Spike the baby Sulcata

[spikesmomma]

Good Evening, my name is Spike my mother named me after one of her favorite land before time characters. Yesterday she brought me home. I currently live in a 20gal tank. This is what my tank looks like. 🥰 My mom feels like I am not getting enough warmth. (First time tortoise owner) First she had just soil (without the fertilizer) as my bedding then she added some cypress mulch. She just want’s me make me happy and give me the best life. Please give her helpful information.

 

[wellington]

20 gallon tank is too small even for a hatchling. The enclosure needs a hide, water saucer and food rock/dish. Thru that in there, there is not much walking space which they need. Also the one end needs to have a basking area of 95-100 while the rest of the enclosure maintains 80-90, day and night.
Coconut coir and orchid bark should be used as the substrate not soil or mulch.
Humidity needs to be 80% and the enclosure should be a closed chamber enclosure.
Get at least a 40 gallon or cheaper is the largest storage tote they sell which I believe is a 50 gallon, possibly bigger. You can also use a portable pop up greenhouse indoors which if you get a good sized one, 3x9 or so, it will last until he can live outside.
You just block length from being used and as he grows, you give more.

 

[wellington]

Thread 'The Best Way To Raise A Sulcata, Leopard, Or Star Tortoise' https://www.tortoiseforum.org/threa...se-a-sulcata-leopard-or-star-tortoise.181497/

 

[wellington]

Thread 'Closed "Chambers"' https://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/closed-chambers.32333/

 

[Tom]

Good Evening, my name is Spike my mother named me after one of her favorite land before time characters. Yesterday she brought me home. I currently live in a 20gal tank. This is what my tank looks like. 🥰 My mom feels like I am not getting enough warmth. (First time tortoise owner) First she had just soil (without the fertilizer) as my bedding then she added some cypress mulch. She just want’s me make me happy and give me the best life. Please give her helpful information.

Hello and welcome. Most of the care info out in the world for this species is all wrong. Start here, and the care sheet that Wellington linked for you is at the bottom:

Info For New People. Please Read This First.

Hello and welcome to tortoiseforum.org! We are all glad you are here! There is no other forum like this anywhere. We have tens of thousands of members from all over the world ranging from kids with their first tortoise to people who have been breeding and keeping high end tortoises since the...

tortoiseforum.org

So far it sounds like you have received the typical wrong information about housing, substrate, temperatures and lighting. You are not alone. This happens to almost everyone who does "research". The thread I linked above will explain this more. We are only here to help. While it may be confusing and frustrating at first because of contradictory info, you'll soon understand what is going on, why, and what to do about it.

 

[TammyJ]

Hello there Spike and Spike's Momma! Welcome to the best tortoise site around. Here you will get, and are already getting, the exact information that will help you progress in the right way with this venture.

 

[spikesmomma]

20 gallon tank is too small even for a hatchling. The enclosure needs a hide, water saucer and food rock/dish. Thru that in there, there is not much walking space which they need. Also the one end needs to have a basking area of 95-100 while the rest of the enclosure maintains 80-90, day and night.
Coconut coir and orchid bark should be used as the substrate not soil or mulch.
Humidity needs to be 80% and the enclosure should be a closed chamber enclosure.
Get at least a 40 gallon or cheaper is the largest storage tote they sell which I believe is a 50 gallon, possibly bigger. You can also use a portable pop up greenhouse indoors which if you get a good sized one, 3x9 or so, it will last until he can live outside.
You just block length from being used and as he grows, you give more.

20 gallon tank is too small even for a hatchling. The enclosure needs a hide, water saucer and food rock/dish. Thru that in there, there is not much walking space which they need. Also the one end needs to have a basking area of 95-100 while the rest of the enclosure maintains 80-90, day and night.
Coconut coir and orchid bark should be used as the substrate not soil or mulch.
Humidity needs to be 80% and the enclosure should be a closed chamber enclosure.
Get at least a 40 gallon or cheaper is the largest storage tote they sell which I believe is a 50 gallon, possibly bigger. You can also use a portable pop up greenhouse indoors which if you get a good sized one, 3x9 or so, it will last until he can live outside.
You just block length from being used and as he grows, you give more.

20 gallon tank is too small even for a hatchling. The enclosure needs a hide, water saucer and food rock/dish. Thru that in there, there is not much walking space which they need. Also the one end needs to have a basking area of 95-100 while the rest of the enclosure maintains 80-90, day and night.
Coconut coir and orchid bark should be used as the substrate not soil or mulch.
Humidity needs to be 80% and the enclosure should be a closed chamber enclosure.
Get at least a 40 gallon or cheaper is the largest storage tote they sell which I believe is a 50 gallon, possibly bigger. You can also use a portable pop up greenhouse indoors which if you get a good sized one, 3x9 or so, it will last until he can live outside.
You just block length from being used and as he grows, you give more.

