Sarahsaur
Member
- Joined
- Jun 18, 2016
- Messages
- 20
Hello! I'm a brand new Sulcata owner as of last night! An old high school friend messaged me and asked if I would take her daughter's African Spurred tortoise or else she was going to release him into the wild, so of course I told her I would. I have zero reptile experience, but I feel a special affinity to turtles and tortoises, so I'm quite happy this opportunity arose. Anyway, I'm asking for any hints, help and guidance I can get! I will do a quick rundown of what they were doing and what I am currently doing for the little guy.
As far as we know, he's about 2 years old and I haven't measured him, but he looks to be about 4 inches long and his shell does look like it has slight pyramiding. He was housed in a large terrarium, with no basking light or heat lamp as far as I know. He's never been out in the sun (she told me that I shouldn't put him out in the sun, it might shock his system!) Anyway, she had been feeding him red eared slider food, brine shrimp, carrots, kale, spinach and celery.
I currently have him in a 106 qt Rubbermaid tub with cypress mulch and coco fiber bedding, I have the zoo med grassland tortoise food, along with Bermuda grass from my yard and mulberry leaves from my tree. I have different kinds of produce that I intend to offer, such as green leaf lettuce, zucchini, cilantro, carrots and cantaloupe. The light I have is the double dome lamp with a 13 watt CFL and a blue daylight basking bulb (both of which I am def. going to replace). I've also got herptivite and repti calcium, and a food by nature zone that's some kind of soft melon flavored stuff.
When we picked him up, he was super lethargic and he did not look good at all. Eyes were closed and he pretty much stayed in one spot all night long. This morning, I turned on the lamps and gave him a good soak and he has perked up quite a bit. I offered him grass, mulberry leaves and the tortoise food this morning and he has picked at it, but hasn't really eaten.
I am open to any and all suggestions and comments, I want him to have the best care possible and be healthy and happy!
As far as we know, he's about 2 years old and I haven't measured him, but he looks to be about 4 inches long and his shell does look like it has slight pyramiding. He was housed in a large terrarium, with no basking light or heat lamp as far as I know. He's never been out in the sun (she told me that I shouldn't put him out in the sun, it might shock his system!) Anyway, she had been feeding him red eared slider food, brine shrimp, carrots, kale, spinach and celery.
I currently have him in a 106 qt Rubbermaid tub with cypress mulch and coco fiber bedding, I have the zoo med grassland tortoise food, along with Bermuda grass from my yard and mulberry leaves from my tree. I have different kinds of produce that I intend to offer, such as green leaf lettuce, zucchini, cilantro, carrots and cantaloupe. The light I have is the double dome lamp with a 13 watt CFL and a blue daylight basking bulb (both of which I am def. going to replace). I've also got herptivite and repti calcium, and a food by nature zone that's some kind of soft melon flavored stuff.
When we picked him up, he was super lethargic and he did not look good at all. Eyes were closed and he pretty much stayed in one spot all night long. This morning, I turned on the lamps and gave him a good soak and he has perked up quite a bit. I offered him grass, mulberry leaves and the tortoise food this morning and he has picked at it, but hasn't really eaten.
I am open to any and all suggestions and comments, I want him to have the best care possible and be healthy and happy!
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