new to tortoise ownership need help

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dougeesmama

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so being new to tortoise ownership Ive got tons of questions.
I've read soo much information on it but different sites and books tell me different information so I'd like some real feedback
( when I say 'he' I'm just guessing cause I named it a male name) :) hope its a boy!
I just got a hatchling about 3 days ago...
he lives in an 80 gallon aquarium tank that's pretty all
we have a 100 watt basking lamp on one end keeping temp at about 95 degrees and a cool end at about 75 degrees where his 'house' is and his water and food dish are
he's on that coconut husk/dirt stuff and the small bark pieces and he likes to burrow rather that just sleep in his house or on the cool side... is this normal?
also my fiancé takes him out for sun once a day for about 15-30 minutes... is this sufficient for all the nutrients he needs?
also am I missing anything in his tank like maybe another light or anything?
and how often should which like be on?
oh and what else should I be feeding him? he eats grass and romaine lettuce right now
sorrie so many questions I just wanna be a good mama and I get nervous sometimes cause I normally know a lot about animals but nothing about tortoise :)
please help!
any information opinions or feedback is very much appreciated! :)
 

dmmj

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What type of tortoise is it?
 

slowpoke

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yea im with dmmj we need to know what kind of tort you have , and when you say basking light what kind is it , if its just a regular basking light you need some uvb if you want to just go with one light go with a mvb it gives off uvb uva light and heat ... but with a 80 gallon tank i would also go with another light source on the cool side like a fluorescent tube dont use the compact ones .... romaine lettuce isnt the best bet for them , i know that my russians get spring mix with collard greens one week and and spring mix with mustard , i always change out what greens im going to give them but i use the spring mix as a base with vitamin D3 and calcium powder sprinkled over the top of it every other feeding .... but with out knowing what kind of tort you have my info might be wrong for you ... this is stuff i do for russians ... the sun is good depending on where you live , if your in a place that is cold like colorado this time of year it might not be good , but in the summer mine will be out there from sun up to sun down ... and im thinking 15 to 20 minutes might not be long enough , just from what i have read on here ... lights should be on for 14 hours just like if it was summer time ... coco coir / husk is good for a substrate its what ever works best, make it deep enough so he can dig down , dont use just sand but some people use sand mixed with soil but not alot of sand ... me, i dont use sand... but like i said , this is for russian tortoises that i care for we still dont know what kind you have lol ...
 

wellington

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We do need more info, species of tort for sure. If you could get the tort outside for a longer period of time would be better. If you can get him out most days, you don't need uv lighting for the indoor enclosure. a bigger variety of diet would be good also, however can't suggest what to feed without species info. Also where do you live, state? The info on TFO is all the info you need. Most other info out there is old and out dated and not good.
 

dougeesmama

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oh so sorrie duh that would help haha sorrie I'm so new! :) I have a little over two month old sulcata tortoise and I live in California in the Temecula area :) it's pretty hot during the day but cold at night and I don't use the air conditioning or heater in my house :)
 

ascott

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Hi..I would say that you sound as though you have a pretty good set up....I would offer more than romaine along with the grass...perhaps mix in some organic herb and organic spring mix....and you can change that up once spring comes around and the weed population comes back into bloom :D

Do you spritz em with water a few times a day? Sometimes adding a bit of humidity is good as well when they are babies..they can dehydrate easily so the spritzing can help so his environment is not too dry...also I would add a place of plants that he can hide under and behind --youfive can use live plants or silk artificial plants and maybe put them where you say he likes to bury down into the substrate for added hiding effect...I would imagine if he gets 30+minutes a day of outside sun time the uvb would not be imperative...however, for this species of tortoise I would add a 10.0 long tube uvb light..this will give you some additional uvb for the baby without too much..also I would say offering your tortoise a daily 30 minute warm water soak is also a beneficial thing--just a container large enough for your tortoise to stretch out and deep enough to allow him to maintain his head out of the water..generally where the top and bottom of shell meet....you likely already are doing soaks but if not they do great....:D
 

wellington

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One great way to raise a SMOOTH sulcata is to follow the threads at the bottom of my post. They need a good humidity to stay and grow smooth. If you follow the thread you will have a healthy smooth tort.
 
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