# Sulcata UK outdoors



## Kane UK (Mar 29, 2016)

First of all I'm new so hello everybody. I have a year old sulcata who's coming in at 750g and has been very healthy since I've had him/her. I've just bought my first house which has a large garden I know sulcata in the UK is frowned upon according to other forums but I'm willing to put in the work. Is he/she old enough to live outdoors if the enclosure is heated and kept at the right humidity if so what are the best/most efficient ways of heating an outdoor enclosure. Currently I have Che's on a thermostat with mvb for daytime(indoor enclosure) will appreciate any replies cheers.


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## Lyn W (Mar 29, 2016)

Hi and welcome.
I have a leopard which needs similar conditions, and I don't let him out unless the ground temps are at least 70'F.
He is about 4 years old and 11 inches long and almost 8 lbs in weight. He has his own room in the house. Your sully may be a little too young yet, but other sully keepers will advise you on that.
With our UK temps I would be too worried for him to live outdoors full time even in the summer unless he had a fully insulated and constantly heated shed.
Have a look at the Enclosures thread for ideas.


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## NDevon (Mar 29, 2016)

Welcome to the forum. On some forums everything is frowned upon, I got told that keeping any tortoise at all in any form in any sort of housing in the UK was wrong, so I came here for real advice away from all the angry people!

I don't know about Sulcatas specifically but people keep many different tortoises outside in the UK, they have warm hides and enclosures for them and if the weather is bad they may need to come indoors unless you have heated sheds etc. Anything is possible, it's great for a tortoise to be able to enjoy your large garden, and let's be honest how is it going to be fair to keep a Sulcata inside a house for its entire life? Not practical or kind.

People will be along soon with great advice, it will all be down to making sure you have a warm enough enclosure for them to be safe and secure in and obviously making sure the garden is Sulcata proof and a safe environment. 

What part of the U.K are you in? Shetland Isles compared to Cornwall will make a big difference in how much extra work you have to put in!


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## Kane UK (Mar 29, 2016)

Lyn W said:


> Hi and welcome.
> I have a leopard which needs similar conditions, and I don't let him out unless the ground temps are at least 70'F.
> He is about 4 years old and 11 inches long and almost 8 lbs in weight. He has his own room in the house. Your sully may be a little too young yet, but other sully keepers will advise you on that.
> With our UK temps I would be too worried for him to live outdoors full time even in the summer unless he had a fully insulated and constantly heated shed.
> Have a look at the Enclosures thread for ideas.




I was thinking a heated shed. I'd rather the expense of heating a lot outdoor area than having a messy room. If it was a shed I presume it doesn't need to be very high and can by insulated alot to keep the warm. Thanks


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## Kane UK (Mar 29, 2016)

NDevon said:


> Welcome to the forum. On some forums everything is frowned upon, I got told that keeping any tortoise at all in any form in any sort of housing in the UK was wrong, so I came here for real advice away from all the angry people!
> 
> I don't know about Sulcatas specifically but people keep many different tortoises outside in the UK, they have warm hides and enclosures for them and if the weather is bad they may need to come indoors unless you have heated sheds etc. Anything is possible, it's great for a tortoise to be able to enjoy your large garden, and let's be honest how is it going to be fair to keep a Sulcata inside a house for its entire life? Not practical or kind.
> 
> ...



Hi there thanks for the reply. I'm in suffolk about an hour north of London so we don't get the torrential rain or storms, but of course it does get down to 0 degrees C sometimes. I'd let the tortoise have the run on garden when I'm there and his own area when I'm not (rarely).


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## NDevon (Mar 29, 2016)

He may well need to be bigger before he could move out but if you had a shed with the right environment I don't see how that's different to being indoors. The danger is getting cold, he won't necessarily do the sensible thing if he's cold and go into the warm, he may just go to sleep. I've seen people have a shed within a shed almost, so you have a good size shed which is obviously warmer than being outside and it's weatherproof, and then you build a smaller enclosure within where you can control temperature, humidity, lighting etc. It will be a lot more efficient to hear this smaller enclosure than the larger shed. 

I can't tell you what temperatures your little buddy needs, someone else will have to help you with that.

Anything is possible, just be prepared to spend money setting it up then money and time looking after him


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## Kane UK (Mar 29, 2016)

NDevon said:


> He may well need to be bigger before he could move out but if you had a shed with the right environment I don't see how that's different to being indoors. The danger is getting cold, he won't necessarily do the sensible thing if he's cold and go into the warm, he may just go to sleep. I've seen people have a shed within a shed almost, so you have a good size shed which is obviously warmer than being outside and it's weatherproof, and then you build a smaller enclosure within where you can control temperature, humidity, lighting etc. It will be a lot more efficient to hear this smaller enclosure than the larger shed.
> 
> I can't tell you what temperatures your little buddy needs, someone else will have to help you with that.
> 
> Anything is possible, just be prepared to spend money setting it up then money and time looking after him




Yeah the money is in setting it up right the better I do it first the better it'll be at holding heat


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## Lyn W (Mar 30, 2016)

Obviously apart from the correct temps, sullies also need a huge amount of floor space. Tom has a design for a great heated night box somewhere on the forum which you could put in large heated shed to ensure he has space to roam out of the box during the winter or cold, wet summer days - try doing a search to see if you can find it.


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## Lyn W (Mar 30, 2016)

Here's Tom's very widely copied design
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/my-best-night-box-design-yet.66867/


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## Kane UK (Mar 31, 2016)

Lyn W said:


> Here's Tom's very widely copied design
> http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/my-best-night-box-design-yet.66867/


 
He will need that in a heated shed though right? Thanks for the help


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## Yvonne G (Mar 31, 2016)

I have my heated night box inside a greenhouse. Even on the coldest days, if the sun is shining, the greenhouse is warm enough for tortoises without it being externally heated:


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## Lyn W (Mar 31, 2016)

Kane UK said:


> He will need that in a heated shed though right? Thanks for the help


In our mainly cold and soggy UK climate it would just be somewhere warm and dry to give him space to roam out of the box during the days he can't go outside. Also can't remember if uvb source was in the box or not. Maybe too low for hanging mvb but tube may be OK. 
I like Yvonne's greenhouse idea but with our temps sinking down to minus degrees it may need heat. Possibly something on a thermostat so that it only came on as needed and of course uvb is weakend through glass. Lots to consider but plenty of good ideas to adapt.


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