Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Thanks in advance to anyone who responds.

GENERAL BACKGROUND:
Two days ago, I purchased a 3-week-old sulcata hatchling. Yes, I understand and am ready to take on a tortoise that will grow to quite a large size. Currently though, he sleeps indoors in a heated/lighted 10 gallon terrarium with some grass growing in the corner, in case he wishes to nibble before going to bed. He has a cave shelter in a cooler area of the terrarium too. Most of his time is spent outdoors in the grassy area of my yard under the California sun. He enjoys eating my dark green lawn grass, but not much else aside from the occasional blade of lighter green grass which somehow got into my yard, and grape leaves (we have a grape vine - he is not interested if fruit at all, even banana, and I intend to keep him on an all healthy diet without fruit). I watch him like a hawk when he is outside to make sure he is okay, especially at such a young age. He has to struggle and work hard just to crawl through the grass or to bite it off, but I think that it is good exercise for him, and it probably improves his coordination as he uses his forelimbs to help break off the blades of grass he eats. Now my questions:

1.) How much should he be eating per day? I want to make sure he is fed enough, especially being a growing baby, but I don't want him to eat too much either.

2.) What vitamin supplaments does/will he need on a diet consisting primarily of dark green grass, some lettuce, grape leaves, and the occasional backyard edible weed like dandelions? I purchased both 2:0 and 2:1 ratio calcium/phosphorus suplaments, as I've read that he needs a lot of calcium at this stage. According to much of my research, he does not need much phosphorous, (hence I bought the 2:0 container) and all the phosphorous he needs will be supplied through what he normally eats. However, some of my other research states that they need a 2:1 ratio. What do you use for your sulcatas, and how much do they really need? I'm more into simply supplying my animals with natural foods v. suplaments, but I want to make sure he gets enough of all the vitamins and substances he needs.

3.) I may just be overworrying, but during one of his morning baths (I give him a 20-30 min. soak every morning so he will stay hydrated) he put in nose into the water too far, and ended up blowing a single bubble out. He does not have a wet/runny nose at all, but I also want to make sure he does not have an infection, despite the pet store lady saying they won't sell sick animals. He is so small, and at this age, I fear an infectin of any kind could be a lot to deal with. Also, when he wakes up from his frequent naps, he rubs his eyes a lot and opens them one at a time. His eyes are very clear when open, and not puffy or pussy (I've seen vit. A deficient box turtles), but since he rubs them, I'm afraid they must be irritating him somehow. Is he just rubbing his eyes after sleeping the way humans do after a long sleep, or do you think there is a problem? I purchased Tetra Terafauna Turtle Eye Rinse drops for his eyes that are specially made for chelanoids with irritated eyes or problems because of vitamin A deficiencies, but since I've only had him for 2 days now, I don't even know if his diet had been balanced in the pet store (despite him looking very healthy to me). I also don't want to take him to the vet just yet since he just came home after a freeway trip from the store, and I don't want to stress him out with another car ride and then poking and probing from the vet. I squeezed a little vitamin A into his bath this morning to allow him to soak a little bit up if he needs it, but as I've said, I'm not big on lots of supplaments and meds, and an overdose of anything I feel is probably more serious than anything he may or may not have or potentially have.

4.) Shell and skin conditioners? Some of the information I've read stated that they need shell and skin conditioners. I purchased some Tetra Terafauna Turtle Vitashell: Shell and Skin conditioner for him, but I don't want it to be bad for him or irritating to his sensitive shell and skin. I had never heard of chelanoids needed these conditioners before, but then, as he is an arid desert tortoise who spends much time in the sun, I don't want his skin and shell to get cracked or too dry from the sun. Any thoughts on these?

5.) He sleeps a lot! I know that baby mammals require a lot of sleep, but do baby reptiles require much sleep as well? He will be very active and alert, looking for food and walking around one minute, and then next he is contently asleep. Is this normal, or is it a sign that something is wrong? Usually, he sleeps just in his terrarium, and is not so sleepy outside.

6.) Though he gets a lot of sunlight, I have a reptile lamp over his terrarium for when I cannot be outside to watch/guard him during the day. The bulb package says that it is a "broad spectrum daylight bulb for terrariums" that "stimulates natural behavior through UVA rays," but most of the information I've read says to have the tortoise exposed to UVB rays. What is the difference between UVA and UVB rays? - I want him to have the best indoor lighting possible when he cannot be in the sun, and I want the bulb that give him the most nutrients possible that the sun would normally bestow upon him.

7.) This question is less serious than the others, but necessary none-the-less. What should I name him? I think it is a male because his plastron curves inward, where as females have flat ones, and because the ventral area of the plastron maintains a wide "V" shape, v. the narrow "V" of a female, or so I've read. It may be too early to have determined this, but all signs right now point to it being a he. Any good names for a sulcata?

