Water dish

[Tom]

I have been told to use paper towels or news paper as a substrate for the first couple of weeks or should I go ahead and get the orchard

I keep my brand new hatchlings on damp paper towels in plastic shoe boxes for the first 7-10 day after hatching. After they absorb their yolk sac and the umbilical scar closes up, I move them onto orchid bark in a closed chamber enclosure.

If you are going to use paper towels, they should be damp and the whole enclosure kept warm 24/7. You will also need to keep greens in there to make sure they don't eat the paper towels.

Personally, with your tortoises age, I would go straight to orchid bark, but there can't be a colored bulb in there when you do and hopefully the coil bulb didn't do too much damage.

 

[Alaskamike]

Welcome to the forum. It is commendable that you sought out good info right from the 'git go'. Those of us who have been into torts for a long time have all suffered (well out tortoises suffered) from bad husbandry techniques. The hobbyists here are on leading edge of healthy care and best practices. You got a Sulcata, so I assume you plan of a long long life with him/her and there is no reason to think it will not go that way.

I understand about the $, and getting tapped out, but there are things you can do that are not expensive, it just takes some inventiveness. Most of what you need is available, even thrown out frequently. I see old bookcases out by dumpsters often, or garage sales. If you take out the shelves and turn it on back you can make a very nice tort enclosure out of one in no time. The first few years of your baby's life are critical to lifelong health; Water, good substrata, humidity, proper temps, healthy food, space to roam - all make a difference.

If you were to measure the floor space in a 10 gal aquarium, even a 30 or a 50, you would be amazed at how little space there is to walk around compared to a 6' x 3' old bookshelf.

Good fortunes to you and your new tort.

 

[DawnH]

You poor thing! Are you being driven to drink yet?! First, breathe. Second, gather all the crap the petstore had you buy and return it. Glaring red bulb, teeny tiny tank - all of it. Talk to a manager if you need to then use that money to get the goods as suggested above. Your baby is PRECIOUS. You have come to the right place. GO YOU!!!

 

[YellowSully]

Thank you everyone. For the input. I am working on getting everything right this weekend is going to be set aside to get everything right

 

[YellowSully]

I would return the useless items to the pet store and go get what you need at the hardware store. Its all in the threads I linked for you.

You can get a 50 gallon tub for about $20. Two light fixtures $12 each. A 65 watt flood bulb for basking for about $6. A digital remote probed thermometer for $20. Giant bag of orchid bark substrate for $5. Two terra cotta saucers for food and water for $2 each. A plastic dish washing tub at Walmart for $2 for a humid hide.

At the pet store you need a 100 watt CHE and a thermostat. This will maintain your night temp and ambient temps during the day.

All of this stuff will last you a few months until you can build something bigger and more suitable.

Do you need a lif with the plastic container?

 

[Tom]

Do you need a lif with the plastic container?

Yes. You need some sort of cover to try to hold in your heat and humidity. Ideally you would use a closed chamber with all the heating and lighting inside. Having the lights outside and on top creates a chimney effect that pulls your heat and humidity up and out.

 

[YellowSully]

Yes. You need some sort of cover to try to hold in your heat and humidity. Ideally you would use a closed chamber with all the heating and lighting inside. Having the lights outside and on top creates a chimney effect that pulls your heat and humidity up and out.

Thanks I need to figure all this stuff out ASAP and try to get a set up