little sulcata tort problem...?

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Andrewa78

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i got a baby sulcata tort at a reptile expo like 2 months ago and since then he has been great, no problems at all... but i noticed recently that he hasn't been eating as much as he used to, he is still eating tho. i read somewhere that during/right after winter they don't eat as much as they normally do. idk if that is true or not so i was hoping you guys can help me on that... and i also noticed that his belly (right by where his yolk sake would be) is kind of soft. i don't remember it being like that but idk. I've started giving him more calcium and got a new uva/uvb bulb for him and he seems to be harding up a little but I'm still nervous as to how that even happened in the first place. i keep him on bermuda grass and have a little water dish for him to go into. and the temps are 82ish degrees and the humidity is 30.
 

dmarcus

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Hello and welcome to the forum..

Is you whole encloure at 82 degress?

Can you provide more information about your set up "lights, temps" and what foods you are feeding?

Just as a quick note, you should try to have the humidity somewhere around 80% and have a basking area around 100 degrees.

They more info you provide the more answers you will get...
 

Andrewa78

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the hot spot may be around 85 88, and i thought they were desert so they didn't need humidity that high... i usually feed him spring mix salad, collard greens once and awhile and romaine hearts too. he also munches on the bermuda grass from time to time and when its nice outside i let him eat grass... I'm using exo terra 10.0 uva/uvb bulb and the zoo med repti basking spot lamp 50 watt( only have it at 50 cause when its warm out my room goes up the to 90s... warmest room in the house.)
 

Yvonne G

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Hi Andrewa78:

Welcome to the Tortoise Forum!!

What would you like us to call you?

And may we know appx. where in the world you are?

In case you don't know, calcium needs the sun in order to work. The tortoise eats the calcium either in the food or supplement, then the sun makes vitamin d3 which works with the eaten calcium to make strong bones and shell. Unless the tortoise can get the vitamin d3 either from the sun or from a GOOD UVB light, the calcium just gets pee'd out.

I don't hold much store in those Fluorescent UV lights. I think the MVB (mercury vapor bulb) gives off more of the UVB rays. The Fluorescent lights are ok for tortoises like redfoots or box turtles, but for the desert dwelling species, I think you need an MVB. But real sunshine (not through glass) would be best.
 

Andrewa78

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emysemys said:
Hi Andrewa78:

Welcome to the Tortoise Forum!!

What would you like us to call you?

And may we know appx. where in the world you are?

In case you don't know, calcium needs the sun in order to work. The tortoise eats the calcium either in the food or supplement, then the sun makes vitamin d3 which works with the eaten calcium to make strong bones and shell. Unless the tortoise can get the vitamin d3 either from the sun or from a GOOD UVB light, the calcium just gets pee'd out.

I don't hold much store in those Fluorescent UV lights. I think the MVB (mercury vapor bulb) gives off more of the UVB rays. The Fluorescent lights are ok for tortoises like redfoots or box turtles, but for the desert dwelling species, I think you need an MVB. But real sunshine (not through glass) would be best.
I'm from NJ, USA... and i have a little cage for him when its warm outside but right now its like 65 out so thats a no no lol.
 

StudentoftheReptile

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I personally think the 10.0 UV bulb is fine (since you already have it), as long as it is close enough to the ground where the tortoise to benefit from it (roughly 12-16" from the bottom of the enclosure). The main disadvantages to those tube florescent bulbs is that the UVB emission does decrease sooner, so you do have to replace it more often (approx. every 6-8 months). However, if you give your tortoise access to natural sunlight at least 20-30 minutes every few days, many claim you may not need an artificial UV light at all. They can absorb enough natural UVB from the sun in a remarkably short amount of time.

I also think you could raise the basking temps just a tad, perhaps closer somewhere between 90'F and 100'F. Some say thats a little too hot, but if you provide a proper gradient (i.e. the cooler ends of the enclosure in the low 80s), this shouldn't be a problem. With my juvie sulcata, he had a basking spot of over 140'F...but I also kept him in a very large 3 ft x 3 ft enclosure, where it was very easy to provide that gradient. He had plenty of area and opportunity to get away from the hot area, but he would often bask at those temps. NOTE: when I say a basking temp of 100 or 140'F, I am referring to the actual SURFACE where the tortoise is basking on, NOT the air temperature under the light! You can determine this by using a temperature gun. If you haven't already, I suggest you get one, because those sticky thermometers are very inaccurate and most other thermometers fixated in the enclosure can get knocked around and/or stepped on.

