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#1696388
WhatDied
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 I’m new and have a sulcata!
I am new to this site, as of today, and am a proud sulcata owner! My sulcata’s name is Tiny and for now that is exactly what she is, Tiny! She still fits in the palm of my hand, and is about a year old. She lives in a 55 gallon glass tank with play sand covering the basking area and alfalfa pellets and coconut husk fibers on her cool side of the tank. I also have a small dish that I put her food in on the cool side as well. She is fed daily, either spinach/romaine/parsley and sometimes I give her the pellets that the breeder gave me with her. She is steadily growing and looks healthy. I soak about every other day, but if she’s looking dry and thirsty then I soak her off schedule. I use warm tap water, and don’t let the water rise about where the top and bottom shell meet (so she doesn’t drown). She gets to soak for 15 minutes MAX! But sometimes she gets tired of it before her time is up so I let her off with a short bath. I have a heat lamp in her tank that I leave on for 12 hours a day. She comes out most evenings after work to have run of the house and get her exercise. This weekend I am going out to get the UVB bulb and maybe one of those red lamps for at night. If anyone has any suggestions or comments about what I am doing or how I am doing it, I would greatly appreciate it seeing as how she is my first tortoise. But so far so good, for the last 6 months or so! Thanks for your help! And anyone interested in making a friend is welcome too! I would love to learn more about my tortoise species, as well as other species and breeds! So anyone and everything welcome! WhatDied
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04/09/08 05:50pm
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#1696439
Qw23e
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Message To: WhatDied In reference to Message Id: 1696388
I’m new and have a sulcata!
congrats u should post pics
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04/09/08 06:15pm
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#1696610
Artur
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Message To: WhatDied In reference to Message Id: 1696388
I’m new and have a sulcata!
Cool I have a sully too. The only problem I could spot was the glass terrarium. I assume its not sealed from the top. The reason glass isn’t as great as other things is that it retains humidity really well. Being from arid regions, humidity is not a sullys best friend. Also, I would suggest putting as much diversity into the food as possible. I grow my own the the backyard and though he can healthily eat all of them, he’ll walk around the whole yard several times taking small bites until he gets full, even if its the same grass or leaf. Growing your own food is awesome too. Sullys love to forage. I’m not sure how gallons translate to length and width but the walks around the house should be fine. Some fresh air and sun would be great. Congrats on your Sulcata! Really, they’re great companions. She’ll even follow you around the house if she doesn’t already.
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04/09/08 07:40pm
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#1697350
RepticTay
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Message To: WhatDied In reference to Message Id: 1696388
I’m new and have a sulcata!
Hi Whatdied, welcome to Repticzone, Tortoise boards.
Congratulations on being a sully owner.
The glass tank must be scrapped, glass aquariums, and wooden vivariums are all bad for tortoises.
The substrate should be one of the following:
bed-a-beast
playsand mixed with soil (50/50 mixture of each)
hemp (hemcore or aspen)
soil
ecoearth
Alfalfa pellets are very bad, causing dehydration along with a number of problems.
By the sounds your breeder knows nothing, and told you the wrong care... or hes a dealer and told you everything wrong.
That diet is not good, they need a more stable fibre diet.
grasses are edible take a look at this website - www.africantortoise.com
Your tortoise needs water in the enclosure every day, and changed around twice a day.
soaking either every other day or 3 times a week.
A night light isnt really needed, tortoises should cool off at night after an all day and evening of heat.
I own 2 hermanns tortoise, so they are relatively different from a sully.
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04/10/08 09:07am
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#1701853
Peter Gamble
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Message To: RepticTay In reference to Message Id: 1697350
I’m new and have a sulcata!
The best subsratate you can use for a sulcatta (in my opinion any tortoise) is just plain ol’ dirt. I keep mine outside, but when they are inside during the rare cold days in Orlando, they are sill on dirt. Dirts free, holds burrows, and about as natural as it gets. Ditch the tank, go to home depot and buy some 2x4s, 1’’ plywood, and FRP or pond liner. Make a sturdy table with a support beam across the middle(underneath). Make the legs of the table on the short sides and have them go about 2ft over the flat surface of the table. Cut the ply to the correct sizes and form walls. Next line the inside with FRP or Pond liner. Fill with about 1ft of dirt and you have yourself a top-notch tortoise table.
Peter
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04/13/08 05:55pm
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#1702180
JanuaryLove
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Message To: Peter Gamble In reference to Message Id: 1701853
I’m new and have a sulcata!
Spinach is bad for Sulcatas and parsley should only be fed every once in awhile. Mine loves grass, clovers, collords, romain, dandilions leaves or flowers. Make sure the plants you are feeding has no pesticides and soil you use have no fertilizers of any kind. Good luck with the little guy! Oh, mine don’t like them, but you can try prickly pear pad or fruit(despined) and hibiscus flowers and leaves. A variety is best. Like the other guys said, water is a must everyday.
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04/13/08 09:32pm
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