20 gallon tank is too small even for a hatchling. The enclosure needs a hide, water saucer and food rock/dish. Thru that in there, there is not much walking space which they need. Also the one end needs to have a basking area of 95-100 while the rest of the enclosure maintains 80-90, day and night.
Coconut coir and orchid bark should be used as the substrate not soil or mulch.
Humidity needs to be 80% and the enclosure should be a closed chamber enclosure.
Get at least a 40 gallon or cheaper is the largest storage tote they sell which I believe is a 50 gallon, possibly bigger. You can also use a portable pop up greenhouse indoors which if you get a good sized one, 3x9 or so, it will last until he can live outside.
You just block length from being used and as he grows, you give more.

I

20 gallon tank is too small even for a hatchling. The enclosure needs a hide, water saucer and food rock/dish. Thru that in there, there is not much walking space which they need. Also the one end needs to have a basking area of 95-100 while the rest of the enclosure maintains 80-90, day and night.
Coconut coir and orchid bark should be used as the substrate not soil or mulch.
Humidity needs to be 80% and the enclosure should be a closed chamber enclosure.
Get at least a 40 gallon or cheaper is the largest storage tote they sell which I believe is a 50 gallon, possibly bigger. You can also use a portable pop up greenhouse indoors which if you get a good sized one, 3x9 or so, it will last until he can live outside.
You just block length from being used and as he grows, you give more.

I just bought him two days

20 gallon tank is too small even for a hatchling. The enclosure needs a hide, water saucer and food rock/dish. Thru that in there, there is not much walking space which they need. Also the one end needs to have a basking area of 95-100 while the rest of the enclosure maintains 80-90, day and night.
Coconut coir and orchid bark should be used as the substrate not soil or mulch.
Humidity needs to be 80% and the enclosure should be a closed chamber enclosure.
Get at least a 40 gallon or cheaper is the largest storage tote they sell which I believe is a 50 gallon, possibly bigger. You can also use a portable pop up greenhouse indoors which if you get a good sized one, 3x9 or so, it will last until he can live outside.
You just block length from being used and as he grows, you give more.

I have loose coconut fiber under the cypress mulch. He kept sinking in the fiber just by its self. And saw somewhere on here cypress mulch doesn’t harm them and could be added in. I’m learning this all on my own the pet store owner i bought him from didn’t even tell me about the humidity. And he told me uv light for 12hrs not 3-4hrs like you guys say on here.

 

[Ink]

Welcome to the forum

 

[spikesmomma]

Thank you

Welcome to the forum

 

[wellington]

I

I just bought him two days

I have loose coconut fiber under the cypress mulch. He kept sinking in the fiber just by its self. And saw somewhere on here cypress mulch doesn’t harm them and could be added in. I’m learning this all on my own the pet store owner i bought him from didn’t even tell me about the humidity. And he told me uv light for 12hrs not 3-4hrs like you guys say on here.

Yeah, unfortunately the pet stores, vets, lots of breeders, etc, either don't know about the proper tortoise care or they know but don't do it.
We don't like mulch because a lot of junk is found in it that shouldn't be in our enclosures. It's a crap shoot on what's actually mixed in it. Much safer to use coconut coir or the orchid bark. Also I believe @Tom has found in the past the mulch to cause shell rot on either a sulcata or leopard and they never get shell rot. Hopefully Tom can verify.

 

[Megatron's Mom]

Cypress mulch is just shredded cypress nothing else.
I have to use cypress also, I cannot find orchid bark unless it is in tiny bags at the pet stores. Can't even order the amount I would need to fill an 4x8 encloser.

 

[Tom]

Yeah, unfortunately the pet stores, vets, lots of breeders, etc, either don't know about the proper tortoise care or they know but don't do it.
We don't like mulch because a lot of junk is found in it that shouldn't be in our enclosures. It's a crap shoot on what's actually mixed in it. Much safer to use coconut coir or the orchid bark. Also I believe @Tom has found in the past the mulch to cause shell rot on either a sulcata or leopard and they never get shell rot. Hopefully Tom can verify.

That was sphagnum peat moss. The type that has the dirt-like consistency.

 

[wellington]

That was sphagnum peat moss. The type that has the dirt-like consistency.

Okay, thanks Tom. So cypress mulch is okay.