ive got 4 sulcatas on there way to me....

[sammkins]

ok its a long story but i now have 4 baby sulcatas, that are 09 born, now what do i need for their bedding etc, i was going to pop to tesco do they have hay or straw?

I just want to get a quick setup i can use til i get back from hols on monday - father in law will be "tortoise sitting"

I have horsfields but i know they are different to them, but at this present time i would rather ask and get quick answers instead of researching into them all, which i will do when i get back monday!

Its all go go go.

Thanks for your helpful replies

[joanna]

I don't keep sulcatas, real shame the people who've re-homed them didn't give you much notice so you could research first - I take it you got them together? Where are they from?

I'm sure if its only til monday keeping as you keep the others will be ok, I remember reading they have more grasses in their diet - but wait for someone to confirm. you'll have to start charging an entry fee at your torty zoo!

[Evie]

There are a couple of people on here - Sahara and Laraine who do keep Sulcatas and hopefully they will be on to help you out.

[joekent]

Sorry if this sounds harsh but you should not be gettin sulcatas if you dont know about their care; let alone four of them!!!
They will literally need an acre of land in 5 years time and will eat you out of house and home!

[Helen M]

Hopefully someone will come along who keeps sulcatas. Have you looked on the TT site for caresheets or searched for previous threads on here?
Helen xx

[sammkins]

Originally Posted by joekent

Sorry if this sounds harsh but you should not be gettin sulcatas if you dont know about their care; let alone four of them!!!
They will literally need an acre of land in 5 years time and will eat you out of house and home!

i was planning on only keeping the one of them, and selling the others, once i get all the relevant information on how to keep them properly, so i can educate the new owners. I have been researching them for a few weeks as have been wanting to get one, but unfortunately they came sooner than i thought so im just in panic mode making sure i have all the right stuff.

I have a massive garden and i know what im in for i am willing to build a shed etc for when hes bigger and pay all the expensive bills so dont worry-im not short of money.

I just needed to know what sort of grass/hay they prefer, they are already in a tort table but with orchid bark.

As i said i will research into them more when i get back on monday and believe me they were DEFINATELY better off with me than where they were.

Thanks for anymore advice on bedding and food as i will be buying everything in the morning, i know they have 70% grasses and 30% weeds, so they have had dandelion leaves so far.

Can they eat aloe vera and alpines?

[Laraine]

Hi, we keep our Dana on top soil, with a section that is filled with Readigrass. Readigrass is a chopped dried grass, available in HUGE bale bags from your local stables / horsefeed store. They will also eat the readigrass as they get bigger. I think Sarah also sells smaller bags in the SW shop

Make sure there are places to hide, water all the time and daily baths. Sullys can produce 'projectile' urates if worried or stressed, so be careful! The wall of our downstairs bathroom can testify to Dana's first day and bath here, as I got her out if the water it shot up the wall!

Do the table as you would for the horsfields, Sullys like to dig down, they are also pretty nifty climbers too!

Diet is like Leopards, approx 80% grasses, the rest weeds, they love plaintains. No fruit at all.

[sammkins]

Originally Posted by Laraine

Hi, we keep our Dana on top soil, with a section that is filled with Readigrass. Readigrass is a chopped dried grass, available in HUGE bale bags from your local stables / horsefeed store. They will also eat the readigrass as they get bigger. I think Sarah also sells smaller bags in the SW shop

Make sure there are places to hide, water all the time and daily baths. Sullys can produce 'projectile' urates if worried or stressed, so be careful! The wall of our downstairs bathroom can testify to Dana's first day and bath here, as I got her out if the water it shot up the wall!

Do the table as you would for the horsfields, Sullys like to dig down, they are also pretty nifty climbers too!

Diet is like Leopards, approx 80% grasses, the rest weeds, they love plaintains. No fruit at all.

Thanks for all your advice, ive noticed they are good climbers, the thing is they keep falling on their backs even when they try and climb the wall!!

Ive bathed them they enjoyed that and will bath them daily, thanks for telling me about the projectile urates- i would of had a heart attack. They dont seem stressed or worried at all considering what they may of been through.

They all seem very happy little chappies, eating away and investigating.

How do you tell if they are girls or boys? i know they are too young but just wondered if it was same as horsfields (it doesnt look like it is?)

Also should i buy some grasses from the garden centre if so which type cant they have? dont want to give anything poisonous.

Thanks

[Evie]

Originally Posted by joekent

Sorry if this sounds harsh but you should not be gettin sulcatas if you dont know about their care; let alone four of them!!!
They will literally need an acre of land in 5 years time and will eat you out of house and home!

Joe I think sometimes as much as we do research things there is nothing like receiving advice from people first hand. Especially when the internet can not always be trusted to supply the right info.

I had my first Leopard tortoise over 3 years ago now as a present - I hadn't got a clue - didn't even know he was a leopard at the time - thankfully I had people point me in the right direction for advice and I found out so much more from joining a couple of forums.

I am grateful to those who have helped me through and have even been known to give out advice myself !!!!

[Paulg1]

Good clean soil, timmothy hay, cypris mulch, peat moss, all good subs to use. Just keep away from sand or anything that can be eaten that shouldn't be.