My baby Sulcatas are in transit and will be arriving tomorrow by 10:30AM EST. They are coming all the way from Southern California. They are being shipped via SYR FED EX. What is the 1st thing I should do for them when I get them out of the box???
What Is The 1st Thing I Should Do??
- Thread starter AnthonyC
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Give them a nice warm soak...
Nothing like a nice warm bath after a stressful trip to help calm you down...
D'marcus hit the nail right on the head! Keep 'em soaking for a good half an hour. Then you need to get them accustomed to their new surroundings! Are you going to keep them in a terrarium...in a Tortoise Table....what?!?! Getting your humidity and temps in check BEFORE they get there will make all the difference in the world! There are several substrates you could use...but I can't stress using coco coir enough! This is my absolute favorite! Soak it prior to use...then moisten it every few days and your babies are practically guaranteed a healthy existense! And, of course, read this...
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/Thread-How-To-Raise-Sulcata-Hatchlings-and-Babies#axzz1UknZCMws
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/Thread-How-To-Raise-Sulcata-Hatchlings-and-Babies#axzz1UknZCMws
Please post what your set up is like, so you can get input from other keepers.
Dean and Angi are right, I was assuming you had the enclosure all set up. That part is also very important, you want you new tortoise to be comfortable after the soak and having the living conditions correct is very important..
Read, read, and read somemore. There are a lot of things to learn when raising Sulcata's! Make sure to keep them warm but not to hot. I have 2 digital temp monitors in my setup for Cooper. How many do you have on the way and where are you going to keep them in the winter? I'm not trying to be a downer but you do know how big these beautys get right? This is one thing I HATE about being in Indiana, winters! That's why I am only going to stick with one Sully for now. Id love to have an army of them but in this climate I know that when he gets 100+ pounds he is going to need to be outside and he just can't in the winter. So he will have his own room for winter months. I wish you the best with your babys! And post some pic's when you can!
Hello All. Thanks for all of your advice. I wish I could send you all some pics of my enclosure but my camera crapped out. I will try to describe it to you as best I can:
I ordered 2 8wk old babies from a breeder I found here on the forum. I've been bombarding him with questions and surfing this forum and asking questions for awhile before placing my final order. I'm no tortoise expert but I do have a lot of experience with other reptiles, albeit 10yrs ago. Okay so here's my enclosure:
32qt sweater box from tomorrow until the beginning of October then it's a 64qt sweater box. I am using coco coir for substrate. I've built 2 humidity boxes (like Tom's). Inside the boxes I have attached sponges to the tops. It was another recommendation by another forum member. The temp in the boxes is about 92 and the humidity is at 65%. Outside the humidity boxes the temp is 77 and I don't know what the humidity is but I will be misting the substrate daily. The only other things inside the enclosure are a thermometer, hygrometer, cuttlebone, and a shallow water bowl. Under the humidity boxes is a heating mat set for 85 but, like it said, it boosts the temp to 92. I have a 100watt ceramic heat emitter for the cooler nights and a mercury vapor bulb for uvb during the day (if I can't get them outside).
For feeding I'm going to be giving them some local weeds/flowers: broadleaf plantain, dandelion, squash/pumpkin flowers, clover, as well as some spring mix & other dark greens. I bought some calcium w/D for supplementation. Any other suggestions would be gladly accepted!
I know they get BIG. I live in NY right now but I'm transferring to Florida next summer (I'm a teacher). They will be coming with me and I believe the both of us will be MUCH happier down there.
BELIEVE me I did A LOT of soul searching before making this purchase and I think that I'm up to the challenge. I look forward to showering my torts with love!
PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE let me know if there is anything else I should know or that I'm doing wrong! I won't be offended!
Thanks,
Anthony
Sorry just saw a mistake.... OUTSIDE THE HUMIDITY BOXES THE TEMP IS ABOUT 77 EXCEPT FOR UNDER THE MERCURY VAPOR BULB WHERE IT HITS ABOUT 90-92.
I ordered 2 8wk old babies from a breeder I found here on the forum. I've been bombarding him with questions and surfing this forum and asking questions for awhile before placing my final order. I'm no tortoise expert but I do have a lot of experience with other reptiles, albeit 10yrs ago. Okay so here's my enclosure:
32qt sweater box from tomorrow until the beginning of October then it's a 64qt sweater box. I am using coco coir for substrate. I've built 2 humidity boxes (like Tom's). Inside the boxes I have attached sponges to the tops. It was another recommendation by another forum member. The temp in the boxes is about 92 and the humidity is at 65%. Outside the humidity boxes the temp is 77 and I don't know what the humidity is but I will be misting the substrate daily. The only other things inside the enclosure are a thermometer, hygrometer, cuttlebone, and a shallow water bowl. Under the humidity boxes is a heating mat set for 85 but, like it said, it boosts the temp to 92. I have a 100watt ceramic heat emitter for the cooler nights and a mercury vapor bulb for uvb during the day (if I can't get them outside).
