asampson760
New Member
Hi everyone!
Really needing some speedy advice here as I am kind of in a panic. We bought a 1 year old Sulcata over the weekend from a local reptile shop. After finding this forum I have learned that we are doing everything completely wrong and I need to remedy our situation as quickly as possible. I followed the (very bad) advice of the shop owner and ended up with a glass tank (open top obviously) filled with sand. He told us to feed "greens" so I have been giving him kale, cabbage, and dandelion greens. Which I now know is also wrong. I have read he needs grass, but we live in the desert and have no grass in our yard. I do have access to Bermuda and Orchard hay. Can I give him some of that or is he too young still?
He has one of those lights with two bulbs, all I know is one provides heat and one is UVB. Are these okay or is that also wrong? The temperature in the warm side of his tank is usually around 80-90 degrees but I have seen it up near 100 in the middle of the day.
I am trying to figure out what I can get for him TODAY that can help him live better. I've read about plastic tote bins, is that a viable option? What is the best substrate option that I can find from Home Depot/local stores?
Can someone help me come up with a list of things that I can get today from Home Depot and/or local pet stores/Petco that can get him better set up immediately until we can get his ideal situation put together which will take more time.
Also, maybe this is a silly question, but with him/her being 1 year old I am assuming this is still considered to be a baby? At what point are they no longer considered to be a baby?
Thank you in advance for your help and kindness. I am so new to this and feeling devastated that we are not doing right by our little tortoise right now.
Really needing some speedy advice here as I am kind of in a panic. We bought a 1 year old Sulcata over the weekend from a local reptile shop. After finding this forum I have learned that we are doing everything completely wrong and I need to remedy our situation as quickly as possible. I followed the (very bad) advice of the shop owner and ended up with a glass tank (open top obviously) filled with sand. He told us to feed "greens" so I have been giving him kale, cabbage, and dandelion greens. Which I now know is also wrong. I have read he needs grass, but we live in the desert and have no grass in our yard. I do have access to Bermuda and Orchard hay. Can I give him some of that or is he too young still?
He has one of those lights with two bulbs, all I know is one provides heat and one is UVB. Are these okay or is that also wrong? The temperature in the warm side of his tank is usually around 80-90 degrees but I have seen it up near 100 in the middle of the day.
I am trying to figure out what I can get for him TODAY that can help him live better. I've read about plastic tote bins, is that a viable option? What is the best substrate option that I can find from Home Depot/local stores?
Can someone help me come up with a list of things that I can get today from Home Depot and/or local pet stores/Petco that can get him better set up immediately until we can get his ideal situation put together which will take more time.
Also, maybe this is a silly question, but with him/her being 1 year old I am assuming this is still considered to be a baby? At what point are they no longer considered to be a baby?
Thank you in advance for your help and kindness. I am so new to this and feeling devastated that we are not doing right by our little tortoise right now.