- Joined
- Jun 19, 2012
- Messages
- 38
Hi everyone,
I have been a reptile enthusiast for most of my life, but recently bought my 1st tortoise- a baby sulcata- from LLL in Menifee, CA. I researched these guys for about 3 months, and thought I was ready to go. I bought books, read online, talked extensively to the staff at LLL, etc. But after finding this website through the iphone app earlier this week I realize I have really been doing things wrong. I've probably spent 3 hours or so searching through the threads and posts during the last few days, heres some background on our situation- I live in the Palm Springs CA area, very hot and dry. I initially set up the indooor enclosure the way LLL recommended and had their enclosure set up, which was dry. I used a pine shavings type of material with a powersun 100 Mercury Vapor at one end, about 12" above the substrate during the day, and I have now started using a 75 watt black bulb set directly on the screen, about 10" above the substrate at night, although up unitl last week I wasn't using heat at night, but from what I'm reading, changing to a more humid substrate requires some extra heat at night. I built the enclosure, its about 3.5 feet long, and 20" wide, 10" high. Basic wood sides, about 2/3 of the top is screened, and 1/3 is enclosed. The powersun is at the opposite end of the enclosed portion. I also have a partition inside with a smaller opening going into the enclosed part. Its basically like a large hide area. The problem is (and I'm sure you guessed already), my little guy/gal, named Pickles, has begun to show signs of bumpy/wrinkled looking shell, theres even a slight ridge starting right behind his head and going about 1/4" back on the shell. I've had him almost 2 months, and his shell has been slightly bumpy since we bought him. I blame myself for not being educated correctly, and not noticing what I now understand to be signs of dehydration. I have now changed his bedding out to the coconut fiber material, and mist to try to simulate the burrow that he would probably be in in the wild. We have a/c, and it does dry out the house, during the day it is set to 79*, at night this part of the house (we have 2 a/c's) is set to 85*. I can't seem to keep the humidity consistently above 20%. I figure I should cover most of the top, and buy a fogger, because misting doesn't seem to be doing the trick. It seems all of the info I received while researching told me hot and dry were the best, and thats the same thing the pet store told me. He's very active, gets 1-2 hours outside time a day, usually in the late afternoon. I am building an outdoor enclosure so that he can spend a little more time outside, although with it being so hot, I'm nervous about that. I'm thinking of adding misters to the outdoor enclosure, and I've already created a lot of shade through plants and hides. I know I can't change things that have alreay happened, but I want to do everything possible to ensure things are right from here on out. One more thing- I soak him every day for about 15-20 minutes. What else should I change? Any advice would be much appreciated. Thanks!
I have been a reptile enthusiast for most of my life, but recently bought my 1st tortoise- a baby sulcata- from LLL in Menifee, CA. I researched these guys for about 3 months, and thought I was ready to go. I bought books, read online, talked extensively to the staff at LLL, etc. But after finding this website through the iphone app earlier this week I realize I have really been doing things wrong. I've probably spent 3 hours or so searching through the threads and posts during the last few days, heres some background on our situation- I live in the Palm Springs CA area, very hot and dry. I initially set up the indooor enclosure the way LLL recommended and had their enclosure set up, which was dry. I used a pine shavings type of material with a powersun 100 Mercury Vapor at one end, about 12" above the substrate during the day, and I have now started using a 75 watt black bulb set directly on the screen, about 10" above the substrate at night, although up unitl last week I wasn't using heat at night, but from what I'm reading, changing to a more humid substrate requires some extra heat at night. I built the enclosure, its about 3.5 feet long, and 20" wide, 10" high. Basic wood sides, about 2/3 of the top is screened, and 1/3 is enclosed. The powersun is at the opposite end of the enclosed portion. I also have a partition inside with a smaller opening going into the enclosed part. Its basically like a large hide area. The problem is (and I'm sure you guessed already), my little guy/gal, named Pickles, has begun to show signs of bumpy/wrinkled looking shell, theres even a slight ridge starting right behind his head and going about 1/4" back on the shell. I've had him almost 2 months, and his shell has been slightly bumpy since we bought him. I blame myself for not being educated correctly, and not noticing what I now understand to be signs of dehydration. I have now changed his bedding out to the coconut fiber material, and mist to try to simulate the burrow that he would probably be in in the wild. We have a/c, and it does dry out the house, during the day it is set to 79*, at night this part of the house (we have 2 a/c's) is set to 85*. I can't seem to keep the humidity consistently above 20%. I figure I should cover most of the top, and buy a fogger, because misting doesn't seem to be doing the trick. It seems all of the info I received while researching told me hot and dry were the best, and thats the same thing the pet store told me. He's very active, gets 1-2 hours outside time a day, usually in the late afternoon. I am building an outdoor enclosure so that he can spend a little more time outside, although with it being so hot, I'm nervous about that. I'm thinking of adding misters to the outdoor enclosure, and I've already created a lot of shade through plants and hides. I know I can't change things that have alreay happened, but I want to do everything possible to ensure things are right from here on out. One more thing- I soak him every day for about 15-20 minutes. What else should I change? Any advice would be much appreciated. Thanks!