# hide box help!



## rollersaurus (Jun 2, 2011)

Hi there! My name is Ashley and I have a 3 month old Sulcata tortoise. I recently added a hide box to his enclosure, but he WILL NOT stay in there! I'm looking for a few tips on how to get him sleeping in there for the night!
Attached are pictures of Emerson, his enclosure, and his temporary hide box (currently a cup, but using it simply to get him used to a hide box!)
Thanks for all your help!


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## dmarcus (Jun 2, 2011)

Hello Ashley, welcome to the forum.. I would sugest getting several different hides and let him decide which on he likes. I had three hides in my hatchling Sulcata's enclosure and he would only go into one of them so i eventually just removed the other 2. Also they seem to like dark places so take that into consideration..He is a nice looking Sulcata...


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## LindaF (Jun 2, 2011)

He might be too cold and that is why he doesn't hide. The glass may also be too narrow and there is no room to dig or turn around. I would suggest something with more room. A flower pot works nicely. Cute little baby!


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## rollersaurus (Jun 2, 2011)

dalano73 said:


> Hello Ashley, welcome to the forum.. I would sugest getting several different hides and let him decide which on he likes. I had three hides in my hatchling Sulcata's enclosure and he would only go into one of them so i eventually just removed the other 2. Also they seem to like dark places so take that into consideration..He is a nice looking Sulcata...




Oooh, good idea! I tried placing him in there twice, he walked out both times then went to his usual corner and dug. I'll try 2 or 3 dark ones. Thank you!





LindaF said:


> He might be too cold and that is why he doesn't hide. The glass may also be too narrow and there is no room to dig or turn around. I would suggest something with more room. A flower pot works nicely. Cute little baby!



He does like to dig and climb, maybe I'll try a flower pot. Does just any kind work, as long as it is big enough?


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## LindaF (Jun 3, 2011)

I also give my tort several hide choices. He has two flower pots - one that is plastic from the dollar store and the other is a ceramic one. He uses them both. Here are some other hides I have - a guinea pig hut, the ever so popular half log, a plant in the corner he can hide behind, and just a simple disposable Glad/Ziploc container with a side cut out and buried. (I'll post a picture later). There are lots of things that can be used. My torts all time favorite hide used to be a cardboard box I had just cut a doorway in for him. We joked he must have thought he was a box turtle because he stayed in it so much.


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## GeoTerraTestudo (Jun 3, 2011)

He's not going to go into that cup because it is a translucent blue and too narrow, and also because there is just bare plastic/glass with no substrate on the bottom. Try a Fluker half log hide, which gives the tortoise cover, but still allows for burrowing underneath.


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## Yvonne G (Jun 3, 2011)

Hi Ashley:

Welcome to the forum!!

Put the hiding place (not see-through, but small and solid) in the corner where he likes to hide. Every night place him inside the hide. He'll eventually get the idea.


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## rollersaurus (Jun 3, 2011)

GeoTerraTestudo said:


> He's not going to go into that cup because it is a translucent blue and too narrow, and also because there is just bare plastic/glass with no substrate on the bottom. Try a Fluker half log hide, which gives the tortoise cover, but still allows for burrowing underneath.



I guess it is just a bad picture, but there is some substrate in the cup, and I also had buried the cup (nearly halfway) into the substrate, but Emerson dug around it...


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## GeoTerraTestudo (Jun 3, 2011)

rollersaurus said:


> GeoTerraTestudo said:
> 
> 
> > He's not going to go into that cup because it is a translucent blue and too narrow, and also because there is just bare plastic/glass with no substrate on the bottom. Try a Fluker half log hide, which gives the tortoise cover, but still allows for burrowing underneath.
> ...



He's still not going to like it, because whatever layer of substrate is in there is going to be thin and sparse. He needs a good couple inches to burrow down into. Also, he probably doesn't like the feeling of being in the cup, because even if you support it on the side, it's still going to roll around a bit, and the bottom of it is hard and concave, rather than flat and supportive. I recommend either putting a Fluka half-log down on a layer of cypress mulch, orchid bark, coconut coir, or some combination (perhaps with some calcium sand mixed in), or else doing the same with a terracotta flowerpot, broken in half and laid open side down.


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## dmarcus (Jun 3, 2011)

This is what Tejas's hide used to look like, and this is just a small plastic flower pot we got from the dollar store, turned in upside down and cut a hole out. He has since gone to a bigger flower pot with a hole cut out..


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## relaxkuma123 (Jun 4, 2011)

My sulcata always sleep in hide box. I think if you put heating source near the hide box and keep it warm always probably your tort will love to stay in the hide box. You can see my enclosure here http://youtu.be/N_l6q-_3QXM


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## ALDABRAMAN (Jun 4, 2011)

Welcome.


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## DixieParadise (Jun 4, 2011)

Welcome, I do a combination of everything that has already been mentioned. Good Luck


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## rollersaurus (Jun 5, 2011)

Thanks everybody! I ran to the pet store and ended up getting a half log, then cut it to fit him perfectly, and I am proud to say HE LOVES IT! He likes digging in there.


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## SILVERSTAR (Jun 5, 2011)

also if you are a builder like me you could do like me and jus build a wood box to fit him perfectly woods cheap.


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## Ryan M (Jun 6, 2011)

welcome, and nice to have another Utah local here. 
I too use the half log and it has worked great.
Glad you got it sorted out.


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## Tom (Jun 6, 2011)

Here's how I like to do it:

http://www.tortoiseforum.org/Thread-Humid-Hide-Boxes-II#axzz1OXDWHfs8


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