New sulcata hatchling

[Kaitlinwise]

Hello! Just wanted to share my excitement with the forum that helped me prepare for getting a hatchling!
I picked up our three month old sulcata hatchling yesterday!
Over the past couple of years, we rescued two large sulcatas, and they are both truly amazing!! It’s so hard to picture our 60 and 70 pound “babies” ever being this tiny! Definitely going to be exciting to see this little one grow.
Indy is already eating grass and weeds very well, and exploring his indoor winter habitat.
I’m so glad to have gotten to read so much wonderful information about raising hatchlings here, and I am excited to continue learning!
Here’s Indy, along with our large sulcatas, Maturin and Chelone.

 

[Sarah2020]

Looks like you have space and lost of food to graze.

 

[Pastel Tortie]

Welcome to the Forum! Where did you get your little one from?

 

[Kaitlinwise]

Looks like you have space and lost of food to graze.

Our tortoises have a 70x70ft area currently, but we have lots of room to expand! They definitely love grazing all day!

 

[Kaitlinwise]

Welcome to the Forum! Where did you get your little one from?

Thank you! A guy from a few hours away from us had a few available from his recent hatch.

 

[Pastel Tortie]

Thank you! A guy from a few hours away from us had a few available from his recent hatch.

So directly from a breeder? And this is one that he hatched onsite? ?

 

[Pastel Tortie]

By the way, have you seen the care sheet for sulcatas?

The Best Way To Raise A Sulcata, Leopard, Or Star Tortoise

I chose the title of this care sheet very carefully. Are there other ways to raise babies? Yes. Yes there are, but those ways are not as good. What follows is the BEST way, according to 30 years of research and experimentation with hundreds of babies of many species. Babies hatch during the...

www.tortoiseforum.org

There's quite a bit of information in the sulcata section of the forum that you might find helpful.

 

[Kaitlinwise]

So directly from a breeder? And this is one that he hatched onsite? ?

Yes, he was hatched on-site. I know people ship with great success all the time, but I was relieved not to have to stress over that journey!

 

[Kaitlinwise]

By the way, have you seen the care sheet for sulcatas?

The Best Way To Raise A Sulcata, Leopard, Or Star Tortoise

I chose the title of this care sheet very carefully. Are there other ways to raise babies? Yes. Yes there are, but those ways are not as good. What follows is the BEST way, according to 30 years of research and experimentation with hundreds of babies of many species. Babies hatch during the...

www.tortoiseforum.org

There's quite a bit of information in the sulcata section of the forum that you might find helpful.

This was by far my go to for information getting everything set up! Such a great resource!!

 

[Pastel Tortie]

Yes, he was hatched on-site. I know people ship with great success all the time, but I was relieved not to have to stress over that journey!

If you go looking through the Tortoise Health section of the forum, you will see a number of threads about yellow bumps or yellow spots in baby sulcatas. If you had gotten your little one from a reseller instead of directly from a breeder (one who hatched them onsite), you would be significantly more likely to have to deal with that problem. I am relieved that isn't an issue here.

It's still a good idea to quarantine any new reptiles, just to make sure. ?

 

[Kaitlinwise]

If you go looking through the Tortoise Health section of the forum, you will see a number of threads about yellow bumps or yellow spots in baby sulcatas. If you had gotten your little one from a reseller instead of directly from a breeder (one who hatched them onsite), you would be significantly more likely to have to deal with that problem. I am relieved that isn't an issue here.

It's still a good idea to quarantine any new reptiles, just to make sure. ?

Thank you for the feedback, I have seen some concerns around that on one of the sulcata fb groups. Seems to have been an uptick lately, sadly.
As much as I’m ready to take him out and get a picture of him on a giant tortoise back- we are quarantining him. I was thinking two weeks- but I don’t know what is best. How long would you recommend for this?

 

[Pastel Tortie]

Thank you for the feedback, I have seen some concerns around that on one of the sulcata fb groups. Seems to have been an uptick lately, sadly.
As much as I’m ready to take him out and get a picture of him on a giant tortoise back- we are quarantining him. I was thinking two weeks- but I don’t know what is best. How long would you recommend for this?

Longer than two weeks... ?

@mastershake What are your thoughts on quarantine period length for a new baby sulcata (directly from a breeder, not a reseller)?

 

[mastershake]

i recc a min of 60 days. i know that is very hard for some people though. we do 90 days here. buying directly i would say 60 days should be more then okay. some things take more then 30 days to start to show symptoms.

 

[Tom]

Longer than two weeks... ?

@mastershake What are your thoughts on quarantine period length for a new baby sulcata (directly from a breeder, not a reseller)?

The reptile vets I work with recommend anywhere from 3 months to 12 months for any tortoises.

 

[Kaitlinwise]

i recc a min of 60 days. i know that is very hard for some people though. we do 90 days here. buying directly i would say 60 days should be more then okay. some things take more then 30 days to start to show symptoms.

Thank you! Better safe than sorry!

 

[Kaitlinwise]

The reptile vets I work with recommend anywhere from 3 months to 12 months for any tortoises.

Thank you! We have no reason to introduce the little one to our other tortoises- other than cute photos- so we will hold off on that for the foreseeable future!