Pet Information > ASK Experts > Exotic Pets > Turtles > Sulcata and Leopard Tortoise

Sulcata and Leopard Tortoise

22 16:02:40

Question
QUESTION: Hello my family recently purchased a Sulcata Tortoise and plans on purchasing a leopard tortoise in the near future.
Currently our Sulcata hatchling...
Enclosure: 10 gallon tank
Substrate: "Repti Bark"
Heat: Basking light and "night light"
Temperatures: warm 85 cool 70
Water source: shallow dish filled daily w/ tap water
Diet: Chickweed, Romaine, alfalfa hay and various weeds
Soaking: 2-3 times weekly

1. The pet store recommended we use the "repti bark"... is there a better substrate we can use?

2. Regarding the Leopard tortoise what foods, substrate, and enclosure should we use? Similar to the Sulcata?

3.  Can our Sulcata and Leopard tortoises be housed together as hatchlings?

ANSWER: Hi Alexus,

You need to make a few changes to your sulcata enclosure.  First, a 10 gallon tank is much, much too small for any hatchling tortoise.  Tortoises need plenty of room for exercise to stay healthy and will take all the room you can give them.  Tanks are also poor enclosures because the glass makes it very difficult to create a proper temperature gradient.  For a temporary enclosure, go to Lowe's or Home Depot and pick up a large cement mixing tub (2' x 3').  This will do for a while, but keep in mind that sulcata grow very big (up to 200 lbs.) and they grow pretty fast.  Sooner than you think you'll  need to be planning a large outdoor enclosure with heated shed.

Don't use the reptibark.  It creates an unnatural surface and can result in leg abnormalities, and it doesn't allow for natural burrowing.  Instead, use a 50/50 mix of coir (bed-a-beast) and playsand.  Make sure it stays slightly damp to prevent dehydration, which is a prime cause of death in hatchling tortoises.  

You didn't say what you use for a basking lamp, but a good source of UVB is very important.  I recommend using a combination heat/UVB bulb such as the T-Rex Active UVheat or the Zoomed Powersun.  If you need to provide heat at night (if your house drops below about 68 at night), you can use a ceramic heat emitter, but use a thermostat to keep the temperature from getting too high.  Tortoises need a night drop in temperatures.  Your basking temperature (on the substrate directly under the basking bulb) should be 90-95.  85 is too cool (but be sure you're measuring substrate temp and not air temp).  Cool side can be 70-75.

As far as the diet goes, try to get more variety in.  Avoid romaine, as it's pretty low nutritionally and can be addictive.  Turnip, mustard, colllards, kale, spring mix (not too much), as many weeds as you can feed (sow thistle, clover, chicory, mallow, hawkbit, etc.), plus hibiscus, grape leaves, mulberry leaves, and prickly pear cactus are all good.  Drop the alfalfa hay (too high in protein) in favor of orchard grass hay (best) or timothy hay if you can find it pretty fresh.  Oxbow carries a good orchard grass hay.  Hatchlings may not eat much hay, but if you chop it up and mix with damp greens they'll get in the habit of eating it.  Avoid fruit and veggies.  Put a cuttlebone in the enclosure for extra calcium if the tortoise needs it.

A leopard tortoise needs basically the same care, but they don't grow as large as sulcata and won't need quite a big an enclosure as a full-grown sulcata.  *However*, mixing species is not a good idea.  All species carry their own "bugs" and immunities, and leos tend to be a little more delicate than sulcata.  In addition, leos are shy tortoises and can easily be bullied by a sulcata (which will also grow faster).  As your sulcata matures, if it turns out to be male it may be quite aggressive to other tortoises (and dogs and cats), so it's a good idea to plan to house it separately anyway.

A website that will have more information on care is www.africantortoise.com (you can also join the AT yahoo group from the front page of the site).  I would avoid asking a pet store for care information because you usually get pretty poor advice (if they sold you the tank and reptibark, you know what I mean).  I hope they at least gave you a heads up on how big sulcata get!

If you have more questions, or if I can help with anything else, please post back.  Good luck!

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thanks for the help (: but I have a one more questions..

As far as the substrate when you say play sand do mean the kind they sell at Home Depot/Lowes? Or is there a particular kind?

Thanks again I'm trying to do my best with my new tortoises (:

Answer
Hi Alexus,

Yes, playsand from Lowe's or Home Depot.  It comes in 50 lb. bags.  You'll need two coir bricks for the mixing tub enclosure.  Just make sure you *mix* the coir and sand together. Sand on its own can cause impaction and is too dry.

You'll need to water down the substrate every few days to keep it damp.  You can feel with your finger to make sure it's damp through.  The pet store may have told you to keep the substrate completely dry because they're desert tortoises, but in reality conservation of moisture is vital for any desert animal.  In the wild sulcata spend much of their time in underground burrows with higher humidity.  In captivity they aren't usually able to dig those long burrows, so we have to compensate with increased moisture in the enclosure.  If a hatchling becomes too dry/dehydrated (and the basking lamp is very drying), they will become lethargic and not eat.  One way to keep an eye on hydration is to watch the urates (urine).  If they're white and creamy (or clear), hydration is good.  If you start seeing any grittiness, the tortoise is not hydrated enough.

If you'd like a recommendation to a really good leo breeder, post back and set it to *private*.  I'll give you my email and can give you the name of a breeder.