Check out those threads DMarcus posted. Baby sulcatas do benefit from higher humidity then what we previously thought. The dry wood shavings, open-top enclosure, with little water does not work.
 

cemmons12

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I don't read all the posts cause my eyes suck! But the temps need to be higher. And as far as a UVB bulb, you just can't beat a Powersun 100 watt bulb in my opinion. Read Toms threads, he is the MAN!
 

Andrewa78

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well it seems his shell is getting harder from the new UVB build i got him and the little extra calcium I've been putting on his food.
 

BrookeB

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From what I know you NEED to bring the temp up... on the hot side it should be like 100F... and around 85 on the cool side... and it would help if you soak your tort at least once a day for the first year. Please read TOM's post they are a life saver!!
 

Tom

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I re-read your original post. The appetite lowering at cooler times of the year is true for adults that live outside in the warmer parts of the country. It should not be true for an indoor baby tortoise living in a temperature controlled environment.

Sadly, you are the victim of old, outdated, bad information. I fell victim to that same info years ago. We know better now. Your tortoise needs different substrate, a water bowl, daily soaks, a humid hide and lots of sunshine. What type of UV bulb are you using? The coil type can damage their eyes. The tube type is harmless, but I don't find them to be very effective. Sunshine is best, but if you can't do that then a mercury vapor bulb is what your baby needs.

... it's all in the care sheet.
 

Andrewa78

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What kinda of substrate should I use? And I'm using the tube type. Its an exotic terra 10.0 tube bulb. And I've been letting him out for like 15 to 30 mins when its nice out too.
 

Tom

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Coco fiber, orchid bark, additive free soil (Hard to find. they all have additives now.), regular yard dirt if yours is good, cypress mulch, peat moss (the long fibered type, or the dirt type)...

Just no sand, dry pellets, or wood shavings that can't be wetted.

15-30 minutes is better than none, but try for an hour or two a day if you can. It is REALLY beneficial for them. There are a couple of threads for building or buying really simple cheap outdoor enclosures in the link I posted above for you. Post number 8.
 

gadaisy

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I too am relatively new to the wonderful life of sulcata tortoises. Can anyone direct me to some sources of info to help me build a great outdoor enclosure and housing? Daisy is about isn't more than 3 years old.
 

Tom

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gadaisy said:
I too am relatively new to the wonderful life of sulcata tortoises. Can anyone direct me to some sources of info to help me build a great outdoor enclosure and housing? Daisy is about isn't more than 3 years old.

Hello and welcome. Click on the link in post number 8 above. There are three outdoor enclosure threads.
 

Yvonne G

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gadaisy said:
I too am relatively new to the wonderful life of sulcata tortoises. Can anyone direct me to some sources of info to help me build a great outdoor enclosure and housing? Daisy is about isn't more than 3 years old.

Hi gadaisy:

Since this is Andrewa78's thread, you would do well to start a new thread in the Sulcata section to ask you own questions. Also, won't you take a few moments to start a new thread in the "introductions" section and tell us a bit about yourself?
 

Andrewa78

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I got him a power sun 100 watt now, so his temps are up to, 100 basking spot, 90ish heat gradient and how is using a reptile carpet? I don't feel comfortable putting him on anything else to be honest.
 

Tom

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Andrewa78 said:
I got him a power sun 100 watt now, so his temps are up to, 100 basking spot, 90ish heat gradient and how is using a reptile carpet? I don't feel comfortable putting him on anything else to be honest.

Reptile carpet will work as long as the enclosure is humid enough. If you live in a normal house and have an open topped enclosure, it probably will not be humid enough. You can offer a humid hide, daily soaks, spray the shell 3-4 times a day and see how it goes. If the new growth starts to stack up, you will know its too dry. Just don't let your experiment go on for too long.

I would not want you to do something you are not comfortable with, but take a look around the site here. 100's of people are keeping their leopards and sulcatas on damp substrates now and I have yet to see anyone report a problem. Quite the contrary, everybody raves about how happy they are that their baby is healthy and growing smoothly.

Most of the old books say hot and dry because that IS the climate where they come from... BUT:
1. Even the adults are not exposed to this climate as they stay underground in their damp burrows.
2. No one knows what the babies do in the wild. NO ONE. But we do know that they are not hanging around above ground in the hot dry air.
3. Yes the climate is desert-like, hot and dry... for 8 months out of the year. The other four months are the rainy season and conditions are hot, wet and humid. Sometimes it is down right swampy. The only hatchlings that have ever been seen by African sulcata researchers were seen in a marsh during this rainy season.

I tried the dry season stuff for nearly two decades with nothing but complete and utter failure. I could not grow one single smooth leopard or sulcata. In the last few years I have been attempting to simulate the hot humid rainy season, and have had 100% success. I have not grown a lumpy one since.
 
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