Questions.........

[phantoms]

So I have a Sulcata tortoise right now in a 20 gallon tank. He is about 3" shell length now. He seems really bored and not very active in the tank. We have him in our bedroom due to we have no where in the living room to put him at the moment. I was wondering if I can get another tort to give him company? What would be the best tortoise to add that will eat the same stuff as him and not hibernate? Most importantly.....what tortoise can I add to the tank that won't get really big? I don't want to have two 200lb tort's running around due to no room for both and that would just be really unfair to them. One I can do but 2 would be overkill. Thanks.

 

[dmarcus]

That tank would be to small for more than one Sulcata and you don't want to mix species also. What are your temps like in the enclosure. If it's too cold they wont be as active, but it could also be a whole list of other things going on. Do you have a picture of your enclosure you can post and we can all give you help on changing it if needed...

 

[phantoms]

Yea I can get a pic and post it up. The temps are usually between 75 and 82. I tried to put him in the zoomed tortoise house but he hated it!!!!!! He definitely didn't move around at all in it. I'll run in and get a picture now and get it posted up for you to look at. Hopefully you guys can help. If we walk in the bedroom he is all over the place and gets excited. Thinking he may be bored by himself in the room.

 

[dmarcus]

I think you need to bump his temp up on the warm side and if you can make him a basking spot, you should try to get it in the high 90's that way he can choose to be hot or cool just by moving from one side of teh enclosure to the other. Also tortoises do not need another tortoise to be happy, they are fine being alone.

 

[phantoms]

Here's my setup for my Tort. Any suggestions and help would be great!!!! You can see from the 3rd pic he loves to dig out between the bowls!!!

 

[Shelly]

He needs a hide, for starters.

 

[phantoms]

He needs a hide, for starters.

Shelly I did have a box in there for him but have yet to add one back in there. I do plan on going to the post office and getting another shipping box today.

 

[dmarcus]

The very first thing I see is that you don't have a place for your tortoise to hide and sleep in. They like to escape the outside world in something dark, so that would be the first thing I add. You can use something as simple as a small flower pot turned upside and with a hole cut out or just lay it on its side and parcially bury it.

Do you know what your humidity is like?

 

[phantoms]

A hide away is on the list to get. Not sure with the humidity. I was told they don't need it as long as I keep the water bowl filled. Probably something I shouldn't have listed to. For the most part he will run around the cage if we are in the room. I'm heading to the post office to grab a shipping box today for him and give him the house to hide in.

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi Chris:

I don't know how you could have missed this, because we say it ALL THE TIME!!! Do not mix species!

Your tank is barely big enough for the little tortoise you have in it now. If you want to get another tortoise, you would have to get the same kind of tortoise and a bigger habitat.

Its not quite as important in this day and age as it was in the past because of the influx of wild caught tortoises, but tortoises from different continents have pathogens inside them that their species has evolved to live with. When you add the pathogens from a tortoise from a different continent, your tortoises may get sick or even die.

It has been surmised that the mycoplasma that causes Upper respiratory Disease Syndrome (URDS) was spread to California's desert tortoises because people released exotic tortoises into the desert. And I have taken in quite a few sick desert tortoises that had been kept with sulcatas.

May I suggest that you re-read Tom's "How to raise healthy hatchling" thread with an open mind and do some tweaking of your habitat. I think if you change a few things, you will see a change in the tortoise's demeanor.

 

[phantoms]

Hi Chris:

I don't know how you could have missed this, because we say it ALL THE TIME!!! Do not mix species!

Very simple answer to that one......I listened to pet stores instead of coming here first!!!! Lesson learned with that. I tried the ZooMed tortoise house but he hated it cause he couldn't see. I did always think the tank was way too small for him. Like I said I have noticed that when we go in the room....he's up and walking all over the place. When we leave the room he tends to just lay around until we walk in again. Any suggestions on a tank size I should have or get?

 

[dmarcus]

So below is the link for Tom's care sheet with a lot of good information if you haven't read it already. Like Yvonne said, all you need is a few minor changes and you will see a change in your tortoise..

http://www.tortoiseforum.org/Thread-How-To-Raise-Sulcata-Hatchlings-and-Babies#axzz1fgSdZQwe

 

[phantoms]

I was just reading that. It seems I have used the right substrate but failed by adding the Forest Floor wood chips substrate. I think I will skip the box and go get a nice sized plastic box from Target and use that with a sponge stuck to the top to produce moisture in the hide away. That was a great read!!! I just learned alot from reading that and will follow that!!!!

---

Thanks for all the advice here. I apologize for asking stupid questions and not giving my Tort a proper habitat. With the help I have gotten here I should have something better set up for him soon!!!!