Thanks again for all of your help, advice, and input. I sincerely care for all animals, and especially for those under my care. He already has a wonderful disposition and is quite friendly, not shy at all. He's never even been completely inside his shell yet and sleeps with all of his libs and head stretched out comfortably. Again, thank you for any response that helps me give this guy a better life - I hope he outlives me; he is a member of the family.

Couple of ideas (no particular order)

Don't put any shell conditioner junk on him anywhere period.
Throw that out. Toss the eye drops out along with it.
Sulcatas can stick their entire heads under water and scuba,
yours sounds normal while drinking. Best source of calcium is
cuttlebone (white stuff they sell for birds, let me know I've got
pics. of it if you're baffled), scrape it onto his food if
you give him any additional supplemental lettuces - endives,
escarole, watercress, green collards (great source of calcium)
etc...dark greens. An occasional banana or apple isn't going
to kill him. Some squash is appreciated also - yellow squash
and zuchinni - key is variety - not one particular food alone
is suitable, but a little of different things is just covering
your bases. Check the kinds of grass you have, mine will not
touch centipede a popular grass, but eats burmuda and weeds.
(I don't like the grape leaves even if they aren't harmful.)
Don't give anything with phosphorous intentionally. I gave
mine phosphorous free supplement at first, but now I'd just
give cuttlebone, put a piece in his tank - most won't touch it
on their own, but you never know.
If you have a "reptile" bulb like a light bulb and it was around
$10 then it's not sufficient, you need UVA/UVB mercury based bulb
when he's indoors. Right now if he's out most of the time you don't
really have to have it. There's absolutely no way you can tell
if you have a male/female, his tail area will change and even looks
different on confirmed sex adults. Forget that and just name him
whatever you wish. Ten gallons is awfully small for even that
size animal (mine started in a 300 - now sleeps in a 1000 gallon),
reason I say that is it's difficult to get a temperature
gradient in that small space. Mine as a youngster had a basking
area 105F. air temp surface on his back now easily reaches 125F
without a whim. However there is sufficient space to go to
room temperature at will. Most of his time is spent basking
though when he's indoors in the winter. Yours might be sleeping
a lot inside because it's too cool, especially if you use the
"care sheets" that suggest high temps of 85 or so, reason they
do that is because of the fact that people keep their pets in
such small quarters and would probably kill them if they tried
to get a true basking temp in there. If you must keep him inside,
start looking into a min. of a 4'X 2' to start, then you can
get more stable temperatures. Mine did not sleep a lot as a
youngster, he was usually awake with a few naps in between the
day, then slept all night. Same now.

also, the leg/eye rubbing is something a lot of the small ones
seem to do then it tends to fade out. Don't worry so much.
Be careful that your soaking sessions aren't too long, shallow
water cools down very quickly, I'd keep it to a max. of 10 mins.
5 sounds better. Make sure he's dry before going to bed at
night. Do not allow him to get a chill. Mine slept at an
air temp of 78-80 at night which I obtained by using a ceramic
heater (no light at night) set off center of his sleeping area.
After 1 year old I dropped it to 75, now as an almost 4 year old
he sleeps at room temp. Mind you mine is approaching 45 pounds
you never know what you'll get! Good luck with your baby and
save your 10 gallon tank because with sulcatas it'll be useful
to store greens inside that in the fridge, or collect poop in
later - not much later though.

...all of your help. I've already "modified" my care for him to include your suggestions and advice. I'm glad I had someone as knowlegible as you to rely upon to help me and my little sulcata out... thanks a lot! Yesterday, I released my S. American cichlid to another owner, and I'm cleaning out and sterilizing his 75 gallon tank, which should provide the sulcata more room, even if the only thing he really does is sleep indoors. He ate enough yesterday, as I can see from the "gifts" he left in the terrarium this morning. This is his second batch of feces since I've had him; the first time was while he was in the water (which I always maintain warm - he usually is in only for a short while, with 30 minutes being the high maximum amount of time, since I let him out when he starts trying to crawl out of his dish). He isn't eating too much for a reptile, is he?

He seems to get enough sun, because he continues to crawl over to me and fall asleep in my shadow, resting against my shoe after chomping away at some grass. It's about 100°-103°F while he is outside, and he sleeps indoors at a temp of about 80°F. I always make sure he is not too wet after a soak, as I don't want him to come down with an ailment. Thanks again for all of your help and effort. I'm also glad to read that the eye-rubbing thing is not too serious, so I guess I can relax a bit more. Keep up with the success you've had with your sulcatas and thanks!