Terrified New Owner

[wade_mathew]

Hey guys, I've been reading posts on the tortoise forum for awhile and haven't found anything that directly answers some of my questions so I thought I'd start a new topic.

Let me begin by introducing myself. My name is Wade and I'm a new tortoise owner. I live in the American south, northern Arkansas to be exact and I the proud papa of a Sulcata tortoise hatchling named Helmet. I recently built him a tortoise table that is 4 foot by 4 foot and I filled the table with organic top spoil. I feed him Zoo

 

[ascott]

Welcome and is there a specific issue you have come across? We love pics

 

[Tom]

You got cut off, it seems.

Hello and welcome.

Here is a care sheet that might help:
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/thread-79895.html

 

[Grandpa Turtle 144]

Hello Wade welcome to the TFO from AZ . Well I read your intro. But it said you had questions but I didn't see any questions . And I didn't see a Picts of your tort or it's enclosure ?

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi Wade, and welcome to the Forum!

Seems like you went into a tunnel and lost contact. When you get your bars back, be sure to post your questions.

One thing right off the bat...if you're only feeding the ZooMed pellets, you need to change that and also offer some greens.

We'll be waiting with baited (ew-w-w fishy) breath to read your questions.

 

[wade_mathew]

Terrified New Tortoise Owner

Hey guys, I've been reading posts on the tortoise forum for awhile and haven't found anything that directly answers some of my questions so I thought I'd start a new topic.

Let me begin by introducing myself. My name is Wade and I'm a new tortoise owner. I live in the American south, northern Arkansas to be exact and I am the proud papa of a Sulcata tortoise hatchling named Helmet. I recently built him a tortoise table that is 4 foot by 4 foot and I filled the table with organic top soil as a substrate. In the enclosure is a fresh parsley plant, a coconut husk mat and his water and food dishes. I soak him for at least twenty minutes every other day because it's a little dry here currently.

I feed him Zoo Med's grassland tortoise food moistened and then mashed into a pulpy substance which he really seems to like. I also have cuttlebone available in his table for him which occasionally I mash up into powder and sprinkle a little on his food.

He has UVB lights as well as basking lamps to help regulate his temperature and I try my best to keep him on a 12 hour of "sunlight" schedule.

All of which brings me to my query.
What am I doing wrong! I'm so paranoid that he isn't energetic enough or that I he sleeps too much which is a lot to be honest. And I don't know how to tell the difference between "soft shell" that means he's sick and "springy shell" that all young torts have. Is there anything that you guys can think of that I may be missing? He also appears to be changing in color a bit, a little more green less brown I would say. I want my little guy to be healthy and happy and hopefully outlive me. What more could I do for him?


Meet helmet.

 

[wade_mathew]

Hey guys thanks for the quick responses! The completed post is up now complete with a picture if you could check it out. Please excuse my newness I'm still trying to figure my way around here.

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi Wade:

If you only feed a tortoise mushy stuff (scientific term) his beak will soon grow too long and deformed. They need to be able to bite items. Biting off bits of food keeps the beak in shape.

If the tortoise really likes the Zoo Med food, then continue mushing it up like you do, but mix it all up with large pieces of greens.

Read the "Important Threads" at the top of the sulcata section. There's good info in there about feeding your baby.

Also, he's starting to pyramid a bit, so he could benefit from a more humid environment.

 

[ascott]

Well, your other post was there long enough to read it and then poof, it was gone, perhaps one of the mods is moving to here....

I love the pic you posted, in that pic he looks like one annoyed tortoise ....love it.

Babies hide alot, sleep alot and well, basically know that everything in the world will eat it if it is out in the open....so that is very normal.

If the tort is new to you/enclosure he will go through a time of adjustment, a couple weeks sometimes at least.

What are your temps in the enclosure as well as under the basking lamp? What style of uva/uvb are you using?

 

[wade_mathew]

Terrified New Tortoise Owner (revised)

What more could I do for him?

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi Wade:

Your tort table is very barren. And the substrate is quite dry and ugly. You can add a big rock or two, some plastic or real plants and add a top layer of either orchid bark or coco coir. Change out your waterer to a clay plant saucer and sink it down into the substrate.

