New Sulcata Home

[Hatchy]

What do I need to add to this home for my new Sulcata Tortoise. I just picked him up a week ago and this is what he has been living in. He seems to be healthy and happy, but any help or suggestions are appreciated

 

[wellington]

A hide to go in to, more/deeper substrate, a bigger water dish, some plants and depending on his age, humidity. Check out the threads at the bottom of my post. They will help with raising a sulcata.

 

[sibi]

What kind of substrate is that...can't tell in the pic. Again, Wellington is giving you threads that will give you all the information you need to make your new baby happy and healthy. Read them please.

 

[Hatchy]

Its exo terra plantation soil... is that ok?

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And also he is about 3.5 inches long. Any idea about how old that makes him?

 

[mainey34]

Hello and welcome. You will need to make sure you get some humidity in there. Also make sure that you are feeding lots of greens. Are you soaking your baby? It looks like you are using a sand for substrate, if you are you need to remove it immediately. It is one of the worst substrates. They tend to eat it and get impacted. There are also some threads below my signature. Good suggestion that I recommend you try. I have used this guide with my own sulcata.

 

[Hatchy]

Does this look better? You can see he already likes his humid hide.

 

[lovelyrosepetal]

That is better. I would use six or seven bricks of the coco coir, that is what plantation soil is. I use it, it is the only one that we have here in Oklahoma. It works great and my tortoises love it. I would use a different water dish, that one looks like it might be too hard to get in and out of. Someone else will give better advice when they come along. Good luck and keep us updated!

 

[sibi]

I don't know about that soil; but, organic soil can be mixed with coco coir to make a great substrate. Yeah, coco coir is sold in many pet shops, and it is something that if the tort eats, it will not cause any harm...in fact, it's really good for their digestion. Hopefully, you'd start introducing some greens like kale, collards, spring mix, etc. You may as well start to introduce Orchard hay as well. 70-80% of their diet should be made up of hay. Keeping the enclosure humid is very important for their health and shell growth. All the threads will tell you more; so, please read them. And, again...welcome.

 

[Tom]

He needs more substrate, a terra cotta plant saucer for a water dish, and most of that top needs to be covered.

What is in the fixtures and how are those fixtures attached? Be careful. Those clamps always fail and those bulbs could cause some serious harm to your tortoise and your house.

All the info you are looking for is in my signature. That tub will not last you for very long if he starts growing normally. I recommend a closed chamber for your next enclosure. You can buy them or build them, but they work MUCH better than an open topped design.

There is no way to know the age from size. I have some that were 3.5" at 4 months and I've seen some that were three years old and still that size.

 

[lovelyrosepetal]

I would listen to any and all advice from Tom. He knows exactly what he is talking about. Sulcatas are his passion and he knows more than anyone about them.
As to the plantation soil, it is coco coir, just another name for it. Buy six or seven of those blocks and spread it out. It will be better for your tortoise to be able to dig into it. It makes for a happier tortoise. Best of luck, please keep us updated.

 

[DanieltheAnvil]

I dont see any temp or humidity gauges. make sure you know your 4 daily temps and your humidity needs to be no lower than 50 percent but preferably up to 80 percent. good luck though with your new life long friend.

 

[Hatchy]

Any idea how to get your tortoise to go in his/her humidity hide? Mine never actually goes in his

 

[lovelyrosepetal]

I just put them in at night when it is lights out. They sometimes go in on their own but not usually. I made a top for my enclosure so the humidity stays up all the time. I figure the whole thing is like a humid hide so I don't put them in anymore but let them go in when they want to. When I was putting them in some would stay in and go in but one of them hardly ever stayed in and rarely went in on its own.
Do you have any new pictures of your enclosure? I would love to see you post some. Maybe others could get some ideas on how to help you get yours to go in if they could see updated photos.