Teddy's gotten so big now that I can't lift him anymore, so the
days of dragging him around craddled over my shoulder or on my
hip is done. For new readers, I posted about my sulcata male
tortoise almost daily until this summer, including pics. all
the time. My web site now has lost some pictures, no time to
keep it updated. Teddy is a 5 year old male sulcata weighs right
at one million pounds. (73 was the last official weigh-in this summer)
The work/stress of building the largest
independantly owned used car dealership in the state is constant,
I'm at the auctions or at the lot all of the time. Keeping a
big business and big $$$ straight means absolutely no time,
I have to make myself do something to distract me. Got yet another
Hummer H2 (the SUT truck, in black '05) and am very interested
in getting a new franchise (Hummers would be great, I'd really
like Dodge also). On top of that, I was the head coach of
a middle school/high school baseball team this fall. (I'm a woman
in case you're new.) My dream would be to coach/manage baseball
as a full-time job professionally!
As long as I see that EJ's here, I know this forum will be fine
without me, not that anybody listened to me anyways! lol!
Teddy's still a sweet baby-doll, eats mostly timothy hay now,
gets a bundle of greens to munch on top of that and mazuri once
a week. He's outside in his cottage and his pen 24/7/365 he's
fine.
Same old advice of mine about sulcatas: give them a hot basking
area 115 F is good 120 F is better, nights 80 for babies, after
10 pounds let them go to 70 at night. All sulcatas of all ages
should be able to get to 70 in their cage at all times so your
range should be from 70-120. ( I think a max. temp of only 85-90
under the lamp is pathetic and yours will eventually croak, but
that's my opinion). Use UV mercury bulbs, toss the rest
of the tube light junk. Aspen bedding, all ages. Don't soak them
in the winter time more than once a week (can't "soak" mine, in
what-a pool?) when they're babies, and you better dry them well
and put them right back in their cage. I'm not into the moist
hide idea at all (sorry EJ, I know that's your thing). Make
sure your caging is 10 times bigger than what's normal and you
better be able to afford a pony's food, cause that's what you're
getting, and a pony amount of crap too - I've got a pitchfork
made for horse manure to clean his cottage out. Feed babies anything
you can get your hands on: collards, turnip greens, mustard greens,
zuchinni squash, yellow squash, cucumbers, spinach a little bit only,
dandelion greens, green peppers, yellow peppers, endive lettuce,
escarole lettuce, boston lettuce cause when they get big, it'll
cost you to feed them anything but collards!! Use cuttlebone
and scrape it onto their food - feed mazuri 3 times a week to
babies, once a week to biggies. Use mixed lettuce bags like
spring mix when they're little, mine would eat 6 bags of that
with no problem now, and then eat your shoes.
Just a little update, ya'll listen to EJ now and take care,
niki and teddy