The plasic waterer you're using has straight up-and-down sides and might be a death trap. Baby tortoises get overbalanced when trying to climb up a straight side and tip over backwards into the water and drown.

And please read the "Important Threads" at the top of the Sulcata section. There is good info in there that will help you raise a smooth and healthy sulcata tortoise.

 

[Saleama]

Cover the entire enclosure and get it humid in there. Also provide a basking spot with a good bulb.

 

[Yvonne G]

It's hard to tell from the picture just what kind of light that is. But I'll bet if you test the temperature all over the whole floor of the habitat you'll find that its not warm enough. With only the one light/heat source, the baby is too cold.

 

[ascott]

Is your uva/uvb light like this;

http://www.petmountain.com/product/...040/zilla-zilla-desert-uvb-coil-bulb-20w.html

or this;

http://www.petmountain.com/product/...o-med-powersun-uv-mercury-vapor-uvb-lamp.html

or this;

http://www.petmountain.com/product/...42-504983/zoo-med-reptisun-10-0-uvb-bulb.html

I agree with Yvonne, also you may want to figure a way to cover at least half of the top of the enclosure to help retain warmth and humidity....I also would increase the depth of the substrate to at least 5 inches (I don't know how tall the sides of your enclosure is currently?)...this allows the tort a way to dig in and feel the dirt around him...as this is a species that enjoys digging into the dirt...

Perhaps you can get a few bunches of plants (real or silk) and place them in a variety of places so the tort can have secure spots to move about the entire enclosure....they feel a better sense of security if they can go unseen....(again, instincts tell them if they are out in the open something is going to eat them)....

---

Oh yeah,,,,take a deep breath when taking in all of the info tossed your way....sometimes it can feel overwhelming, but just hit on the basic needs first and then go from there....warmth/hydration/diet/security/uva-uvb access....have fun

 

[wade_mathew]

Thank you so much for the help I have only had him about two weeks and just built the table this weekend so I am trying to add to it. The substrate is only about 4 inches thick at the moment I have cocoa coir substrate addition on the way as well as some additional pieces to make it much less boring.

To answer your question his UVB is a 20wat coil. For A four by four enclosure what do you suggest?

 

[wade_mathew]

And is it ok to put in silk plants? will he not try to eat them?

 

[wade_mathew]

Thanks for the warning about the waterer! it's hard to tell but right now it is sunken into the substrate so it is at ground level. Also I only have about an inch of water in it, But you are suggesting I put in something new entirely without flat walls?

 

[Yvonne G]

Well, it looks to me as if you only have the one light, is that right? If you're only using the coil bulb and no heat bulb, then that's what's wrong with your baby. They need heat. That habitat should be at least 75F degrees at one end and up to about 85F degrees at the other end, with it being about 105F degrees directly under the light.

And get rid of that coil bulb immediately!!!!!! They can damage the baby's eyes.

 

[ascott]

I asked about the uva/uvb bulb style because it gave off the lighting of a coil bulb...here is my issue with those bulbs...they are not able to evenly nor consistently fan out the rays...the bulb has un natural highs and lows...the bulb also has to be close and that can damage the tender little developing tort eyeballs. I would suggest using a long tube uva/uvb bulb and accompany that with a couple of the 75 watt bulbs Yvonne mentioned--now I say a couple of them is you are going to leave the top open as it is now....if you are going to cover at least half of the top then one 75to watt bulb should suffice....also you can a warm humid hide to allow the tort access to juicy up a bit when they feel the need...as Yvonne pointed out at present the tort is likely not warm enough ....you will likely want a source of warmth for night as well...either a black night heat bulb or a ceramic heat emitter will work for that....

Have fun setting up the enclosure....you can even search this site for pics of indoor enclosures as well as indoor tortoise enclosures on google....

---

Oh yeah...silk plants, if you take care to not get any will brightly colored dingle berries or fake fruit stuff then the tort may nibble a piece and realize it is not food...I use silk plants in some of the indoor digs here and as of now no problems....you can give a try and see how it works out.....

 

[wade_mathew]

Thanks everyone for the help. Just getting started here and I'm really glad for the help.