Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I took the advice of some very nice people on here and go rid of the 10 gallon tank and got a rubbermaid container. It is 3 feet long by 2 feet wide. Will this set up work till she gets a bit bigger? The temp near her little cave is about 82 degrees and 95 under the basking lamp. She seems to like to roam around all over it stopping occasionally under the basking lamp. Any suggestions feed back will be greatly appreciated. Only want to provide proper care for my tort.

than what you apparently had. What's the substrate, it doesn't
look like aspen from the pic but I could be wrong? I wouldn't
use an infra red bulb, I think it's harmful to their eyes since
they see in color like we do it distorts. If you don't think
so just look through the red light for a while. IF that's a UV
tube light you have they're then you can just use a regular
light bulb for additional heat. The best type of bulbs is
a mercury based heat/UV combination which is probably not available
at a pet shop and run about $40.
If your rubbermaid is sitting on the floor you must be careful
to avoid drafts (which always tend to be there, on the floor area)
if you elevate it onto a table you must be sure that he can't fall
out should he climb on something, even shoving the substrate to
one area and getting up higher.
Seems like you're understanding the need for a broader temperature
range now, - By the way, my tortoise never slept below 78 degrees
until he was 2 years old and over 10 pounds, I use a ceramic heater
on a thermostat. He's currently 4 and over 50 pounds.
Hatchlings may not eat hay, objecting to it because it is so coarse,
keep leaving some in there, check the brand too, some are really
stiff, I found Kaytee to be soft like grass almost. Timothy hay.
If you soak it in hot water then drain the water off it might
work, or mix it in with other greens. But if he doesn't eat it
for a while, don't fret, many don't when they're small.

Mine will eat it like a horse now. Have you found out about
cuttlebone, and scraping some onto their food for calcium?

Anyways, offer a wide variety of foods to hatchlings : lettuces
like endive, escarole, Greens: collard, mustard, turnip, also
some green peppers, and zuchinni squash, yellow squash.
Teddy on my Website...click here and see "My tortoise"

this is a big animal, expensive and time-consuming to
keep - good luck

Wow, how old is that huge one? I have a large yard and hope to be able to build a nice enclosure for her when she is larger. The bedding is aspen. I am offering bunny brome hay, timothy hay, hibiscus flowers and leaves, rose petals and collard greens. I also bought some burmuda grass seed that i plan to grow as a food source. I read that it is a similar to what they would find in the wild, is this correct? She seems to like the flowers the most but i don't give her them everyday. I've seen her eating a bit of everything. As far as the heat source, i have daylight uv bulbs from when i had chameleons ages ago. They are very hot, could i use one of those or just a regular bulb? If i were to use the regular bulb, what wattage? I have a cuttle bone in there and she really goes at it. It woke me up from a nap. She scrapes off small bits. Can i leave that in there all the time? Can she over do it with the cuttel bone as far as calcium intake? I really do thank you for your help and advice. I really came to depend on forums like this when i had my chams and they did very well. Thanks again.

That sounds fine for now. You can offer more variety too, with a
staple of the diets your giving now. You must have the UV lighting,
I'm not sure what chameleon lights put out, but I think they need
a lot of UV too. Wattage for any bulb will depend on your enclosure
size, ambient air temp and temp desired. I meant if you needed
additional heat you could just use regular light bulbs to supplement
your UV lighting already, not replace it of course.
Aspen is fine, you could leave some timothy hay in the cage,
I don't suggest using it as a substrate or using too much because
some sulcatas have eye problems with lots of timothy hay in the cage.
Cute picture. The sulcata in the other pic is 20 years at that
time and 120 pounds, I believe she's currently over 165 pounds.....
My Teddy is over 50 pounds and almost 5 years old, very difficult
to pick up! take care

Hi,
I don't have a sulcata (I have 2 Russians), but I believe that this is the same for all species. I have cuttle bones for both of my torts that I leave in their cages at all time so they can nibble on it if they feel the need for more calcium. Calcium is especially important for growing babies! So leaving it in the cage will be fine, as long as there aren't any sharp edges on it.
For the UV daylight - is it just a heat/UVA light, or does it give off UVB as well? Torts (and most reptiles) need a special UVB light as well as a heat lamp (UVA) I use a ReptiGlow 8.0 fluorescent light along with a zoomed basking light for each of my torts - check the UV output on your bulb to make sure it has UVB as well.
Other than that, (even though I'm not a sulcata expert) it sounds like you're doing things right
-----
~Sarah
1.1 Mali Uromastyx (Draco and Pumpkin)
0.1 Indian Uromastyx (Cheddar)
1.0.1 Russian Tortoise (Pookie and Kiwi)
8.8.22 Millipedes (8 different species)

my current heat source is a nocturnal infrared heat lamp. My florescent lighting is called ESU Reptile Slimline reptile fixture with super uv lamp. This is the info on the box, "simulates natural daylight while producing 3% UVB and 7% Uva to promote proper calcium absorption and bone growth" It's an 18", 15 watt florescent bulb. Do these lights really do and provide all that is printed on the box? I am trying to provide natural sunlight but I've only had her for less than a week and by the time i get home from work there is not much sun. I am going to try and set her out this weekend for as long as i can supervise. Is there any possability of over doing it? You guys have been super helpful. Keep all this great advise coming, me and my tort thank you much!

Hello,
That sounds good for the UVB, as long as it provides some you should be all set. I'm not positive, but I think most torts have high UVB requirements? So, if you are going to buy a replacement bulb (after 6 months you should replace any fluorescent light) try to pick up one that provides about 7 or 8%...but since the little guy will be living outside when it's older (correct?) the UVB isn't quite as important...you still need some though
Like someone posted earlier, I would switch the infrared light to a normal basking light or just a regular light bulb. I buy either zoomed, or one of those "pet" lights, and a 150W basking light clamped onto the side of a 55g rubber maid container (which it sounds like you have) keeps the temps correct for a Russian (72F cool end, 95F basking area)... just test different light bulbs that you have around the house to see what temps they get to.
I'm not sure at what age a sulcata can go outside, as in "stay in an outdoor enclosure" outside... I just got my first baby tort this week (I only had the adult before then) and I was informed that my baby (who is only about 12 weeks old) has to wait a year or so before she can go outside for the summer (in an outdoor enclosure)...I'm sure taking it outside for a small romp with constant observation (as predators can catch a pet from right under the owner's nose... I've seen it, it's awful!) should be fine - it will give the tort some natural sun light too! If it is warm enough around here (weather is predicting 60's) I might take Pookie out for a bit this weekend
Hope this helps! I'm glad you are taking care of/having fun with your tort
-----
~Sarah
1.1 Mali Uromastyx (Draco and Pumpkin)
0.1 Indian Uromastyx (Cheddar)
1.0.1 Russian Tortoise (Pookie and Kiwi)
8.8.22 Millipedes (8 different species)

np