Any info on a Sulcata tortoise? *I finally got him!* more pics..

[redhen]

Hi...i am looking for any all info on these..does anyone have one?..thanks, Wendy

 

[Aneesa's Muse]

I don't have a Sulcata, but I have worked with them and they are awesome torts ...if you have the space for them. They get BIG!! They also dig ..and sometimes, they hibernate/brumate for long periods of time while buried ...depending on your location.

CTTC is a great resource... and there are others, of course

If you have any specific questions, just holler...

 

[redhen]

thanks!..i'm so glad i found someone on here that knows about them..

...i think i am getting one next week...i am just concerned about temps and such...and the lighting issue confuses me also...should their substrate be moist or dry?...thanks for the link..i'm going to look at it now.., Wendy

 

[Aneesa's Muse]

Sulcatas are desert torts, so dry substrate and good uvb lighting ..at least a 5.0 bulb... with a heat source. I prefer Ceramic Heat Emitters, aka. CHE, to under tank heaters or red bulbs, but it's your choice, of course.

You will need to feed a LOT of "good" greens... collards, dandelions, turnips, mustards on a daily basis ...and a good "biscuit" or chow. Mazuri makes good chow for torts of all regions. You can also feed edible flowers ..they will devour Hibiscus, for example ....and some fruits. Just be careful about specific fruits and frequency of offering them, as some can actually "rot" in the tort's intestine and cause problems.

What size tort are you getting?

 

[redhen]

hi..thanks for the lighting/heat info... ..its supposed to be baby still... a few months old i believe..i cant wait..i have wanted one for a long time now....i just want to make sure i do it all correctly...

..i also heard they can eat hay?..is this true?..thanks, Wendy

also..thanks for the mazuri link..i feed that brand to my pot belly pigs..

 

[Aneesa's Muse]

They will eat hay ...alfalfa and some others.. or you can get the cubes, etc. Once s/he's big enough to go outside, you won't have to use a UVB light source, as the sun will do that for you ...but may still need a heat source in colder months, until s/he brumates.

Until then, you can make a tort table very easily ..as my Joob, the RedFoot, lives on a DIY tort table when she can't be in her outside enclosure cuz of weather. I also let her free range the house, but she's not tiny and she loves us ..so we see her roaming around pretty often. She even stands on my feet when I make "salads" for the Zoo kids here

 

[redhen]

aww!.see thats why i want one!..have any pics of yours?...how long will i be able to have him in the house?...i will need to work on a heated shed for him for our cold new england winters,..brrr!..or...i was thinking(my husband thinks i'm nuts!)..once he gets really big..i could put him in my mud room with my pigs...i wonder if they would get along?.... also,will they attack chickens?..i'd like to let him in the yard(in nice weather) with the girls..

 

[Aneesa's Muse]

Your choice of tort is a veg head ..or herbivore... so your girls may be safe from him or her, but your tort may not be safe from them. LOL My chickens are very interested in Joob ..my girly... but she's also an omnivore, so I think it's a mutual interest

Most of the pics I have of Joob ...she's eating.. it's what she does best, after all!

 

[Aneesa's Muse]

Btw.. Joob is about 6 or 7 inches, from one end of her carapace to the other (front to back) ..and she still spends time in or on her table, which is just a big underbed rubbermaid that has mulch, a big water dish and heat/light that I hang from above.

She gets down and wanders the house for a few hours a day ..and when weather permits, she is outside from early morning to dusk. I never leave her out overnight because I have raccoons. (The chickens are even roosting in the garage, until I can get them used to their newly reinforced coop outside.)

You could probably keep your tort inside on a tort table until s/he's up to a foot long. After that, I'd think it would be too cramped ..unless you dedicated a room to him/her... and s/he'd need to be housed outdoors.

Be sure to reinforce the outdoor enclosure because Sulcatas are very good diggers and have been known to dig out and/or dig into a lot a block away or further. Sounds nuts.. but it has happened.

 

[redhen]

she is beautiful!..i love the red on her!....how old is she?....yeah..i think i will have to build a house for her outside when she gets bigger...i just worry with our cold climate...there was a heated dog house on craigs list that i was gonna buy a few weeks ago...i should have!...

...another question...does he need to have water in his house at all times?...or do i just soak him daily or whatever?...also, what should i use as substrate?..thanks for all the help!...

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