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

[Aneesa's Muse]

A heated dog house ..even the igloo types... are perfect! You can very easily install a CHE, too.

As for substrate.. use aspen shavings (not shredded) or newsprint or carefresh, even. And definitely leave a water source in the enclosure. You will have to figure out what size is large enough for the "baby" to drink from and get in, if it wants to ...and still not increasing the humidity too much, as well.


And thank you.. we love our Jooby Doob!

Joob is one of the many rescued "kids" at our house ..so I don't know her age exactly, but it is estimated at 2-3 years. It's very hard to tell with the poor condition she was in when I first received her ...her food intake was completely wrong, so her age can't be judged by her size ...and my very experienced Herp Vet has just guesstimated it for us.

 

[Jessika]

I own one too....about 7 years old now. Our fiend "Herman" is a great guy. Enjoy your new pet!

 

[Mom 2em All]

I have a fifty pound sulcata. He spent last winter in the house with me. He had full run of my house- just like the dogs and cats.
They need to be soaked regularly- and when they are big as mine- that means in the bathtub every morning. I had his 'bathroom' habits down to an art. They like to defecate while soaking. Of course, that meant that my bathtub was scrubbed each and every morning before I went to work....
I bought a pig blanket for him for heat.I put that down in his favorite place- under my parrots cage. He spent most of his time there. I fed him in a dog bowl in the kitchen. Mazuri Tortoise chow, calcium, and cactus pads. Now that he is outside in the garage, I have a doghouse-igloo style- with his pig blanket, and full of hay. Over the igloo, I put a regular blanket to hold in the heat. Today, i have to go out and find him, it has gotten too too cold outside for him to be running around. He has a tunnel he dug at the fence line that is about eight feet long and I cannot see the end of it. I think he is back in there. Somehow, I have to get him out because it is so cold at night here now.
Sulcata do not hibernate or become dormant in the winter months. My guy, Bubba, would bang on the backdoor (ram it) when he wanted to go outside- and sometimes I would take him out there for a few minutes- just so he could see that his world was covered in snow, no foraging there. Once he was allowed out for a few minutes, he would settle down in the house. Content to be warm, I suppose.

There is an online place that I purchase cactus pads from monthly to supplement his feed. It is called RivenRock Gardens- if you google that, you will find that their prices are very low. My sulcata eats everything. he loves bananas, green vegetables, and is a better lawn mower than a goat. Gross but true, he will eat dog poop too, if I don't pick it up fast enough.
My chickens are terrified of him. Terrified! They run from him.
The bigger they get, the stronger they get. They can push through chain-link fences. Have no concept of fence. They see grass on the other side, and that is where they want to go.
Calcium needs to be supplemented. I use cuttlebones for birds. he takes large bites as needed.

Because he will outlive me, my daughter already knows that if and when I die, she will become the owner of Bubba- and graciously agrees that she will be glad to take over that responsibility.

 

[apbgv]

please check out these websites. I think possibly the best choice for pet tortoises are russians and redfoots, they don't get super large like the sulcatas
http://africantortoise.com
http://www.chelonia.org
I don't have the web addy but check out this site they have lots of torts in rescue that needs homes if you want a sulcata Turtle Rescue of Long Island

 

[Jessika]

Herman was living with a bunch of 18-20 year old (not dogging the age...lol...just clarifying details...I know a lot at 12 that are smarter..) in a little rubbermaid container (My ex-hubby was their boss). He went over to pick up an employee whose car had broke down....when he went in the house to use the bathroom he found a bunch of kids smoking pot and blowing it in the cage and putting a lid on it. i didn't find out for a few days when it came up in a conversation. I took the car keys drove over and asked what it would take for me to take that tortoise home with me...they said $100...and I offered $50 and they took it. It was one of the kid's B-day presents from the year before. He had never had light....water...a bath....or anything to eat bedsides lettuce. No calcium...nothing..I can't believe he was alive still. Lots of TLC and he is much better....all these years later...

 

[redhen]

first of all i want to say thank you to you all...all this info has really helped me....alot!...
Jessika....thank god you saved that little guy!..blowing pot in his cage..(what jerks!,,really)...and never had the proper care on top of it!...those type of people get me so

...!..thank you for being such an awesome person, and going and picking him up!..

