New baby : Canoli

[Mortis_thetortoise]

Recently rescued this little girl from somone on craigslist. Some guy got it for a girl he was interested in, she didn't like him and didn't want Canoli any longer.
No idea on age. Ive had her a couple weeks now. Been feeding her lettuce as I expected to be propped food. After reading around I learned of much better options. (Yesterday I mixed 50:50 garden mix (greens/grass/weeds) and lettuce she ate everything.) Today she was fed just a garden blend.
I made a journal to keep track of when I soak her, favorite foods , outside time , inches and weight etc. Just weighed her today and she was 50.0g before eating and just pooped (poop looking much better than prior piles with the new improved diet)

Seen some things about babies getting stuck around 40-50g could indicate health issues.....( I'll measure inches after work, maybe she was just very young when I got her ?)

Question 1 -
Anything critical I can do to ensure she is staying healthy ? ( I know there's plenty of info I can look at (... and have been reading) but anything as an experienced owner you would consider vital for a healthy baby to prosper)

Question 2 -
When should I weigh her again to expect an increase ? Tonight? Tomorrow? Couple days?

My plan is to keep her eating good garden weeds and goodies while soaking her for 7-10 min 2× a day .

Not a question Just reassurance 1-
Since they are grazers and can pretty much freely eat anytime. I'm guessing there's not really a limit to how much I should leave available for her to eat?

She appears healthy loves to eat and roam around.

Thanks for any help, questions, comments, tips, complaints etc.

 

[leigti]

I would suggest weighing her once a week. And also keeping your dog away from her. He could eat her up in one second. Even the best dog is just a dog and they think tortoises are good chew toys sometimes.

 

[Stuart S.]

Welcome! I'm fairly new here myself! So if I say anything wrong I'm sure someone will back me up with the right thing. But it sounds like you have her on a pretty good diet. Mazuri tortoise food pellets are a great, soak them in water. Also I would get a small container of some calcium powder from your pet store. What are you keeping Canoli in? She sure is cute! My Spur would probably like her in a few years

 

[Mortis_thetortoise]

I would suggest weighing her once a week. And also keeping your dog away from her. He could eat her up in one second. Even the best dog is just a dog and they think tortoises are good chew toys sometimes.

haha I understand. ill claim my dog is the best, because he is , he still gets rowdy at times though. picture was taken after 30-45 mins of holding him and letting him watch her roam around. I wouldn't leave them alone or out of sight together, but slowly introducing them so they can hang out in a couple years in the garden together

My dog Is a big baby. Once he (Kol) learns Canoli is a part of the family , (and she grows) they will be pals slowly but surely

 

[Maro2Bear]

Greetings,

Id suggest that you soak for up to 30 mins or longer, not just 7-10. Make sure water is at a good depth and stays warm. And yes, since they are grasers, ensure plenty of food is available all the time.

 

[Mortis_thetortoise]

Welcome! I'm fairly new here myself! So if I say anything wrong I'm sure someone will back me up with the right thing. But it sounds like you have her on a pretty good diet. Mazuri tortoise food pellets are a great, soak them in water. Also I would get a small container of some calcium powder from your pet store. What are you keeping Canoli in? She sure is cute! My Spur would probably like her in a few yearsView attachment 194041

She's currently living in a 1.5×3 foot ginnea pig enclosure with a coco coir/ plain organic soil blend, 2.5 in deep. Heat rock and 85w uva/uvb bulb. And half log hide.

Concerned about not enough humidity after reading a bit.

(she eats plenty more than the little peice pictured lol the pile got cut out)(no longer eating majority lettuce, now on a garden diet)

Spur is quite handsome, I'll put in a good word for him

 

[Mortis_thetortoise]

Greetings,

Id suggest that you soak for up to 30 mins or longer, not just 7-10. Make sure water is at a good depth and stays warm. And yes, since they are grasers, ensure plenty of food is available all the time.

should I hand feed her a little while shes soaking to she relaxes a little? I been wiping and cleaning her up with a wet cotton ball while shes in there

today she was making a little grunt cry when she was in there, was she just calling for help and not be enjoying it ? any other reason possibly?

 

[Big Charlie]

She's currently living in a 1.5×3 foot ginnea pig enclosure with a coco coir/ plain organic soil blend, 2.5 in deep. Heat rock and 85w uva/uvb bulb. And half log hide.

Concerned about not enough humidity after reading a bit.

(she eats plenty more than the little peice pictured lol the pile got cut out)(no longer eating majority lettuce, now on a garden diet)

Spur is quite handsome, I'll put in a good word for him

A guinea pig enclosure isn't optimal. She needs lots of humidity and you'll only get that in an enclosed container. Your heat is also escaping between the bars of the cage.

 

[Big Charlie]

should I hand feed her a little while shes soaking to she relaxes a little? I been wiping and cleaning her up with a wet cotton ball while shes in there

today she was making a little grunt cry when she was in there, was she just calling for help and not be enjoying it ? any other reason possibly?

