Sulcata Tortoise Hatchlings

[Boxies2Torts]

I have always had Box turtles and aquatic turtles so this is new to me. I just purchased 5 Sulcata hatchlings there like 2 months old. I live in nebraska. I do plan on building them a inclosure when they get older and bigger out side and having a heated shed for them to go in when it cools off. I have heard of people keeping them in Kansas city witch is not far from me and has similer weather so I asume its duable in Nebraska as well.

Anyways to my questions :

1. can anyone provide me with a good meal plan i should feed them through the week?

2. What kind of inclose should I have for them inside right now?

3. any other usefull info is apriciated

Right now they are in a 55 there substrate is alfalfa. They have a half log to hide under. a dish for eating and a shallow water dish. The lights I have on it in each side I have a 150 watt uv heat light and then I have 1 100 watt night heat light. The tanks seems to be staying around 85-90 during the day and about 77-83 at night.

So how am I doing so far?

Thanks
Jeremey

 

[Yvonne G]

Change out the substrate to something like cypress mulch or half and half coconut coir (Bed-A-Beast) and play sand or dirt. The alfalfa pellets can't be kept moist, and in order for your little guys to grow smooth with no pyramiding they need a slightly moist habitat. With the two I mentioned, the lights and heat dry out the top layer, but underneath it stays somewhat moist. You don't want wet, just more humid than you can make it with alfalfa. I used to use the alfalfa or oat hay pellets and had no problems with them eating it, but if they do decide to eat it, alfalfa has too much protein for them. I raised a leopard hatchling on oat hay pellets and now at three years of age he is quite pyramided. He had a good diet and plenty of exercise, so I have to assume it was the too-dry environment. In the wild, they poop and pee in their burrow, and live in a more humid environment...not totally dry.

You can feed your babies a mixture of grocery store greens. I like to use the "Spring Mix". Its a packaged mixture of baby greens that you can buy in the produce section of the grocery store. Then I sprinkle a bit of "Salad-Style" hay over the top. You can buy this product from Carolinapetsupply.com or Oxbow.com. When they get old enough to live outside, their main diet consists of grasses and weeds, so using the packaged greens with the hay sprinkled over the top, gets them ready to graze on their own.

Most of us who raise tortoise babies prefer to use the large plastic tubs like the under-the-bed-storage or Christmas tree storage. The sides of glass aquariums are too high and don't allow for air circulation. You want the habitat to have a hot side and a not-so-hot side. Its hard to reach that goal in a glass aquarium.

Because they are babies, they know that they are prey and they like to hide most of the time. So you should provide some sort of hiding places for them.

Wow!! FIVE baby sulcatas! I hope you know what you're getting into. I have only one sulcata...a 100lb male named Dudley. He's more than a handful, and at only 18 years of age, will probably get a little bigger. He has already knocked the stucco off the bottom of the house all along one side where he "marches." He bowled over 5 rose bushes that were in his way. He knocked the boards off the fence one day and was "marching" down the middle of Shaw Av (a busy street with a 55 mile an hour speed limit). I have since put up redwood 1"x12"'s along the bottom of the fence so he can't do that again. I have provided him with a pretty good hiding place, so in all the time I've had him he hasn't decided he needs to dig a burrow, but if he ever does decide, he has the potential of digging to China!!

Good luck with your new babies. I'd love to see some pictures!

Yvonne

 

[Boxies2Torts]

Thanks for the tips. I ahve just ripped grass out of the yard and thats so far seems to be there favorite. Yeah I know 5 is a lot. We have a big yard and once there big enough I plan on putting them out side for most the year with a heated shelter.

Whats the average growth rate? I was told 2" a year is that around correct?

What size is it ok to start keeping them out side?

Thanks
Jeremey

 

[Yvonne G]

Every animal grows at its own pace. Some folks have 3 year old sulcatas that weigh 5lbs and some have 3 year olds that weigh 10lbs. You can't paint them all with the same brush. My 100lb Dudley weighed 98lbs on his
16th birthday...two years ago. I haven't been able to get him to a large enough scale since that weighing. (I took him to the Ag school and weighed him on their pig scale, but my "helper" [read grandson], has since moved away and I have no one to help me load him into my truck to take him to the scale.) I recently adopted out a 3 year old sulcata that was the size of half a cantaloupe. You can be assured that "The Fabulous Five" will soon outgrow whatever habitat you have them in!!

When you need to upgrade your indoor habitat, quite a few folks have purchased a cheap 4 shelf bookcase. You remove the shelves and lay the book case on its back, then line it with some sort of plastic...a shower curtain, etc. Add your favorite substrate, some tortoise "furniture" (rocks, plants, etc) some hiding places, the lights...and Voila!!

Yvonne

 

[Boxies2Torts]

sounds great thanks for all your tips!! Ill get picture up soon

 

[janiedough]

I think a good rule of thumb would be to take some time and read the other threads already posted. You learn all sorts of things you didn't even think to ask.

 

[Boxies2Torts]

I think a good rule of thumb would be to take some time and read the other threads already posted. You learn all sorts of things you didn't even think to ask.

Yeah thats what I have been doing. Im not new to reptiles or turtles but I am new to tortoises and really they are not similier at all so im learning alot.