Soon to be parent of Centrochelys Sulcatas

Anoktear

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Hi Everyone,

My best friend passed away and his parents are leaving me with a couple of Centrochelys Sulcatas, that he got recently and loved them very much. I think they are about 4 months old.

Congratulations on this Tortoise Community, I have been reading a lot of posts about them and I believe your expertise will be of great help so I can raise them properly.

The items I have for now are:

1 UVB lamp
1 heat lamp
and a heating cable.

I was thinking in placing them in an enclosure inside a closed patio.

Can I build this enclosure with wood?
What is the best enclosure size?
How should I place the lights and heating cable?

I don't have the tortoises yet, but will post a picture as soon as possible.
Thank you,
 

Yvonne G

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Hi, and welcome to the forum!

So sorry to hear about your best friend. Never an easy thing to have to go through.

This is the UVB light I like to use:

MVB.jpg

...and be sure to mount it in a fixture with a ceramic base:

clamp light.jpg






DO NOT GET THIS KIND (It causes eye problems):

CFL.jpg


...
if you buy a Mercury Vapor Bulb as I've shown above in my first picture, you don't need another light for heat. The MVB has heat and UVB all in one bulb.

Then, you will need heat for night time, as you don't want the babies to be any cooler than about 78-80F at any time:

ceramic heat emitter.jpg

and you should also mount this in a ceramic-based fixture.

Good luck with your babies. I'm looking forward to seeing pictures.
 
Last edited:

Anoktear

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Hi and welcome. I am so sorry about your friend. If you look at the sulcata below this may help
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/african-spurred-tortoise-sulcata-care-sheet.52524/
yes you can make it out of wood but it needs to be waterproof either by sealing the wood or by covering it with plastic.

Hi Heather, thank you for the tips and the care sheet.
I think I can get coconut bark for subtract, should I had something else?
And when do I need to change the subtract? Do I remove it all to trash and put a new one?
 

Anoktear

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Hi, and welcome to the forum!

So sorry to hear about your best friend. Never an easy thing to have to go through.

This is the UVB light I like to use:

View attachment 121623

...and be sure to mount it in a fixture with a ceramic base:

View attachment 121625






DO NOT GET THIS KIND:

View attachment 121624


...
if you buy a Mercury Vapor Bulb as I've shown above in my first picture, you don't need another light for heat. The MVB has heat and UVB all in one bulb.

Then, you will need heat for night time, as you don't want the babies to be any cooler than about 78-80F at any time:

View attachment 121626

and you should also mount this in a ceramic-based fixture.

Good luck with your babies. I'm looking forward to seeing pictures.

Hi Yvonne,
unfortunately I got the UVB light the "do not get this king"... and the light for heat separated
thank you for the tip on the ceramic fixture.
How should I place them on the enclosure?
 

Heather H

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Hi Yvonne,
unfortunately I got the UVB light the "do not get this king"... and the light for heat separated
thank you for the tip on the ceramic fixture.
How should I place them on the enclosure?
return them to the store. explain to them that they are known to cause eye problems.
 

Heather H

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Hi Heather, thank you for the tips and the care sheet.
I think I can get coconut bark for subtract, should I had something else?
And when do I need to change the subtract? Do I remove it all to trash and put a new one?
keep old food and poop out and you should be able to keep it for a long time. and you are welcome
 

Yvonne G

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I've never had anything bigger than 100watts. You have to check the temperature to know how low or high to place the light. The instructions on the box tell you around 12" (I think), but you raise or lower it to get the desired temperature at floor level.
 

WillTort2

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Sorry to hear of your friend's passing.

If you can post pictures of the new tortoises and possibly weigh them it will help the "wise ones" advise your regarding an enclosed chamber which hold humidity and warmth better or an open enclosure that takes on the temperature and humidity of the room. By knowing the size and condition it will determine if they are old enough to be in a lower humidity environment. For young tortoises warm and humid is advised by many of todays experts.
 

Tidgy's Dad

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Hi and welcome. Visit the forum on enclosures here for some excellent ideas and examples of what you could provide for your new arrivals. Your life is about to change forever...... for the better!
And very sorry to hear about your friend.
 

Anoktear

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I have terrible news ...His uncle sent them away to a Wildlife conservation group.

He said that had no time for them and that I was not ready. I know he never liked me...

Well not all is lost, this past days reading about tortoises and seeing all the passion and commitment of the tortoiseforum community made me want to have them.
I will pursue this new hobby and make contacts to see how can I have one or two.

Thank you all for the support, tips and kind words.
I will be in touch and showing my progress.
 

Grandpa Turtle 144

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Hello and welcome to the TFO from AZ. Torts aren't a hobby , a child , a life style maybe ,and Evan a life long commitment . But torts rule !
 

Anoktear

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Hello and welcome to the TFO from AZ. Torts aren't a hobby , a child , a life style maybe ,and Evan a life long commitment . But torts rule !

Thank you.
I admire your dedication and hope one day I'll be proven worthy of having Torts.
 

Tidgy's Dad

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Anoktear, is it possible that you could contact the Animal Welfare Group concerned, explain the sad situation, tell them of the preparations you have made and the help you are getting from this forum and that you would like to rear the torts in the memory of your friend? They'll probably sell or put the tortoises up for adoption anyway, so if you have a good home ready prepared, they may be helpful. Worth a try?
 

Anoktear

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Anoktear, is it possible that you could contact the Animal Welfare Group concerned, explain the sad situation, tell them of the preparations you have made and the help you are getting from this forum and that you would like to rear the torts in the memory of your friend? They'll probably sell or put the tortoises up for adoption anyway, so if you have a good home ready prepared, they may be helpful. Worth a try?

Hello Tidgy Dad, yes I talked to them yesterday as soon as I found out, but they insist that they are a sanctuary and the tortoises will have better conditions there ... Also, said that they are very strict with reptiles here in Portugal and therefore is not possible for a private person to obtain one from these institutions.
 

smarch

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Hello Tidgy Dad, yes I talked to them yesterday as soon as I found out, but they insist that they are a sanctuary and the tortoises will have better conditions there ... Also, said that they are very strict with reptiles here in Portugal and therefore is not possible for a private person to obtain one from these institutions.
awww man, because my suggestion was going to be to go to the place about it too...
Anyways I'm sorry about your friend, and missing the tortoises. But welcome to the tortoise community, because once you get sucked in theres no escape :p
 

Tidgy's Dad

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what a shame! it seems to me that these institutions generally give their animals good care, but little individual love as they have so many. I hope you find another way of acquiring a tortoise . Good luck.
 

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