 

[dmarcus]

There is no such thing as a stupid question, trust me I was doing a lot of things wrong before I found this forum... Good information is hard to find and luckily there is a lot of it on this forum...

 

[phantoms]

There is no such thing as a stupid question, trust me I was doing a lot of things wrong before I found this forum... Good information is hard to find and luckily there is a lot of it on this forum...

You got that right!!!! I failed by listening to the idiots in pet stores. Well now this rookie knows where to go for help!!!! I will take what I read and what you all said and work on the tank and make it better for him.

 

[Tom]

Hey, nobody was born knowing this stuff. The things we share here are based on real life experience with the species in question and sprinkled with some insight from other species as well.

Here's what I think:
1. Go bigger. I like the Zoo Med house. What did he do to make you think he hated it? I have used glass tanks for sulcatas since 1991. They work great for me. I usually start with a 24"x24" or a 36"x!8" for tiny hatchlings. Then I move them to a big tub or a 100 gallon (60x18"). By the time they outgrow that, I move them outside 24/7. For my outside pens I use 6' round kiddie pools or 4x8' covered pens for babies. For juveniles, I have a 15x30' and a 20x40' pen. This time of year you can probably find big 48" christmas tree storage bins for around $40 at Walmart or Target. These work great and are bigger than what you've got.
2. Do NOT mix species. Also pairs seldom work. Best as a single, but if you want more than one sulcata I recommend at least a trio.
3. Know your temps. Cool side, warm side, hot spot, night. Use a temp gun AND a remote probed thermometer. Temps are everything to a reptile. To get your temps just right, you need to be able to move those fixtures up and down. Hard to do with a screen top.
4. Humidity is good, and in my opinion necessary for babies, but do not let him get cool at night with humidity. I like to keep it warm, around 80, 24/7 for babies. You need night heat of some sort. Its not good to leave the daylight bulb on 24/7 either. I like ceramic heating elements for this, but incandescent "black" lights will work too.

I thinks its great that you want the best for your baby. Here's a bunch of threads that I put all in one place for my own convenience. I hope you find something helpful in them.
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/Thread-Helpful-Threads#axzz1fhZcQMbw

 

[phantoms]

Hey, nobody was born knowing this stuff. The things we share here are based on real life experience with the species in question and sprinkled with some insight from other species as well.

Here's what I think:
1. Go bigger. I like the Zoo Med house. What did he do to make you think he hated it? I have used glass tanks for sulcatas since 1991. They work great for me. I usually start with a 24"x24" or a 36"x!8" for tiny hatchlings. Then I move them to a big tub or a 100 gallon (60x18"). By the time they outgrow that, I move them outside 24/7. For my outside pens I use 6' round kiddie pools or 4x8' covered pens for babies. For juveniles, I have a 15x30' and a 20x40' pen. This time of year you can probably find big 48" christmas tree storage bins for around $40 at Walmart or Target. These work great and are bigger than what you've got.
2. Do NOT mix species. Also pairs seldom work. Best as a single, but if you want more than one sulcata I recommend at least a trio.
3. Know your temps. Cool side, warm side, hot spot, night. Use a temp gun AND a remote probed thermometer. Temps are everything to a reptile. To get your temps just right, you need to be able to move those fixtures up and down. Hard to do with a screen top.
4. Humidity is good, and in my opinion necessary for babies, but do not let him get cool at night with humidity. I like to keep it warm, around 80, 24/7 for babies. You need night heat of some sort. Its not good to leave the daylight bulb on 24/7 either. I like ceramic heating elements for this, but incandescent "black" lights will work too.

I thinks its great that you want the best for your baby. Here's a bunch of threads that I put all in one place for my own convenience. I hope you find something helpful in them.
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/Thread-Helpful-Threads#axzz1fhZcQMbw

Tom....first off thanks for the useful info!!!!! The ZooMed house he would just sit there....even when we are in the room plus he would constantly flip himself over. I put him back into the glass tank and now he runs all around it. I'm guessing that he hated the ZooMed cause he couldn't see out. That's just an assumption so I could be wrong. I did like the size of the house but just didn't like him just sitting there. I do use a night time heat lamp for him. The night heat never drops under 75. Daytime heat is usually around 82. These are the temps on the far side of the tank. I don't have the heat lamps near the thermometer thinking this will give me a reading on the "cool" side of the tank. Am I wrong in this logic? Humidity - I am going to try your way....plastic storage bin with a sponge glued to the top and soak it everyday. I'm hoping that I can do things right to make sure he is healthy and living a good life!!!!!

 

[phantoms]

I update his tank some. I posted the update in the enclosure section with pics. Let me know what you guys think. Thanks again

http://www.tortoiseforum.org/Thread-Tank-changes#axzz1fsN4Ln4O