i want your input !!!!!

[murdamo]

So I got my lil sulcata, bout 2 in long (shell)
Live in Miami.

It seems to be happy. Eating well, sleeping a good amount, and jogging the backyard.

I really have had lil tort for about 34 hrs .

When I take him out, he chomps on the grass but found some weeds.an fell in love

Im getting a 50gal tank w stand from a friend tomorrow.

But for now, this is my setup.

I know, I need to get a uvb bulb. Roughly what wattage?
lllreptiles.com recommended me a 10.0 light??????

Is that heater fan doing anything? I walk in ny room and I feel the heat A LOT

Next.

Im pretty sure, from looking around the forum today, that my substrate is wrong.

I was going for the coconut coir and sand mix, but got that other stuff suggested by the rep. At the pet store.
I keep it moist, and it.doesn't.really mix, the sand goes straight to the bottom.

Lil tort is sleeping, so I couldn't snag a pic. And the ones on my camera are to hq.

Any help will be welcomed!

I want lil tort to out live me!!!


What exactly should I get?

 

[Tom]

This should help you. The answers to all your questions are in there.
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/Thread-How-To-Raise-Sulcata-Hatchlings-and-Babies

 

[murdamo]

Saw it. But didn't see about the fan and my substrate.

 

[moswen]

don't use a fan, it doesn't give the tort a good basking spot or a bright light. tortoises are stimulated by and need a full spectrum light bulb to keep it from getting mbd. and don't get a bulb that looks like a coil, they have been known to damage tortoise eyes. get a powersun trex mercury vapor bulb (MVB), it contains both uva and uvb, and is a source of heat. in a 50 gallon tank it's very likely the only bulb you will need, so don't worry about a che just yet. **but do not just take my word there--you need to check the temps yourself!**

read up on the forum, you'll get a lot of good info here. i use cypress mulch for my baby sulcatas, it keeps the moisture well and tiny sandy bits don;t get in their eyes.

make sure your grass is pesticide free b4 you let him graze on it!

welcome to the forum!

 

[murdamo]

For sure. Ty

 

[Tom]

Substrate: Coco coir. Cypress mulch. Orchid bark. Plain, additive free, soil. Sphagnum peat moss. Pick one or any combination. I recommend you do NOT use any sand, wood shavings, corn cob bedding, walnut shell bedding, alfalfa or grass pellets, newspaper bedding, any type of hay or any other new fad bedding that comes along. Keep your substrate damp to increase the humidity in the enclosure. If you can keep your humidity around 80% at tortoise level, you'll have a healthy, well hydrated, pyramid free, happy tortoise. Sometimes I cover part of the top of the enclosure to hold in humidity.

Nobody heats an open tortoise enclosure that way. That will quickly dry up every bit of moisture n the enclosure and dehydrate your little tortoise. Here's the heating and lighting info:

Heat: I like to use small, 35-50watt, overhead, spot or flood bulbs for this. Always use ceramic fixtures, never the cheaper plastic ones. In a cool house, I'll use a bulb like this AND a ceramic heating element (CHE). Keep them both over one side. This will be the "warm" side and it should be 80-90 degrees. Directly under your bulb will be the "basking spot" and it should be 100-110 degrees, but only in that one spot. The other side of the enclosure should be around 75-80 and will serve as the "cool" side. "Night" temps should stay 75-80ish. These temps will insure that your little tort does not get sick with all the humidity in there. These are the four temps to be concerned with. They should be regularly checked with a temp gun AND a remote probed thermometer. Temps can be adjusted by raising or lowering your bulbs or raising or lowering the wattage. You do not need Mercury Vapor Bulbs or any other UV bulbs if your tortoise gets regular sunshine. 20-30 minutes twice a week is adequate, more is better. Put your light bulb on a timer for around 12 hours a day. They need it dark at night. This is where the CHE comes in. It keeps them warm AND dark at night. Also, I like to project my spot bulb down onto a flat rock or a piece of slate. They can bask on it and it absorbs and radiates the heat from the bulb over a larger area when they are not on it. This also gives you a good place to measure your basking temp with your heat gun.

