Help Needed, Hatchling Questions?

[Vegas_Leopard]

Hey, what's up Tortoise Forum?

I have a few questions regarding hatchling African Spurred Tortoises (Geochelone Sulcata's). I already know quite a bit about these species of tortoise, except most of my studies revolved around juvenile to adult tortoises. I've cared for hatchlings & yearlings in the past, but that was years ago. With the help from you members, I can reminisce & gather some thoughts & ideas for raising these beauties. As for a side note, I've browsed the internet for years, reading care sheets & I've read the most informal book on these species of tortoises written by Russ Gurley. Other then posting a link to a care sheet or copy & pasting facts from one, I'd like to hear from the members of Tortoise Forum's hand on experience with raising these tortoises as hatchlings. For starters I'll be using the biggest terrarium that I own which is (24.5" L x 24.5" W x 10" H) for the tortoises indoor setup.

Questions of concern..

1.) Knowing that these little guys need heat & UVB, which leading products are superior compared to the rest? I was thinking of going with T-REX Active UV Heat, ZOOMED ReptiSun 5.0 UVB Fluorescent Bulb & maybe a nocturnal infrared heat lamp, not to sure.. I plan on using these with the Zoo Med Deluxe Slider Hood.

2.) How long would I have these lights on for? If I were to get a nocturnal infrared heat lamp, would this be on for 24 hours?

3.) How many pellets of Mazuri Tortoise Diet would be appropriate for the little guy?

4.) What website do you guys buy your tortoise supplies from?

Those are the questions that most concern me at the moment. If I have anymore questions, I'll make sure to update this topic.

Thanks in advance,
SulcataDud3

 

[jobeanator]

well, since i own sulcatas and ive raised them from hatchlings, first id suggest not using the mazuri diet as his main source of food. what i usually do is feed my sulcatas a diet high in fiber. feed your hatchling grasses and hays. you should check out sulcata-station.org. it has tons of useful information!

 

[Vegas_Leopard]

What I plan on doing is using 3 main sources of supplements, Mazuri Tortoise Diet, Rep-Cal Calcium with Vitamin D3 & Rep-Cal Herptivite Multivitamin. As many of you know those will be the nutrients that "natural" foods don't always provide. The natural foods that I'll be feeding him are all sorts of dark leafy greens, I plan on buying a different kind of dark leafy greens after each of them are finish. The thing with grasses & hays with my experience are the hatchlings don't like to eat it. I would buy timothy hay and soak until it softened up & was moistened, it still wouldn't eat it. I'm going to go with a different approach with it & use a grinder to grind it all up & try to feed it that way. I would feed the Sulcata grass, but I just moved into a new house & all the grass is dead.

 

[Vegas_Leopard]

Not sure how bumping goes in these forums, but does anyone else have information they'd like to share?

 

[Yvonne G]

The main things to remember when caring for hatchlings:

--to avoid pyramiding they must have a little humidity in their habitat; it must be large enough for them to have plenty of room to exercise; they should be fed no animal protein; variety in the food is good.

--babies kept in an indoor habitat are essentially on "slow cook." Be sure to soak them at least every other day.

Babies usually aren't interested in eating hay, but you can buy the Salad-style hay from carolina pet supply and put a pinch or so over their moistened food just to get them used to the smell of it. I use the packaged greens mixture called "Spring Mix". It contains a very nice variety of young leaves from different type of lettuces.



Yvonne

 

[Vegas_Leopard]

Here's a list I composed of reptile supplies that I'll be adding to create the enclosure, there are other things on the list such as supplements.

Zoo Med Products:
ReptiSun 5.0 UVB Fluorescent Bulb *18”*
Repticare Ceramic Infrared Heat Emitter *100W*
Deluxe Slider Hood *24”*
Turtle Hut
Repti Rock Food Dish
Repti Rock Corner Water Dish
Turtle Bone

T-REX Products:
Habitat Thermometer Twin Pak
Active UV Heat *100W*

Other Products:
Rep-Cal Calcium with Vitamin D3
Rep-Cal Herptivite Multivitamin
Mazuri Tortoise Diet *7 lb*
Timothy Hay

 

[dcoolguy68]

I read research online that high humidity prevents pyramiding... my 20gal tank( sadly) has a humidity of about 70-80 in the morning and night and drops down to like 50 when the heat lamp is on. www.bigappleherp.com has heat lamps and flourescent tubes for a cheap price, as well as the fixtures... I recommend just buying most of the expensive stuff online alot cheaper lol

 

[Vegas_Leopard]

Supplies are a lot cheaper, but based on the fact that some online stores don't carry all of the supplies you need meaning you might have to buy from more then one site. And shipping sometimes make up for cheaper items. PetSmart & Petco don't always carry what you need & PetSmart prices are insane.

 

[dcoolguy68]

People at Petsmart and Petco DO NOT know anything about sulcatas, they only know about what ever species of turtles they sell(mainly aquatic) to get you to buy stuff.

 

[Vegas_Leopard]

People at Petsmart and Petco DO NOT know anything about sulcatas, they only know about what ever species of turtles they sell(mainly aquatic) to get you to buy stuff.

I e-mailed my local exotic petstore that I've been going to since 01' & they have most of the supplies except for the Zoo Med Deluxe Slider Hood, looks like I'm going to have to order that. -_-

 

[dcoolguy68]

thats good... people shop there because its PetSmart and Petco, but local pet supply stores will probably know more about what they sell and for what animal