Mom 2em All...what a cutie!...i was dying when reading your post..because i can just envision mine when he gets bigger living in my pig room(tile floor), with my pot bellies in the winter time...and walking around my kitchen waiting to eat...and roaming my yard with my chickens...lol...i am so excited to get him...i'm going tomorrow to pick up some supplies for him....thanks again everyone

, Wendy

Mom 2em All...let me know when you get him out of his tunnel...whats the temp there?

 

[Mom 2em All]

I got him out

Cactus fruits from the grocery store are an irresistable treat. Tortoises are food motivated.
I just put one about five foot down the tunnel and he came up, and out looking for more.

Temps were fantastic here yesterday. The very first time I can remember the kids trick or treating in sweatshirts. However, we have had frost, and the temps are down to below 40 at night.

Make sure your piggies dont think of him as a snack or gnaw on his shell

and enjoy!

Little ones are notorious for flipping themselves over- be careful that there are not too many things in the cage that he can climb and do that with. Little ones- like big ones, like a cave. And you can use the same temp/hygrometer that you get at Walmart- for the incubators

- to stick in his cage.
One thing I have learned is that the ReptiSun 10.0 bulb is the best one for UVB light, and a CHE for heat. The UVB cant be more than 18 inches above him. There is a fantastic Yahoo group that I subscribe to but I am mainly a lurker/learner. It is: Tortoise_Keepers (at Yahoo groups) You can get the Repti-Cal powdered calcium to sprinkle on his food- make sure you get the one without phosporus in it. A pinch a day on his wet food- like the soaked Mazuri pellets.

Good luck, enjoy- they are so cute when small..and heck, I think mine is cute too,,,even when he just came out of an eight foot tunnel and is covered in mud.

 

[Aneesa's Muse]

Beautiful Sulcata, Mom 2... he definitely is CUTE!!

Jessika... your story is impressive! Thanks for saving that guy.. Joob says "thanks" too!

 

[redhen]

Hi guys..well i h it the turtle supply jack pot today!..this guy on cragis list was getting rid of a ton of stuff...i got a cute little cage(homemade out of plexiglass), like 10 heat lamps(that i can use in my coop this winter)...5 light hoods(for the long uvb lights), light bulbs, ceremac heat bulbs, mineral blocks(ecotherm?..ever hear of them?), 6 BIG hidey hole rock things, a whole basket of those expensive rock dishes, real rocks for him to climb on and bask..a tank with screen top(i'll use that as a chick brooder!..

..),an electronic scale(they must of weighed their torts..i figure it will come in handy with my meat birds next spring..

..)...so i am pretty much set up now..all i need is a black/red heat light for night time, some substrate and HIM!!...

..

ooh, another question about substrate...i got a book yesterday"turtles and torts for dummies"..(how appropriate for me)..

..and this lady says that for her substrate for her sulcata hatchlings, she uses rabbit pellets....because they dont need the moisture.....but, everyone else i am talking to says they need a semi-moist side of a tank....so i am confused....any ideas?

 

[Mom 2em All]

You dont need a black/red light for night time heat- that is what the CHE is for.
It gives off heat without light, his light will be from the UVB bulb- make sure you start off with a new one of those, and replace every six months because it loses its UVB ratio even if it is still lighting up.

I wouldnt give him something to climb on to bask. They are very good at flipping over and getting stuck.
Give him a hide at the cool end and at the warm end. For substrate, I used the shredded coconut. Alfalfa pellets seemed too uncomfortable for my taste- lol. Make sure he has a soaking dish that is easy to get in and out of, on the cool end. Dont let it be so deep that he can accidentally flip over and drown.

Ventilation is important, draft-free is important, SOLID sides that he cannot see out of, very good- keeps them from consistantly pacing to escape. Therefore, less stress. They do not understand the concept of glass, and will continue to try and get out.

Powdered calcium very important- and check his shell regularly to make sure it is not soft. It is so so important that they get adequate calcium/UVB...those little buggers are notorious for developing a calcium deficiency problems. Pick your tort out very carefully.

That said, CONGRATULATIONS on such a great find for all those supplies!