 

[murdamo]

But what do u guys think of my substrate?

Should I change it?

The coco stuff keeps in the moister well. But not sure about the sand just sitting on the bottom

 

[moswen]

i don't like sand, i used it once mixed with coco coir also and it got in their eyes all the time and they were constantly rubbing their eyes. i was so worried they were going to scratch their eye ball with it. you'll see what i mean in a week! i buy cypress mulch in a huge bag from the dept. store it lasts a lot longer than the tiny over-priced bags at a pet store.

but don't change it right this instant! keep it, watch it, watch your tort. it may work for you... everything works differently for different people! you'll find your own goove soon!

 

[murdamo]

Yea I mean the sand is edible, but I see what u say about the eyes.

But it sits on the bottom. And w the moist coco soft chips are matted over from the water.
So I dont even think the sand has a purpose.

I may have to rethink this w toms post.

I might get my 50 gal tank tomorrow. So if I do, and I have to set it up, I may go w the cyprus mulch I've been reading about.

Just.hate that I may have wasted 20 on my substrate that I could've put towards.my light.bulb

 

[ALDABRAMAN]

Welcome, they are a very hardy species.

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi Ty:

I know that the Calci sand is supposed to be edible, but I still wouldn't use it with my tortoises. Sand causes impaction...its as simple as that. If you can find cypress mulch that's what I would use.

You can probably get away with a 100 watt MVB (mercury vapor bulb). It provides heat plus UVB. You mount it so that the bulb is about 12" away from the top of the tortoise, and it should be about 100 to 110 degrees directly under the light. Mount the bulb on one end of the habitat, and it gets progressively cooler towards the other end. But you don't want it to be cooler than 75 for a baby. You might also need some sort of heat without light for night time. But living in Florida, maybe its warm enough at night?

 

[Laura]

if you are going to let him outside at this size.. Id build something so he can safely be out there and not dissappear or be carried off..
a kiddie pool works great! or get 4 6x4 boards, make a square and place it inthe yard in a flat area so he cant crawl under.. and use that..

 

[Maggie Cummings]

No sand, use cypress mulch...

 

[DeanS]

Coco coir is BEST...and if you soak him in a separate tub in the morning and again in the afternoon, you shouldn't have to change it out, because he'll poop in the water (keep the water warm). Also when soaking...don't be shy. I keep mine in the water for an hour under their heat source. During the summer, I leave 'em in for hours at a time! Get rid of the fan! Use MVB lighting ONLY (I swear by Zoo Med's Power Sun)! With your current set-up...100 watts will do. When you switch to the 50 gallon, go with 160 W...keep us posted!

 

[murdamo]

Thanks for ur input dean
I think my friend kept the light they were using.
So hopefully I should be alright.

I should be getting the 50gal tank tonight. Its going to be huge!

I wanna make it enjoyable in there, and today , lil tort climbed up the log hide lol.

I got a video ill post up on youtube.

Any suggestions?

 

[murdamo]

I went to home depot, and they had chorus mulch blended???

I shouldn't get that right?

 

[Cre8ruckas]

100% Natural CYPRESS mulch. thats what i use

 

[tobibaby]

i have my baby on coco coir and he loves it, he gets it in his face but thats how i know he is being active lol.. just listen to toms post and u should be alright i am a newbie w/ my baby sulcata and i followed everything that tom's suggested, and tobi is super smooth and super healthy knock on wood, also everyone here loves their torts and take good care of them, so they all have the right suggestions, and trust me its w/ trial and error that you will learn lol coco coir, 50watts day heat and 50 watts che and u are set for the tortie oh and make sure u mist him 3-4 times a day and soak him daily in warm water