Sulcata owners?
- Thread starter NolaGirl
- Start date
Me! I have 2 girls: Scarlett and Rhett. They're 11 years old and the bigger one was pushing 80lbs last time I weighed her. I love Morla for a name! That's perfect. 
franklinzach
New Member
No Sulcata, but I have three Red-foot Tortoises.
NolaGirl
New Member
I knew that there was someone out there.Me! I have 2 girls: Scarlett and Rhett. They're 11 years old and the bigger one was pushing 80lbs last time I weighed her. I love Morla for a name! That's perfect.
I don't know if Morla is a he or a she. I have a feeling that it's a female, though. The other babies that were in the same clutch look different. I'm probably wrong, though. Morla may end up being Morton. LOL! He/she is doing very well. I'm just having a problem retaining humidity in his/her enclosure. I need to find a different substrate. I used coco coir, but it was irritating it's eyes. I'm going to switch to cypress mulch. I really want to find a good, organic, sterile soil for substrate. I can't find any, though. All of the garden centers in my area have bags of soil that have been sitting outdoors for Lord knows how long, collecting bugs, mold and such. What did you use for substrate when your girls were babies? If you got them as itty bitties, that is.
I got mine when both of them could fit in one hand, so itty bitty! I kept them on alfalfa pellets when they were inside, but they spent as much time as possible outdoors in a predator and escape proof pen so they were in grass and dirt and leaf litter with bushes to hide in. I'm a huge believer that turtles and tortoises should be outside as much as possible! I like the alfalfa pellets because they weren't dusty and if they accidentally nommed a pellet it was fine for them to eat. But to avoid turning them to mush you have to out down a feeding plate to put their food on and their hide needs to stay very humid, which doesn't work well with pellets. For a hide I used an upside down clay pit with a little door broken out of it, and then put that on one of the clay saucers so you can line it with moist paper towels or moss for humidity. The clay pot helps retain the humidity well. That worked well for me anyway!
fluxlizard
Avid Member
I have 3. Largish male named Edgar about 9 years old who was given to me by someone trying to raise him in their basement when he was about 5. Another one about 7 who is catching up to him in size now- still quite a bit smaller but seems to be closing the gap faster and faster the last couple years- named luly (liu li or loolee? I don't know how to spell, my daughter named him when we thougth he was a she- I hadn't really checked sex for a couple of years and then looked again last year and the tail seemed to have transformed from short to long since my previous look!) So maybe he is now just Lou? LOL We raised him from a baby.
Last one is really a sad one a craigslist refugee. Given by a school teacher who you would think would be educated enough to educate herself on the needs of her animal. Kept in a 10 gallon tank by her kids (at home- not classroom) on dry mulch and fed lettuce and such for 5 years. No heat or lighting. Shell super soft and shape overall flat and pyramided to the extreme on arrival last spring. Her shell is firm now a year later, and she loves summers out in my sulcata pasture but she's really small for her age (maybe 6 or 7 inches long) and shell is of course very weird looking. Hoping things kind of improve as she grows now.
Last one is really a sad one a craigslist refugee. Given by a school teacher who you would think would be educated enough to educate herself on the needs of her animal. Kept in a 10 gallon tank by her kids (at home- not classroom) on dry mulch and fed lettuce and such for 5 years. No heat or lighting. Shell super soft and shape overall flat and pyramided to the extreme on arrival last spring. Her shell is firm now a year later, and she loves summers out in my sulcata pasture but she's really small for her age (maybe 6 or 7 inches long) and shell is of course very weird looking. Hoping things kind of improve as she grows now.
NolaGirl
New Member
I love Sulcatas! They have so much personality.
You are an angel for taking in that tort! It's a shame how people purchase animals on a whim without doing research on them first. I hate to see animals suffer.
Winters get cold enough in Texas that they're not happy, but they're too big to bring inside. So we built them a heated house! It has a heated floor and heat lamps in the corners so they can be happy and tropical despite the winter. Their house stays in the 80 and 90's while it's the 30's outside and they're happy as clams.
NolaGirl
New Member
That sounds awesome.Winters get cold enough in Texas that they're not happy, but they're too big to bring inside. So we built them a heated house! It has a heated floor and heat lamps in the corners so they can be happy and tropical despite the winter. Their house stays in the 80 and 90's while it's the 30's outside and they're happy as clams.
NolaGirl
New Member
Here are some pics of my little Sully. It's kept in a humid enclosure to prevent pyramiding. It's housed in a LARGE Rubbermaid tote with cypress mulch as substrate. I have the lid cut in half and it's on top of the humid hide. I also have a 100 watt MVB that is on an adjustable stand that is positioned right above the basking spot. So far, so good. I want to build Morla a tortoise table or a closed chamber large enough to house him/her for the next couple of years. After that, I will make a permanent outdoor enclosure with a man made burrow to prevent my tort from making gigantic tunnels through the property. Post some pics of your torts and indoor/outdoor enclosures. I need some ideas.
It's kept in a humid enclosure to prevent pyramiding. It's housed in a LARGE Rubbermaid tote with cypress mulch as substrate. I have the lid cut in half and it's on top of the humid hide. I also have a 100 watt MVB that is on an adjustable stand that is positioned right above the basking spot. So far, so good. I want to build Morla a tortoise table or a closed chamber large enough to house him/her for the next couple of years. After that, I will make a permanent outdoor enclosure with a man made burrow to prevent my tort from making gigantic tunnels through the property. Post some pics of your torts and indoor/outdoor enclosures. I need some ideas. 
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