i just picked up 2 sulcatas today from someone that "couldnt care for them anymore" and they dont seem to be in perfect health. i was told they will be 1 year old on 7-17-12. they seem small for 1 year old to me...but i dont have any previous experience with sulcatas so i dont know.
here is what i know about them: they were living in a rubbermaid tub. the bedding was dirty hay that smells moldy/yucky. she was feeding them only romaine lettuce from what she told me and the lettuce that was in there was old, mostly dried out, and smelled kinda rancid. i asked her if she had any basking light for them and she said "no, they were near a window". i looked them both over and they have runny poop stuck all over them…one is worse than the other. she said she soaked them in shallow water for about 10 min once every week to 2 weeks. i didnt see a water dish so i asked and she told me "they get all their water from the lettuce" (rolls eyes)
i got them home and soaked them in some luke warm water then tried to wash as much of the poop off as i could. i made them a new temporary enclosure. i want to build a "tortoise table" eventually but i wont have the time for that project for at least a few weeks. i currently have them in a 20gal long tank with a mix of coconut husk, wood grindings, and some sand as bedding. i bought a 100wat UV basking bulb for them. and i put some chopped up bermuda hay (i made my horses share with them) and i gave them some Zoo Med grassland tortoise food soaked in water to soften it.
I have been trying to research proper sulcata care and learn as much as I can about them. I have other reptiles (mostly snakes) but These are the first tortoises that I have had and I want to learn as much as I can about them so I can get them healthy so they can have a nice long happy life with me.
Any and all help, ideas, suggestions, etc. are extremely welcome
Thanks
Hopefully the pics work. If they do the pics are: their old enclosure, their old food dish and some of their “foodâ€, pics of their bellies, a side pic of one of them, their new temporary enclosure, and me holding one for a size reference (sorry for the pics quality/color they were taken with my phone)
here is what i know about them: they were living in a rubbermaid tub. the bedding was dirty hay that smells moldy/yucky. she was feeding them only romaine lettuce from what she told me and the lettuce that was in there was old, mostly dried out, and smelled kinda rancid. i asked her if she had any basking light for them and she said "no, they were near a window". i looked them both over and they have runny poop stuck all over them…one is worse than the other. she said she soaked them in shallow water for about 10 min once every week to 2 weeks. i didnt see a water dish so i asked and she told me "they get all their water from the lettuce" (rolls eyes)
i got them home and soaked them in some luke warm water then tried to wash as much of the poop off as i could. i made them a new temporary enclosure. i want to build a "tortoise table" eventually but i wont have the time for that project for at least a few weeks. i currently have them in a 20gal long tank with a mix of coconut husk, wood grindings, and some sand as bedding. i bought a 100wat UV basking bulb for them. and i put some chopped up bermuda hay (i made my horses share with them) and i gave them some Zoo Med grassland tortoise food soaked in water to soften it.
I have been trying to research proper sulcata care and learn as much as I can about them. I have other reptiles (mostly snakes) but These are the first tortoises that I have had and I want to learn as much as I can about them so I can get them healthy so they can have a nice long happy life with me.
Any and all help, ideas, suggestions, etc. are extremely welcome
Thanks
Hopefully the pics work. If they do the pics are: their old enclosure, their old food dish and some of their “foodâ€, pics of their bellies, a side pic of one of them, their new temporary enclosure, and me holding one for a size reference (sorry for the pics quality/color they were taken with my phone)