Hi there! I’m Des, I have two 5 month old sulcata tortoises that I acquired 1 month ago from a private seller. There names are Dexter & Scully. I was told they were incubated to be female so there is a 90% chance that they are. Yes I know Dexter is not a girl name but it definitaly suits her.
I have had other turtles/tortoises in the past but sulcata’s are by far my favorite. I love their cute little personalities & how curious they are. They love to explore & have a heafty appetite!!!
One reason why I joined this forum is because Dexter has been making an odd squeaking sound and it has me concerned. We first noticed it about 3 weeks ago but she only did it a few times so it didn’t seam like a big deal. Now over the weekend she was doing it a lot more frequently. She pulls her head and front arms into her shell and makes a little sqeak. When she draws her head out she rubs her face as if she is trying to wipe something off but I don’t see anything. She doesn’t have any drainage and is not gaping for air. Is this normal? Is there something I should be doing or watching for?
Some background… I live in Salt Lake City so we see all types of weather here. I currently keep the girls inside because fall is here and it’s way to cold to keep them outside. I house them in a 2x3’ zoo med tortoise house with cocunut fiber substrate. For heat I have a zoo med terranium hood with 1 60 watt infrared bulb. I also have 1 dome light fixture with a 150 watt uvb bulb. There is 1 small water dish for drinking or soaking. The left side of the cage is covered so they have a place to cool off. The temps range from 80-95 on the hot side & 65-80 on the cooler side. I feed them a variety of green & red leaf lettuce, spinach, dandelion greens & also a sulcatga grass mix that I planted. I sprinkle calcium on the greens every other day. The substrate was dry at first but I recently started misting it down to add humidity.
If anyone has any suggestions for housing on anything else please let me know. I want to ensure that my babies are well taken care of and any information will be useful.
I have had other turtles/tortoises in the past but sulcata’s are by far my favorite. I love their cute little personalities & how curious they are. They love to explore & have a heafty appetite!!!
One reason why I joined this forum is because Dexter has been making an odd squeaking sound and it has me concerned. We first noticed it about 3 weeks ago but she only did it a few times so it didn’t seam like a big deal. Now over the weekend she was doing it a lot more frequently. She pulls her head and front arms into her shell and makes a little sqeak. When she draws her head out she rubs her face as if she is trying to wipe something off but I don’t see anything. She doesn’t have any drainage and is not gaping for air. Is this normal? Is there something I should be doing or watching for?
Some background… I live in Salt Lake City so we see all types of weather here. I currently keep the girls inside because fall is here and it’s way to cold to keep them outside. I house them in a 2x3’ zoo med tortoise house with cocunut fiber substrate. For heat I have a zoo med terranium hood with 1 60 watt infrared bulb. I also have 1 dome light fixture with a 150 watt uvb bulb. There is 1 small water dish for drinking or soaking. The left side of the cage is covered so they have a place to cool off. The temps range from 80-95 on the hot side & 65-80 on the cooler side. I feed them a variety of green & red leaf lettuce, spinach, dandelion greens & also a sulcatga grass mix that I planted. I sprinkle calcium on the greens every other day. The substrate was dry at first but I recently started misting it down to add humidity.
If anyone has any suggestions for housing on anything else please let me know. I want to ensure that my babies are well taken care of and any information will be useful.