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I JUST PURCHASED TWO BABY SULCATA TORTOISES AND I WANTED TO KNOW HOW SHUD THEIR HABBITAT BE WHATS THEIR BEST DIET AND WHAT TEMP SHOULD THEIR ENCLOUSER BE. ANY HELP WILL BE VERY HELPFUL THESE ARE MY FIRST TORTOISES THANKS IN ADVANCE

First off,

I hope you realize how large these guys may one day get. As hatchlings, they can usually be housed in a simple sweaterbox setup with a UVB light, and UVA/incandescent spotlight or infrared emitter. You can find these in any pet store, or most any online catalogue, along with the fixtures in which to place them. The sweater box should be as large as is convenient (the larger, the better). I usually go to the thirty-five to fifty gallon range for hatchlings; it keeps them interested in the environment around them. Use garden soil (pesticide and herbicide free) as a substrate in larger enclosures, paper towels in smaller ones (temporary enclosures). Do not use alfalfa pellets or sand. Neither of these artificial soils will replicate simple dirt for holding moisture, and baby sulcatas retain much of their bodily moisture by burrowing. Temperatures should be maintained between 85-75 F (day vs. night temp) with a basking spot from 85-90 F. These animals will need shelter, as do all reptiles, so provide one in the form of a shoebox, halved pipe, or custom shelter, placed opposite the basking spot.

Outdoor enclosures are absolutely essential, when weather permits. Young tortoises should be housed outdoors in predator proof housing with access to shade.

These guys will eat anything, but they do best on greens. Dandelion, winter grass, kale, romaine lettuce, sow thistle, nopal cactus (grated into small pieces for juveniles), geraniums, petunias, hibiscus (flowers and leaves), althea flowers, yellow or zuchinni squash, and clover where available.

I hope this is a good start. A good book to consult on this is Russ Gurley's Sulcatas. It has pretty much all the practical stuff on sulcatas. If you want to get into a more in depth book on tortoises in general, consult "The Practical Encyclopedia of Keeping and Breeding Tortoises and Freshwater Turtles" by A.C. Highfield. Some of the information is out of date, but the up to date information can generally be found at the tortoise trust website @ www.chelonia.org.

T.G.

Congratulations on getting your sulcatas, and you've been given some good advice already. In relation to how big they will get - check out this photo:
http://africantortoise.com/gallery2/main.php?g2_itemId=1507
and do take the Sulcata Reality Check:
http://www.turtlehomes.org/usa/test.shtml

Nina

Please visit the african tortoise web site. It has housing, diet, and how to make an enclosure advice. Don't forget to visit the photos section to see some indoor enclosures.

Julia

thank you all for the help i have made all the changes to keep them happy and as soon as i get a chance to take some pics i will post them