity in the rest of the tank is around 70%, though I admit it's hard to keep it there. Hopefully when I build the new enclosure it will keep the humidity up better, I have some ideas that I might sketch out and post here to see what you guys think before I sink money and time into the build itself.
 

Taylor T.

Well-Known Member
5 Year Member
Joined
Jul 22, 2014
Messages
589
Location (City and/or State)
New England
For humidity, try pouring large amounts water into the substrate. Spraying it will only keep it humid for a little while. Sulcatas are not prone to shell rot so you do not need to worry about it being too wet.
 

Hydro

New Member
Joined
Mar 20, 2018
Messages
19
Location (City and/or State)
Midlothian, IL
For humidity, try pouring large amounts water into the substrate. Spraying it will only keep it humid for a little while. Sulcatas are not prone to shell rot so you do not need to worry about it being too wet.
Will the substrate and hide mold though? I'm sort of worried about that because someone I live with is very allergic to mold. Though, I guess the ventilation is pretty high, so maybe not?
 

Taylor T.

Well-Known Member
5 Year Member
Joined
Jul 22, 2014
Messages
589
Location (City and/or State)
New England
I don't use that kind of substrate, so I can't know for sure, but I'm pretty sure that @Tom uses orchid bark and he keeps his enclosures very humid, so maybe he can shed some light on this.

For the hide, again, never used that kind, but I know that an upside-down plastic tub with a hole in it will not, and makes a very nice hide.
 

Hydro

New Member
Joined
Mar 20, 2018
Messages
19
Location (City and/or State)
Midlothian, IL
I don't use that kind of substrate, so I can't know for sure, but I'm pretty sure that @Tom uses orchid bark and he keeps his enclosures very humid, so maybe he can shed some light on this.

For the hide, again, never used that kind, but I know that an upside-down plastic tub with a hole in it will not, and makes a very nice hide.

In the long run I'm planning to switch to coco fiber, so maybe I'll do that sooner rather than later and give it a good soak. I pretty much just like how log hides look, so maybe I'll switch it out for a tub and save the log for my corn snake when he's bigger.
 

TechnoCheese

Well-Known Member
5 Year Member
Platinum Tortoise Club
Joined
Feb 20, 2016
Messages
4,505
Location (City and/or State)
Lewisville, Texas
In the long run I'm planning to switch to coco fiber, so maybe I'll do that sooner rather than later and give it a good soak. I pretty much just like how log hides look, so maybe I'll switch it out for a tub and save the log for my corn snake when he's bigger.

I personally would keep the orchid bark. In my opinion, it’s just about the best substrate out there. Coco coir tends to get stuck all over the tortoise, and is generally pretty messy :)
 

TechnoCheese

Well-Known Member
5 Year Member
Platinum Tortoise Club
Joined
Feb 20, 2016
Messages
4,505
Location (City and/or State)
Lewisville, Texas
I’ve also used one of those hides for a few(6 or so) months, and mine hasn’t molded yet.
 

Hydro

New Member
Joined
Mar 20, 2018
Messages
19
Location (City and/or State)
Midlothian, IL
I’ve also used one of those hides for a few(6 or so) months, and mine hasn’t molded yet.
Oh cool, thanks for the replies! I was worried about the "sticky" factor for the coco, we use it at work and I've seen it stick to other reptiles, which is why I was trying this out first. Maybe I'll just layer the bark thicker and really make sure it's wet enough, and keep checking my hygrometer.
 

Maro2Bear

Well-Known Member
5 Year Member
Joined
May 29, 2014
Messages
14,712
Location (City and/or State)
Glenn Dale, Maryland, USA
I just got him a nice little dish today (very shallow, like 1/2 inch deep, it was labeled as a "plate") that he can soak in whenever he wants, and seems to be doing so right now. I also made sure the substrate under his log hide is nice and moist. The standing humidity in the rest of the tank is around 70%, though I admit it's hard to keep it there. Hopefully when I build the new enclosure it will keep the humidity up better, I have some ideas that I might sketch out and post here to see what you guys think before I sink money and time into the build itself.

You will still want to take your Sully and soak him in nice warm water... deeper then you have in the dish. 30-45 minute long soaks daily...or every other day. They won’t self soak in a plate like you describe...that’s good for drinking, but not soaking. Hope this helps!
 

Hydro

New Member
Joined
Mar 20, 2018
Messages
19
Location (City and/or State)
Midlothian, IL
You will still want to take your Sully and soak him in nice warm water... deeper then you have in the dish. 30-45 minute long soaks daily...or every other day. They won’t self soak in a plate like you describe...that’s good for drinking, but not soaking. Hope this helps!

It does, thanks! I'll make sure he gets a soak *at least* every other day. Whatever will help his shell start growing in correctly and keep him healthy.
 

Hydro

New Member
Joined
Mar 20, 2018
Messages
19
Location (City and/or State)
Midlothian, IL
You will still want to take your Sully and soak him in nice warm water... deeper then you have in the dish. 30-45 minute long soaks daily...or every other day. They won’t self soak in a plate like you describe...that’s good for drinking, but not soaking. Hope this helps!
Any tips on keeping the water warm? It seemed to get cold pretty fast, and then he ended up pooping in it... so his soak only lasted about 20 minutes.
 

TechnoCheese

Well-Known Member
5 Year Member
Platinum Tortoise Club
Joined
Feb 20, 2016
Messages
4,505
Location (City and/or State)
Lewisville, Texas
Any tips on keeping the water warm? It seemed to get cold pretty fast, and then he ended up pooping in it... so his soak only lasted about 20 minutes.

I always put mine in the enclosure or under a heat lamp, and lay a large Tupperware lid on top to keep the heat/make it more humid :)
 
Top