:( petstore tortoise

[Anastasia]

I was at a local petstore today and they have a baby Sulcata -soooooo lovely with a nice light coloring- but they have him housed in a tank with a dozen baby Red-Foot tortoises. The tank was set up well for the Red-Foots, with high humidity... but the entire substrate was damp sphagnum moss, so there was NO dry area whatsoever! I so wanted to bring the Sulcata home with me, and would have no problem housing him for the next few years, but I have no idea what I would do with three full grown Sulcata's (since I already have the two!)

Oh, the RF's were cute too, but definitely too young to be in a petstore as some still had their egg tooth, and at least one still had a bit of umbilical cord showing.

Anyways, what do you guys do in situations like that?

 

[ascott]

That is too bad about the mixed species...not entirely too bad for the humidity for a young sulcata as long as it was warm enough in there for them.....if the redfoots are under 4let's inches then you absolutely can drop a dime on them.....

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Sorry...using my smart phone and it tries to add words and such......the word let's after 4 was not meant to be there LOL

 

[fbsmith3]

Explain to them that you keep several Sulcata Tortoises and Red Foot Tortoises. Explain how they need a different environment than Red Foots.

Finish up with; too much humidity will make Sulcata suceptable to shell rot.

Pet store people do not know much, either they care abou the animals or they care about money. Don't lie but bend the truth, the more of an expert you are and the less they actually know about the animal willl help get this little guy the proper care he deserves.

They will not want to lose an expensive animal or customers who raise expensive animals.

Edit: if they are less than 4" and you drop a dime. They are required to kill all animals less than 4". Very sad.

Good luck

 

[Kristina]

I agree, the species should not be mixed, but the humidity is not a bad thing as long as the enclosure is warm enough. All of my Sulcatas are housed in humid conditions with no dry area, on organic humus covered in sphagnum moss. I would be more upset if the baby Sulcata was being kept completely dry with no humidity, which would result in dehydration and pyramiding, and possibly even kidney failure and metabolic bone disease down the road.

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Finish up with; too much humidity will make Sulcata suceptable to shell rot.

All of my Sulcatas (all of my babies period) are kept in high humidity. I have never had a case of shell rot. The humidity is so high in my enclosures that there is fog on the glass.

 

[CtTortoiseMom]

I don't have a dry area in my enclosures. If he was warm, had water and humidity that is a major step up from what has been posted on here about tort's in pet stores.

 

[Anastasia]

Hmmm, well good to know then. They don't have proper basking set up in their tanks, just an overhead strip light, but I didn't notice any of them feeling cool, nor the moss, for that matter, when I dug through to see all the cuties! LOL!

 

[ascott]

fbsmith, I apologize before I begin who are "they" and what source informed you that 4" or less = kill? for the redfoot species....very curious, so please don't take it the wrong way.....

 

[fbsmith3]

"ascot" I will never ever take anything written on this forum as personnal. We are all always trying do do the best for Turtles and Tortoises.

I started a thread on the 4" law and learned a lot.
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/Thread-Baby-turtles-Tortoises-less-than-4#axzz1aiFM5ei8

I am in no way an expert, but I take information from them and side toward what is best for the animal. Hope that clears up my post.

 

[Tom]

Its not illegal to sell hatchlings. There are loopholes and exceptions in the law.

Humidity is great for sulcata babies, although they do need a basking spot and the species should NOT be mixed.

Tortoises do not have umbilical cords. Were you seeing a yolk sack? Maybe some substrate debris was simply stuck to the baby.

And finally, you'd be better off with a trio, in most cases, than a pair. Depending on the sexes of the eventual adults of course.

If you do buy that little one, just make sure he gets a good long quarantine and several fecal checks since he's been cavorting with species from a different continent.

 

[Anastasia]

Oh DUH me! I know that! yolk sac! Yes, this is what I was seeing on one of the red-foots, it's yolk sac hadn't been fully absorbed yet. I mean, it was a tiny bit but still there, and as I said, you could still see the egg tooth on a few of them!

What would be better about a trio? I am just imaging it based on how much room they'd take up... and how much food they'd eat! LOL Since I'm in the Mid-west, they'd have to winter indoors, and it's a long winter around here!

 

[Tom]

I don't know redfoots, but some tortoises can retain their egg tooth for 6 weeks. It happens occasionally. No baby with ANY remaining yolk sac should be out of its brooder box, so you have a very valid complaint there.

I have seen lots of trouble with pairs of any species over the years. With a pair, one or the other will be dominant. They don't have to physically fight or do anything for this to be established. One of them will just be the meeker of the two. This meeker one will avoid the other one and avoid arousing attention to the point of not coming to the food dish as early or as often, or stay on the food dish as long. These are just SOME of the behavioral possibilities that are likely to develop. Ever notice how one member of a pair almost always grows much faster than the other one? With a trio or a group, one meek one is not so "singled out". They tend to feel more secure and less threatened in a group.

Regardless of how well I do or don't explain this, I have seen each scenario played out in real life many times and most of the time one member of a pair suffers, while in a group situation this rarely happens.

 

[ascott]

fbsmith, thanks and I will have to get info direct from the two sources that would be able to for certain give me their side on this killing the babies....it may be another activist gathering in the future and thanks for understanding my question was truly that, just a question