sulcata hatchling

[rayneygirl]

today i was given a sulcata hatchling, the first thing i did was give it a good warm soak. she is so tiny. (im saying she, yet i don't know the gender, too early to tell) i have never had a baby this small. ive only had rescue of 6 inches. i have looked over tom's hatchling threads. tomorrow i will be making a better enclosure for the baby, it is the end of august and fall will be coming around the corner for socal very soon, can get pretty chilly. i plan to have her inside. since she is literally a lil bigger than a 50 cent piece. she is a darling baby, i will upload pix tomorrow can't decide on a name yet. tonight i have her in a plastic storage tub. half coco coir half timothy hay, a heat lamp borrowed from my snake francine, (since she doesn't have it on after 6pm) tomorrow i will get the correct bulb, UVA, UVB. the heat lamp is on one side of the tub. i will definitely have the baby out in the sun tomorrow, after her soak. how long should a hatchling be out for? of course i would give her ample shade. she has a little hide, a lil feeding dish dandelion greens in it atm, with a calcium supplement, a water dish she hasnt touched yet. i will take a TON of pictures tomorrow in the am and look forward to all the great advice!!!!! i need your guys' help with this, this baby means the world to me and i really want to raise her right. am i forgetting anything????? i'm sure you'll remind/help me.

 

[Lilyloveslettuse]

CONGRATULATIONS Momma!!!!

 

[Tom]

Ditch the hay and go all coir. Click and read the links in my signature and then read these too:
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/thread-76744.html
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/thread-32333.html

 

[wellington]

Congrats. Sounds like she will have a loving home. Toms threads are also below in my post too. Great for raising a healthy, smooth sully..

 

[sibi]

Okay!! Congrats on your new baby. My, it is small. First, temps have to be 80+ all over her enclosure. You should have a ceramic heat emitter (CHE). Use it for evenings when lights go out. It will keep her surroundings from dropping below 80 degrees. In her hide, it should be about 90-95 degrees with humidity of about 80%. To accomplish this you can use a fogger that gives a mist directly onto the hide, or spray down her substrate . Make sure her Temps do not drop below 90 in the hide! What state do you live in? What are the day temps? If it's still warm, you can let her graze for 2-3 hours in the sun. Remember, they sleep quite a bit when they are so small like that. So, don't worry too much if she doesn't eat as much as she sleeps. This is normal for hatchlings. Soak the baby everyday!. When I had my hatchlings, I would soak them twice a day, but, that's me. Once a day is fine unless you feel she's not getting enough fluids. Tom"s threads go all into this. Read them until you've memorized the most important parts. Keep us posted.

 

[rayneygirl]

i did that today, switching to all coco coir. i soak every day, i live in southern california, its supposed to be in the 80s tomorrow. yea, she is sleeping a lot actually i was worried at first til i read some threads, when i take her out into the yard she grazes and shes very active but when i bring her inside she goes right to sleep. i have day and night heat bulbs, should i switch to a CHE? i went and bought her her own lamps but should i return them? the night bulb is a red bulb they said they'd need it dark when she sleeps so i got this one, but i could easily return them for the CHE. these bulbs are 60-75 watts, the light is concentrated into one side of her tank. i have the day lamp on 8 am - 7pm, then the night lamp 7pm til 8am. her hide is a little wooden log. on TF threads i read that i won't need the UVB because i take her out every single day into the yard. is this correct?

---

if i use the CHE only at night as instructed, what about heat during the day?? besides the 2 or so hours with her in the yard. i'm going to go read those threads

 

[sibi]

Yeah, the CHE gives off heat but doesn't have any light. A red or dark light is no good. They need total darkness in order to get proper sleep. I would exchange the bulb for the 100w CHE. Remember, the 100w heat will warm up her whole enclosure if it's not too big. How large is her enclosure now? You should get one of those heat guns at Lowe's. It will give you the temps at any given time. You'll need it because you'll need to monitor/regulate the temps of her cool side, hide, basking spot, and ambient temp. What are you using to keep her enclosure/hide humid?

Btw, your baby is adorable!!!

 

[rayneygirl]

i am using coco coir and misting it. okay i will return the bulbs. for right now i have her in a large tub with the.foil folded and tucked over it. 2x4. it isnt pretty but she was a surprise. so basically keept the Che on 24\7 or during the day and the heat will keep through the night?

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[gtiljen]

use cypress mulch from lowes avoid those pet store rip offs. the only thing i get from pet stores is bulbs and reptiles magazine lol. food id do a handful of grass and weeds from your yard.

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[Dizisdalife]

Get a thermostat if you haven't done so. Attach the CHE to it and set it for 80F. Look for one that can controll two devices (two plugs). As your tortoise grows you will need a bigger enclosure and more than one heating device. I have found that the termostats are not precise when it comes to temperature. I use a digital thermometer with a probe or remote sensor to read the temp and then adjust the thermostat to get the temp that I want.