Welcome to TFO, The pen is nice, it is definatly a family bonding experience. Being in AZ or anywhere for that matter, you are going to want to put a screened top on that enclosure, birds, wild/domestic animals will all get in there. Depending on how you placed it, you could put a piece of sunscreen on one side for some shade. As for plants a good list to start with would be http://www.russiantortoise.org/edible_plants.htm they have a large list, I was at Lowes yesterday and we added 2 hibiscus, 2 grape vines, 2 pansies, and a rose bush, so they have quite a bit you can choose from that is on the list. As for water you might want 2 dishes if you are using plant saucers as the AZ sun dries those water dishes up fast. I don't know how big your little guy is, but you might consider using a paint pan for the water if he is big enough. You can get a seed blend of different grasses from http://www.turtlecafe.com they also sell weed seeds. As for getting him to eat hay/grasses, when you feed him chop up his food really small or send it through the food processor, then cut or grind the hay in a coffee bean grinder and mix it up with his food. I have a baby sully that doesn't eat hay and I mix it with her spring mix, weeds and mazuri and she chows. Good Luck with your little guy!!

In the real world, sulcatas dig a burrow that goes halfway to China. Down in the burrow, the environment is humid. They poop and pee in there and that makes it more humid. So if you place the hiding place on a bit of dry ground, not on the grassy or flower area, where it doesn't get watered, it will be fine. The new school of thought is that lack of humidity is one of the causes for a sulcata's shell to pyramid, so a little humidity is good.

I buy my hay already cut up small. I wet the greens, put it on the feeding tile then sprinkle the hay over the top. The hay sticks to the wet greens and the tortoise eats it as he eats the greens. You don't have to give him so much hay that it drowns out the smell and taste of the greens. Just a sprinkling over the top.

Yvonne

Yertle, welcome to the forum and to Chips.

I agree about the width of the enclosure- built it so it can expand. I'm going to double the width in a few weeks. In the meantime I posted updated pics under the enclosure category. Thank you so much for all the help!