Swimming pool enclosure for young Sulcata

[tortlove2416]

I've had my sulcata for a little over a year now. He was given to me by a friend and so I am definitely a beginner tortoise keeper. To start, I had him in a 20 gallon long tank, with coconut fiber as the substrate. He gets a varied, grass-based diet but does not always eat every day. He also has a cuttlebone available 24/7.

He is about 6 inches long now and I built him a new enclosure out of a kids swimming pool. I switched the substrate over to sand because it's so much easier to keep clean. His food is on a ceramic plate to keep him from ingesting any of the sand. I also have a small animal igloo that is bedded down with straw for him to hide in. There is a live cactus/aloe Vera plant and a hibiscus bush in his enclosure for him to munch on.

The problem with this new enclosure is that it is in my basement (only place I had room), but it is cooler than what my room was. About 60-70F average during the day. I have a space heater in there to help out but it can't stay on all day. He's got a large 125W heat lamp. He's still active and eating, no changes in behavior. I am in central Ohio, and fall is here, so I've stopped taking him out to his outdoor pen and he'll likely be inside for the rest of the winter.

I have started to notice that his shell is starting to pyramid. I want to stop this, so I think I need to find a way to cover the pool and add a humidifier. He is soaked 3-4 times weekly. I also want to add a calcium supplement. So any suggestions on improving/modifying my enclosure & supplements to help his shell?

I am somewhat limited on resources as I am I'm college but I will do what it takes to make sure my tort remains happy & healthy! Please be polite in case I've made any errors, I want to learn and do things right!

 

[russian/sulcata/tortoise]

a little advice baby torts need there humidity. i would keep him at 70% humidity. humidity will fight against the pyramenting and also 4 soaks a week

 

[Tom]

You've got some problems. These tortoises are from the tropics. They need it warm, all over their enclosure day and night. 60-70 is much too cold, and that's why he's not too interested in food. They also need it humid. Adult sulcatas can manage just about anything, but babies need to be raised right. Also, that sand could kill him over time. Literally. Here is what you need to do:
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/how-to-raise-a-healthy-sulcata-or-leopard-version-2-0.79895/
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/for-those-who-have-a-young-sulcata.76744/
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/beginner-mistakes.45180/

Please read these and then come back with all your questions. Seems to me you need to make a large closed chamber.

 

[Maggie Cummings]

Please get rid of the sand, it's harmful. You can get other substrates cheap, and you need to create about 80% humidity and sand n hay ain't gonna get it.
Please read those links from Tom, it's good advice and if you follow it you'll keep your baby from getting MBD, pyramiding or even dying. You need to make big changes...
he needs something you can close off the top, fish aquariums are good for that. He will never make it thru an Ohio winter if you can't keep him warmer. A lot of the time you can go to a mom and pop pet store and buy an aquarium that leaks for really cheap, or get a 50 gallon or bigger plastic tub.
Also, make his food smaller, it would be easier for his little mouth and might make it easier for him to eat. IMHO...noy only should he be eating everyday he should be eating twice a day.

 

[tortlove2416]

Please get rid of the sand, it's harmful. You can get other substrates cheap, and you need to create about 80% humidity and sand n hay ain't gonna get it.
Please read those links from Tom, it's good advice and if you follow it you'll keep your baby from getting MBD, pyramiding or even dying. You need to make big changes...
he needs something you can close off the top, fish aquariums are good for that. He will never make it thru an Ohio winter if you can't keep him warmer. A lot of the time you can go to a mom and pop pet store and buy an aquarium that leaks for really cheap, or get a 50 gallon or bigger plastic tub.
Also, make his food smaller, it would be easier for his little mouth and might make it easier for him to eat. IMHO...noy only should he be eating everyday he should be eating twice a day.

Okay! I'm taking all of these suggestions and working to change this today! I just purchased a 55 gallon long glass tank and I'm going to switch the substrate to Cypress Mulch. As for humidity, I'll probably need a humidifier. Are there any kinds recommended and advice as to how to set them up in a glass tank.

I feel so bad that I have been doing things all wrong, I am making these changes ASAP (will post pics as soon as I get a new set-up taken care of). Everything I was told about Sulcatas and their care appears to have been misguided, so I appreciate all of this advice. I want to be a good tort mom, despite the challenge of where I am located!

 

[Tom]

A 50 gallon is too small and with an open top you will constantly struggle with heat and humidity. You need something bigger. Like this:
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/closed-chambers.32333/

Using an enclosure like the one above will make your life easy, and the tortoise will have excellent growing conditions.

Outside of this forum, most tortoise people are still under the incorrect assumption that sulcatas need it very dry. This is based on the fact that for 8-9 months of the year it is arid above ground in their natural habitat. Here are the two problems with that: 1. For some reason these books, experts, vets, and breeders never even mention or consider the other 3-4 months of the year. Guess what. RAINY season. Its hot, humid, rainy, and there are puddles, marshes and green growing food every where. 2. During the drier parts of the year, they are all underground in damp, warm humid burrows. The above ground temperatures and humidity are irrelevant because the wild tortoise do not experience them.

For 30 years we've been operating under totally incorrect assumptions, and we have the results to prove it. Only recently have some of us been beginning to figure this all out.

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi Jordan:

I think your swimming pool idea was a really good one...it's very big and allows room for a lot of exercise. However, at your tortoise's age, he needs more moisture and heat in his environment, and the open-topped pool just can't provide that.

You can buy a couple of very large plastic totes/bins, cut out opposing ends and place them together to make a nice big enclosure. And the totes don't cost as much as glass aquariums do. They you can figure out how to place the lids back on the tote, cutting holes for the lights, etc.

A substrate you can moisten like coco coir or orchid bark, with a closed habitat will provide the humidity you need. Just keep the substrate moist.

 

[Maggie Cummings]

Okay! I'm taking all of these suggestions and working to change this today! I just purchased a 55 gallon long glass tank and I'm going to switch the substrate to Cypress Mulch. As for humidity, I'll probably need a humidifier. Are there any kinds recommended and advice as to how to set them up in a glass tank.

I feel so bad that I have been doing things all wrong, I am making these changes ASAP (will post pics as soon as I get a new set-up taken care of). Everything I was told about Sulcatas and their care appears to have been misguided, so I appreciate all of this advice. I want to be a good tort mom, despite the challenge of where I am located!

I'm the kind of female who gets confused about measurements, so if Tom says your container is too small, so be it. Maybe you should listen to my sis about getting a couple of plastic totes and putting them together...
You create humidity by wetting the cypress mulch. The best substrate, anyhow, dampen the substrate and cover the top. Between the water and the closed top the heat will create humidity. Make sure his ambient temp stays above 80 degrees other wise that humidity can kinda turn on you. just remember, hot and humid ok, cool and humid is not...
Don't worry about being a bad Mom because of your Ohio weather. There's lots of Sulcata being raised in the North. I have a 150 pound guy and live in the PNW...