For feeding I'm going to be giving them some local weeds/flowers: broadleaf plantain, dandelion, squash/pumpkin flowers, clover, as well as some spring mix & other dark greens. I bought some calcium w/D for supplementation. Any other suggestions would be gladly accepted!
I know they get BIG. I live in NY right now but I'm transferring to Florida next summer (I'm a teacher). They will be coming with me and I believe the both of us will be MUCH happier down there.
BELIEVE me I did A LOT of soul searching before making this purchase and I think that I'm up to the challenge. I look forward to showering my torts with love!
PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE let me know if there is anything else I should know or that I'm doing wrong! I won't be offended!
Thanks,
Anthony
Sorry just saw a mistake.... OUTSIDE THE HUMIDITY BOXES THE TEMP IS ABOUT 77 EXCEPT FOR UNDER THE MERCURY VAPOR BULB WHERE IT HITS ABOUT 90-92.
Hi AnthonyC. Congrats on the new babies. All good advice above.
The one thing that caught my eye was the size of your enclosure. A 32 or 64 quart is much too small. I like to start them in a 40 gallon tub. This would be roughly 36"x 18". In an 8 gallon (32 quart) container, you won't have room for all your stuff (water bowl, hide, food bowl, etc... and you won't be able to maintain any kind of thermal gradient.
The one thing that caught my eye was the size of your enclosure. A 32 or 64 quart is much too small. I like to start them in a 40 gallon tub. This would be roughly 36"x 18". In an 8 gallon (32 quart) container, you won't have room for all your stuff (water bowl, hide, food bowl, etc... and you won't be able to maintain any kind of thermal gradient.
One thing your doing wrong is moving to Florida, it should be me!! Haha, just kid'n! I'm from Orlando and I HATE indiana, but the family is here so I'm stuck..... for now!! When I got Cooper he was 2 or so months, I used an under the bed storage box to keep him in, not sure of the size but it was nice and big for him at the time. You may want to try something like that size wise. Good luck! And I envy you for your up coming move! Where abouts are you going? Last time I was there I was in Tampa (Temple Terrace) for about 4 years. Loved it!
cemmons12 said:
Tom, I took everything out of the 32qt and put it into the 64qt. Hopefully for now it will be suffice. It's about 4ft long x 2ft wide x 5 inches high. I literally just did this so I don't have a temperature gradient reading yet. I just plugged everything in so I'll let you know what kind of readings in get in an hour or so.
Chris, it doesn't sound like where you were is too far from where I'm going to be. I purchased a townhouse in New Port Richey which is only about 30mins from Tampa. Wish the transfer would've gone through this year but I'm under contract and I don't want to be "that guy" who breaks it. The enclosure that I just set up is an under the bed storage box equipped w/wheels and all that jazz. After I get them tomorrow and see how comfy they are I can make adjustments accordingly. If I have to build something bigger than that's what I'll have to do... It's the price you pay for being a good torto-dad.
Well I hope you have a great time once u get there! And its great being a torto-dad!AnthonyC said:
Definitely a soak first as said above - but the SECOND thing you do is take millions of pictures for us to see! We LOVE pictures!
-C
-C
Went out last night and bought a new camera so pics should no longer be a problem. It's 6:30 here on the east coast so my babies should be here within the next six hours! Totally Psyched! I'll definitely give them a good soaking when they arrive. I do have those temperature gradients now for inside the 64qt enclosure:
Humidity box #1 is holding steady at 89 degrees and humidity level is at 80% (it is raining here in NY).
Humidity box #2 is @ 85 degrees & humidity is at 79% (not sure why the fluctuation).
Cool area is at 79 degrees.
Basking area under the UVB is about 95 degrees.
*The cool area is approximately 20"x18"x5"/Basking area is 24"x18"x5"
PLEASE KEEP THE ADVICE ROLLING IN!
Humidity box #1 is holding steady at 89 degrees and humidity level is at 80% (it is raining here in NY).
Humidity box #2 is @ 85 degrees & humidity is at 79% (not sure why the fluctuation).
Cool area is at 79 degrees.
Basking area under the UVB is about 95 degrees.
*The cool area is approximately 20"x18"x5"/Basking area is 24"x18"x5"
PLEASE KEEP THE ADVICE ROLLING IN!
AnthonyC said:
I love that you use "crapped out" as an adjective! And my torts love florida! where you headed in Fl?
FranklinAndTara said:
I am heading to New Port Richey & I can't wait! I wasn't sure if the mods would approve of the word "crapped" but they were kind enough to let it slide through... No pun intended!
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