Make sure the water is very warm.

 

[Stuart S.]

She's currently living in a 1.5×3 foot ginnea pig enclosure with a coco coir/ plain organic soil blend, 2.5 in deep. Heat rock and 85w uva/uvb bulb. And half log hide.

Concerned about not enough humidity after reading a bit.

(she eats plenty more than the little peice pictured lol the pile got cut out)(no longer eating majority lettuce, now on a garden diet)

Spur is quite handsome, I'll put in a good word for him

For a hatchling, that size will do for a little while so I would be thinking ahead towards a larger enclosure. I'm currently designing one for Spur and once I start construction I'll post what I'm doing. It won't be perfect by any means but it's just different things I've pieced together from being on here.

2 things I would focus on immediately for your little one. Humidity, anything that can cover the top that can hold the humidity in will help tremendously. @Yvonne G probably has some clever ideas that you could use. Also I would get a CHE (ceramic heat emitter) so that her temperature can stay warm at night.

https://www.petsmart.com/reptile/su... | Reptile,utm_campaign:GSC - PLA - Specialty

These are best controlled by a temperature controller, it will automatically shut the CHE off once the tank is at the designated temp and turn it on when it goes under. A temp/humidity gauge would be a great thing to have too! You're going to do great!

 

[Mortis_thetortoise]

For a hatchling, that size will do for a little while so I would be thinking ahead towards a larger enclosure. I'm currently designing one for Spur and once I start construction I'll post what I'm doing. It won't be perfect by any means but it's just different things I've pieced together from being on here.

2 things I would focus on immediately for your little one. Humidity, anything that can cover the top that can hold the humidity in will help tremendously. @Yvonne G probably has some clever ideas that you could use. Also I would get a CHE (ceramic heat emitter) so that her temperature can stay warm at night.

https://www.petsmart.com/reptile/supplies/heating-and-lighting/heaters/all-living-things-reptile-ceramic-heat-emitter-5195326.html?gclid=CLyKwZvT49ACFc1lfgodXBgLiw&lsft=utm_source:google,utm_term:5195326,utm_mediumLA,utm_content:GSC - PLA - Specialty | Reptile,utm_campaign:GSC - PLA - Specialty

These are best controlled by a temperature controller, it will automatically shut the CHE off once the tank is at the designated temp and turn it on when it goes under. A temp/humidity gauge would be a great thing to have too! You're going to do great!

awesome thanks!

going to the pet shop in 41 mins when I get off work to work on the heating

this morning I left a few piles of foods from the garden : 1 nice little catci pad (thornless) 2 hibiscus flower 3 st Augustine 4 chickweed 5 spider plant baby 6 hawksbeard ....interested to see what she favors

she loved the red Malabar spinach with chickweeds yesterday too

I work at a hydro shop so I plan on using a propagation dome and cutting it to fit. it should take up atleast a 1/3 of the tank then, sink it a few inches down so she will have a nice humid area to relax in. with the heat rock inside itll stay hot and humid. I think should be pretty damn good. hopefully within the next 2-3 months shell outgrow the enclosure and ill construct a custom one.

so healthy food, heat, and humidity are key things to be on top of.. any other tips appreciated ! I want to provide her with best conditions so any advice or recommendations will be awesome! I'm quite handy and garden so anything in particular to grow or make is no problem !

I have a bunch of red Malabar spinach seeds if anyone would be interested if you have trouble finding them..

thanks!

ill post pictures and updates later

 

[Stuart S.]

You're already on the right track just by being proactive in giving your baby the best life she could have! Don't forget about daily soakings! Those are key! That all sounds great! Keep it up and love that baby! Post pics when you can!

 

[Bee62]

Hi,

a heat rock is not the right way to keep a tortoise warm. African tortoises need very bright light and heat from above in their enclosure.
Only then they are really lively, feel good, eat and digest normal.
In addition, your tortoise needs a UVB lamp. Without UVB light the shell gets soft.
Please read all you can get about your sulcata tortoise and change the artificial habitat ( where she lives in ) for her as well as you can, before the tortoise get`s sick.
So many young sulcata tortoises die because their owners make bad mistakes in animal husbandry.

 

[Mortis_thetortoise]

Hi,

a heat rock is not the right way to keep a tortoise warm. African tortoises need very bright light and heat from above in their enclosure.
Only then they are really lively, feel good, eat and digest normal.
In addition, your tortoise needs a UVB lamp. Without UVB light the shell gets soft.
Please read all you can get about your sulcata tortoise and change the artificial habitat ( where she lives in ) for her as well as you can, before the tortoise get`s sick.
So many young sulcata tortoises die because their owners make bad mistakes in animal husbandry.

she has a heat rock AND UVB/heat lamp for daytime and heat at night on a different bulb setup , heat rock is always on
crafted a gardening humidity dome to fit and keep in humidity. sitting a work now designing a new enclosure for when she out grows this one.
cheers