New sulcata owner

[beifong]

Hi, just joining this forum to have more access to knowledge from “real” people versus just the hundreds of other website that have a basic rundown of care

I’m 25 and living in central florida, taking advantage of my environment so I can house my sulcata outdoors once they’re big enough. My tortoise is named Beifong and my name is Jesa

My area of interest in learning is what plants I can grow at home for my tortoise to eat. I love gardening. I have a large cochineal nopal cactus (nopalea cochenillifera) which is a type of Prickly Pear. I’m not sure if that’s the same kind sulcatas can eat so that’s why I started forum searching

 

[Tom]

Hello and welcome!

Most of the care info you find for these guys is wrong. Here is the right info:

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...

tortoiseforum.org

This thread specifically answers your question about the foods:

For Those Who Have a Young Sulcata...

Over and over I type up and answer diet questions and try to get people feeding the right stuff, but I find that the "norm" is grocery store food. Grocery store food is expensive, a hassle to obtain, and very low on the list of what is best for sulcatas. These tortoises are GRASS eaters. From...

tortoiseforum.org

I looked it up and I have that type of cactus here. They love it. Great food for them.

 

[beifong]

Hello and welcome!

Most of the care info you find for these guys is wrong. Here is the right info:

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...

tortoiseforum.org

This thread specifically answers your question about the foods:

For Those Who Have a Young Sulcata...

Over and over I type up and answer diet questions and try to get people feeding the right stuff, but I find that the "norm" is grocery store food. Grocery store food is expensive, a hassle to obtain, and very low on the list of what is best for sulcatas. These tortoises are GRASS eaters. From...

tortoiseforum.org

I looked it up and I have that type of cactus here. They love it. Great food for them.

hi tom, i already read that first post you shared. It’s what brought me to this forum, I really loved it. Great read.

I’m so happy to hear about the cactus. I tried removing that plant about 2 years ago but it’s grown back full swing so I’m happy to have a use for it now!

Thank you for the very informative welcome

 

[LasTortugasNinja]

Tom is your go-to guy here. We are trying to develop a way to download his brain into digital form, make it an app, and make it a required download for all tortoise purchases in the world.

 

[Tom]

hi tom, i already read that first post you shared. It’s what brought me to this forum, I really loved it. Great read.

I’m so happy to hear about the cactus. I tried removing that plant about 2 years ago but it’s grown back full swing so I’m happy to have a use for it now!

Thank you for the very informative welcome

When your sulcata gets larger that cactus stand will be a life saver! You'll be so glad to have it. Cactus pads and grass hay make up a large percentage of my adult sulcatas diet annually.

 

[Ray--Opo]

Welcome Jesa and Beifong, the info Tom gave you is the best info.
I live in central east Florida. Great place to have a sulcata.
Before you spend to much money on a enclosure. Remember it must be a closed enclosure to keep humidity and temp levels accurate.
Also remember no fruit.
Read the caresheets and ask questions.

 

[Yvonne G]

Welcome!

 

[Cheryl Hills]

Welcome to the forum