New to the world of Sulcata's and concerned!

[dklawlor]

Hi Everyone! I have a 7 mo. old and have had her (or him) since she was 2 months old. I have read so many articles and am always trying to do what is best for her and I am worried that she is starting to pyramid and I will find her a new home before I am responsible for creating a problem like that for her so I am hoping someone can give me an insight of if her shell looks normal.

Facts about her:
1. I feed her Zoo Med Grassland Tortoise food along with grass, dandelions/leaves, clovers, rose pedals, green lettuce from our garden and other similar items. I do not feed her any fruit.
2. She is outside at least 12 hours a week in the sun. I have a Powersun with combined UVB/Heat that I leave on for her for at least 12-14 hours a day if she cannot go outside. Her basking spot is 95 and I do not provide a heat lamp at night for the temperature stays about 70 at all times.
3. I have a reptile humidifier that I run during the day to keep it humid around 75%.
4. Her enclosure has a combination of repti bark and coconut fiber substrate.
5. She has her water dish large enough that she can soak when she wants, I soak her every other day for 30 minutes as well.
6. I do not give her any calcium supplements for I read that if she is eating dandelions/leaves that provides enough.
7. She lives in a Zoo Med Tortoise home.

I would be so grateful if someone could tell me if she is supposed to look like this or if I am doing something wrong for I want her to grow up as healthy as possible.

Thanks!
Denise

 

[BrianWI]

Well, she is pyramiding. I have a Tortoise House here for outdoors, I would think keeping the humidity up in it would be quite hard if the top isn't sealed up.

 

[dklawlor]

It is only humid during the day when the humidifier is running then at night it drops to about 60. I was told not to keep her in a glass enclosure for the temperature couldn't be regulated so I will try covering up the top so that the humidity stays higher 24/7. Thanks for your response.

 

[Jodie]

The pyramiding is minimal. Covering your enclosure will help. 70F and humid though will possibly cause a respiratory infection. You need night heat to maintain a min of 80F. Best of luck.

 

[Grandpa Turtle 144]

Hello Denise

 

[Tom]

Hi Denise. Over all your tortoise looks fine. I would not worry about mild pyramiding like that since your tortoise is getting sunshine and a good diet.

I do think you have a few issues that could be made better. Most of the info and care sheets out there are old and outdated and based on incorrect assumptions from decades ago.This is a tropical species and they hatch at the start of the African rainy season. Its hot and humid over there. THink South FLorida or New Orleans in summer...

The info you've read about glass tanks is often repeated, but its wrong. I, and several other experienced keepers, have been using them for decades and they work just fine. The problem with the ZooMed house is that its too small, too shallow and open on top. Having an open top just lets all your humidity escape. Continually pouring more humidity back in with a humidifier, usually doesn't work very well. Closed chambers work best. Like this: http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/closed-chambers.32333/

Even with your good diet, I would still give a tiny pinch of calcium a couple of times a week, just to be sure your growing baby is getting enough. If they have more than they need, the calcium will pass through harmlessly.

I also agree that you should have some night heat. I've raised hundreds of babies and I don't let mine drop below 80ish at night.

Welcome to the forum, and feel free to question all of this and ask for more clarification.

 

[Speedy-1]

Listen to Toms advice , Speedy was "tank raised" with no ill effects , and virtually no pyramiding !

 

[dklawlor]

Thank you everyone for your suggestions and I will definitely change her housing. I have tried to find one to buy that isn't too expensive and there doesn't seem to be a lot of options. I do not have the skills or tools to make one myself. Does anyone have a suggestion or know of a company that would sell a habitat that would be great for her? The best one I found was the 90 gallon Zilla tank but it has a screen top but I probably could find someone that makes a plexi-glass top for that.

Speedy looks fantastic!

Tom, after doing a lot of searching on this forum, I found that you are mentioned quite bit and I did find your care sheet and I printed that out so I will definitely take what you have to say and put it in action!

Thanks again!

 

[Speedy-1]

Hey Denise , plexi glass is just one option . You can cover those screens with plastic (like a shower curtain) or tin / aluminum foil. If you decide to go with plexiglass , you can take one of the screens along , and they will cut it to that size for you ! a lot of options !