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disneychanga

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My boyfriend just got me a baby sulcata on 12/16/2011..i have never had a desert turtle and neither has he. He has had a chameleon before but other than that we have been dog owners. Anyways he got everything from the reptile store that they recommended...at first we had him on newspaper since they said it was fine...he wasnt moving at all and he kept doing this bobbing thing with his head....we were a little concerned and looked up some info..so that same night we went out to petco and got him some timothy hay to spread around his glass habitat, a wooden log and a 50 watt infared light for night time cuz it gets down to the 40's in his room. We looked up the temperatures that his habitat should be at.. so after many trips to the petstore and still a little lost we have him now moving around a lot during the day and eating nearly nothing but the hay, a couple dandelions (pesticide and herbicide free)..he will barely touch his collard greens and his zuccini...


What we currently have on him

100 watt basking light on one end paired with a 13watt UVB 10.0 reptiglo at about 15 inches from the site

50 Watt basking light at about 12inches above log and center

Basking site is at 94 degrees

log humidity is at about 80% with a temp of 80 degrees

cool side with warmed water is at 74 degrees

The first day we had him he only pooed once..no urine...did not eat or drink

Second day no poo or urine started to pick at ONLY THE HAY drank once during warm bath

Third day pooed once and appetite showing ATE A LOT OF HAY and one dandelion drank once during warm bath

Fourth day pooed twice and urinated ate collard greens, a few bites of zuccini, and lots of hay

we recently just got a spray bottle and plan to spray him about three times a day...
Now my questions is do we have the right set up? Are the lights we are using strong enough? Could he really become blind with the lights?

Thank you ahead for any feedback..i will provide pictures as soon as i can get the usb cable to upload pics.
 

dmarcus

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Hello and welcome to the forum...

Hay is not a good substrate because it can mold when it gets wet, you want to use something like cypress mulch, coco coir or even plain untreated dirt.

If any bulb you have is the coil type then you should stop using it because it has been known to cause eye problems in tortoises..
 

Yvonne G

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Hi Disneychanga:

Welcome to the Tortoise Forum!!

I think your lighting is overkill.

You only need one basking light. Plus the UV light you have, the spiral bulb, has been known to cause eye problems and lethargy in baby tortoises. I'd get rid of that one (13watt UVB 10.0 reptiglo) immediately.

I don't like hay for substrate. I prefer cypress mulch or orchid bark.

And I use a base of Spring Mix (a packaged mixture of young lettuces) to which I add other weeds and leaves from outside.

For tiny babies, I chop the food up in very tiny bite-sized pieces because they sometimes have trouble biting off bits of larger pieces.

Can we see a picture of your habitat?
 

disneychanga

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Thanks for the quick response! :)

The uvb light is a coil design...the weird thing is when we turn off the basking lights and just leave the uvb..he suddenly opens his eyes and starts eating and walking around...

We keep the two basking lights because without the other one the temperature barely hits the 80's on his hot spot

we used to have the lights right on the cage...but then we mounted them so they are above the cage...

We have been debating on getting the top soil in particular the coco one...

I'm just afraid it is going to get too cold for him...

I will post pictures later today when I get the USB cable for my camera
 

dmarcus

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disneychanga said:
Thanks for the quick response! :)

The uvb light is a coil design...the weird thing is when we turn off the basking lights and just leave the uvb..he suddenly opens his eyes and starts eating and walking around...

We keep the two basking lights because without the other one the temperature barely hits the 80's on his hot spot

we used to have the lights right on the cage...but then we mounted them so they are above the cage...

We have been debating on getting the top soil in particular the coco one...

I'm just afraid it is going to get too cold for him...

I will post pictures later today when I get the USB cable for my camera

If you also post photo's of the enclosure we can help figure out your light situation..
 

Tom

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Hello and welcome. It is going to be very difficult to maintain the correct temps in a 40 degree room. Can he stay the winter somewhere warmer, or can the room be heated?
 

Laura

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welcome... start reading! :)
You are lucky yours likes to eat the hay..
get rid of coil bulb.. seems like you have already noticed he doenst like it.. since he opens his eyes only after its off...
Soil is what i use.. good traction, natural, moist with no mold.
Start planning an outdoor area for your baby.. its the best place for them to be and its where he should be and will need to be in a few years..
 

Zamric

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Welcome to the FOrum!

If heating is an issue, try Heat Cable... it is burried UNDER the substate and the heat radiates up and if the substate is wet or moist, it will also help with ground level humidity.
 

Yvonne G

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Hi disneychanga:

I forgot to ask if we could know your name and where you are?
 
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