Thinking of getting a Sulcata? Help

[CamoLover45]

Hi everyone!
My fiance and I have been thinking for a while into possibly getting a tortoise and we have both fallen in love the the Sulcata spices. Over all we know how large they can get and how long they can live. We are well equipped to make sure that IF we add to our family that it can have a long and happy life.

However some of the info i have come across with housing conflicts with each other. Mostly just the Substrate and what to house them in while they are young. The reptile store that i visited the owners breed them and said that a glass aquarium is fine when they are baby's and that you don't have to use loose substrate. that i could use the same thing i use for my beardie's which is a mat like material(kinda like shelf liner but thicker) as long as i keep a hide and water dish in there with them for the humidity. However everything i read on here says other wise. I also live in FL so I'm not sure if that has anything to do with it.

So if someone could just help clear somethings up that would be fantastic!! I would just hate to get everything set up and bring our little guy/girl home and everything be wrong. I also Have read Tom's post on hatchlings and baby's and that's why I'm looking to clear things up.

THANK YOU again to anyone willing to help!!!!

 

[Jacqui]

The glass aquarium is fine IF you are using a lage enough one. I like them because you can see the tortoises better, which with hatchlings is very important. They hold in humidity better I think, too. The downside is they wo't last long and nothing much smaller then a 40 gal breeder is big enough for all the "furniture" (water dish, hides, ect) you need plus atleast some temperature change within the enclosure.

The problem I see with using the mat is it does not allow them to walk properly or to burrow in. Wth some they can get small threads or get their nails caught in the pad.

P.S. Welcome!

 

[Beck]

Welcome! Florida is a great place to raise a tortoise!

You will hear lots of conflicting information, and you'll have to decide how you want to raise him/her and run with it. If you've read Tom's thread, you've seen the smooth results from the Hot & Humid way. If that's the way you're going, you'll want to choose enclosure and substrate to match.

A large-enough aquarium made into a closed chamber can be a good starting enclosure for your tort. There are several examples of that in our "closed chamber" thread.

Loose substrate is preferred because you can moisten it to keep humidity up. Besides humidity increasing, loose substrate can let your tort "feel the earth beneath its feet", give it a place to hide/bury itself for security or thermoregulation, and just make the enclosure less boring for your tort.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using TortForum mobile app

 

[Tom]

Ask your pet shop to show you lots of pictures of all the babies they have raised up using the methods they advocate. Then compare growth rates and smoothness to the babies in any of my threads on the subject.

If I were outside looking in, I know which way I'd want to go.

If you raise a baby in an indoor dry enclosure it will pyramid and grow very slowly. Give it warmth, humidity and hydration and it will grow normally and smooth.

 

[klinej50]

Just a tip getting a large plastic storage container or building your own wooden one is a lot cheaper and would be more space (they can stay in it longer). I don't have a sully I have a leopard tortoise but when they are hatchlings they are raised similar. Good luck[SMILING FACE WITH SMILING EYES]

 

[CamoLover45]

Thank you everyone for all your responses it is greatly appreciated!!!

 

[Beck]

Also, if you plan on hot and humid, you may want to consider a hatchling source that starts them that way. It may save you some trouble or heartbreak later on.

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