Preparing for new baby...Tomorrow!

[Whiteshizzle]

Hello forum!

New here, Just thought i should come get some advice for my new baby who i am getting tomorrow!

Few questions, Firstly i will tell you what i have, I have an aquarium tank with a spotlight bulb kinda thing, A UV tube thing and i am using kinda small white stone bits for the Subtrate.

Questions, Should i be putting the heat lamp on the night before he comes here? How would i go about Humidifying the tank? And how should i go about getting him home from the store? Shoebox + holes in the lid with Subtrate?
Lastly, Do you recommend just feeding him stuff from the garden? Dark leaves, etc or giving him some sort of food from the store?

I'm living in England and the tortoise is 1 month old

Many thanks !

 

[Yvonne G]

Oh wow! Another U.K. Sulcata keeper! Good luck with that!

to the forum!!

You need a big enough aquarium so that you can keep one end warm and the other end cooler. You usually can't achieve that with a glass tank, that's why most of us like to use the large plastic bins.

So, place your UVB bulb on one end and position it so that it is the recommended distance from the floor of the habitat. Its best if it is shining straight down, and not at an angle.

If you use a substrate that you can moisten, the heat and the light with cause the water to evaporate and make it humid in the habitat. I like either orchid bark or cypress mulch.

Babies won't eat hay until they're about 3 years old, so I usually feed them the packaged greens mixture called Spring Mix here in the States. I know you have a similar product in the U.K. but I can't remember what its called. Its something like "sparkles" or something like that. Then, to that I'll add some weeds from the garden...dandelion, clover, mullberry leaves, etc.

I don't think you need to worry about heating up the tank before you get the tortoise, and don't worry about what to bring him home in. Just make it something quiet and warm. A shoe box would be just fine.

We'll all want to see pictures when you get your new baby!

 

[Whiteshizzle]

Many thanks for your help! I may consider selling the tank and getting a "tree bin" sort of thing like alot of you guys have. At the moment the lamp is pointing at a slight angle from the edge near the front but may have to change it if needed i guess. The bulb is a 60watt bulb and about 20cm away from the floor, do you think it will be warm enough for him?

I'll be sure to upload some cute photos when he arrives!

Thanks again

 

[Stephanie Logan]

Welcome to the forum "Whiteshizzle"!

Haha, how funny that you are the second English keeper of a Sulcata tort in two days! The other was located in Blackpool.

What made you choose Sulcata rather than the Hermanns species that most of our U.K. keepers opt for? I always thought Sulcata were hard to obtain in Europe.

While you're at the pet store, see if you can pick up a thermometer like this: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0009O1G5K/?tag=exoticpetnetw-20
Your baby tort will need air temps of at least 26C to keep his body warm enough to metabolize food. He will also need a shallow wide water dish with lukewarm water to drink and soak in. He will need at least two "hides"--literally places to hide so he will feel concealed and safe from predators. Speaking of which, make sure your little guy is protected from any other pets that may consider him a chew toy.

Well, I am not a Sulcata keeper--I could never keep up with a 100-pound walking poop machine! (though they also have great personalities)--so I'll let the experts fill you in on all the important stuff you'll need to know. Good luck and be sure to ask all the questions you have here--you will get good, reliable advice from long-time tortoise keepers.

 

[Stephanie Logan]

Sorry to be repeating myself; I just want your new little pet to be comfortable and to thrive--so many of them become ill and die without top-notch care those first few weeks.

As you get your new Sulcata hatchling today, please remember that even very experienced tortoise keepers often lose hatchlings because they are such fragile babies. If you want to optimize your odds for raising this baby to an adult, you need to do A LOT of research. You can start right here on TFO, browsing through the "Sulcata Central", "Enclosures", and "Food and Diet" sections. There is a link to an African Tortoise care sheet that is often recommended on here that someone should post soon on this thread, or you can PM emysemys or maggie3fan to get one. You should also PM Roachman26 to get some excellent recommendations for Sulcata care.

I know you have every good intention for purchasing this cute little baby tortoise, but if you want him to outlive you, or to even live through the next year, you will need to embark on a course of study to understand and be able to meet the needs of these high-maintenance creatures so that he may pay you back with years of healthy, happy life.

 

[chadk]

Please read this carefully:

http://www.sulcata-station.org/pdf/hatchfail.pdf

 

[FWishbringer]

I'm still new to this, but from what I've read on a lot of places, the white stone substrate would be bad. Sullies apparently try to chew on them, and often try to eat them, if they are small enough to get in their mouth. My friend and I both got a sulcata on the same day (from the same clutch), and our experiments with substrate have ended on him using a 50%/50% sand/topsoil mix, and I went with 100% topsoil substrate. A lot of people recommend cypress mulch as well, but the stuff locally is finely shredded and the tort kept trying to eat the little bits (just like it did the coconut coir), so I decided to forgo it.

As per the enclosure, I really recommend reading this thread: http://tortoiseforum.org/thread-661.html .. lots of good tips in it.

Regarding the 'spring mix', it lists baby lettuce, baby greens, endive, and radicchio as the stuff in it, if that helps you find something locally.

Good luck!