# Outdoor home for adult Sulcata's



## randy (Feb 22, 2012)

I have not gotten a baby yet, however I am concerned on what to house my turtle in when he/she is big enough to be in the back yard. I have read that a 10 x 10 is minimum space to keep an adult in. For winter time to keep warm we have no outside electricity so I was concerned or wanting to know if I could use a large dog house with hay inside to keep warm. I live in Wichita Falls Tx., it does get in the 30's at time during the winter but usually it is in the 40's to 50's, and of coarse can get well above 100 in the Summer time. I really want to have a large turtle, I have the yard to hold one with plenty of grass for foraging but haven't the electricity outside for a heated dog house or room. I am preparing to get my turtle next week and if this is not appropriate then I will have to make other considerations.


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## Laura (Feb 22, 2012)

10x10 can house a adult.. but its Much too small.. my two are in a 60x100.. they dont need that much,, but they do use it!
I read 40x40 when i was researching.. 
cruise the Enlcosure section for ideas. 
if its get down the 30, you will need heat. Extension cords work to get power out to where you need it. 
If you are getting a baby.. you have time to figure it out.. in in the mean time.. figure out how to build a safe enclosed outdoor pen for a youngster.. 
he will need real sunshine to do well.


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## dmarcus (Feb 22, 2012)

I have no outside power in my back yard, so I have to run an extension cord from the front of the house where we have a outside plug to the back of the house. 

My Sulcata has half my back yard, but is sleeping box/house is 4 feet wide 8 feet long so he has it pretty good. His box/house is also insulated but even with that he still need a heat light. I have a CHE and if it gets to cold outside I have two back up lights to ensure the ambient temps stay up.


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## Tom (Feb 22, 2012)

Keeping a tortoise in hay in a dog house will not keep them warm. They do not generate their own heat, so the insulating properties of hay will only slow down their heat loss a little. They will still get too cold over the course of a night. They must have a heated place to retreat to during cold weather and nights. 4x4' is big enough for this, if they have a large area to roam around in the rest of the time.

10x10 is much too small for an adult as an enclosure size. A russian tortoise would do okay with a secure 10x10' enclosure.


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## Arizona Sulcata (Feb 22, 2012)

Agree with the previous comments. You will definitely need lights and a larger space.


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## TotallyTank (Feb 23, 2012)

I agree you will need heat!!!! Tank is 53lbs and goes out when it's nice and warm, but he has an Indoor inclosure of about 5x5, I use a 150 watt basking bulb and a oil heater to make sure he stays warm!!!


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## randy (Feb 23, 2012)

Spoke with my wife last night, I told her that I may not be able to get one cause when it gets older we would need some kind of electrical outlit outside or someway of getting an exstention cord outside to keep the Tortoise warm at night. My wife is no animal lover, which can be hard at times and her reply was "so when do we need to do this?", I told her if I got a hatchling or a yearling probably not for a year. We discussed it and have a few suggestions how we can do this when the time is right, I suppose I jumped the gun a little to much, where there's a will there's a way. Also I can provide all the space that he/she will require in the back yard. THANKS.


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## Arizona Sulcata (Feb 23, 2012)

randy said:


> Spoke with my wife last night, I told her that I may not be able to get one cause when it gets older we would need some kind of electrical outlit outside or someway of getting an exstention cord outside to keep the Tortoise warm at night. My wife is no animal lover, which can be hard at times and her reply was "so when do we need to do this?", I told her if I got a hatchling or a yearling probably not for a year. We discussed it and have a few suggestions how we can do this when the time is right, I suppose I jumped the gun a little to much, where there's a will there's a way. Also I can provide all the space that he/she will require in the back yard. THANKS.



Good luck! I hope everything works out for you!


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## Zamric (Feb 23, 2012)

If you have a Sulcata, hatchling or yearling You'll have PLENTY of time before you need an outside space large enough to house 24/7 (4-5 years maybe) and even in that time (next 4-5 years) your 10'x10' should suffice. Beyound that tho, you will need a larger area and a heated house/bunker to keep it in and protected from the elements and preditors.

WalkingRock was 7 before we had to keep him outside all the time and up till then he had access to the balcony of our apartment (6'x15'). We now have a house with a big backyard just for him and he loves it. I live in Northern Texas (Dallas Metroplex) and the seasons are not to bad but he does hide in his heated bunker when it drops below 40*f.

This DOES NOT mean your little tort doesn't need to be outside on a regular basis just for the natural sunshine, it just means that if you have a 10'x10' area you'll have a few years to plan your next move.... However NOW is the time to start planting natural grass and weeds in your 10'x10' area in preperation of a grazing animal spending more and more time in it.


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## randy (Feb 23, 2012)

Zamric said:


> If you have a Sulcata, hatchling or yearling You'll have PLENTY of time before you need an outside space large enough to house 24/7 (4-5 years maybe) and even in that time (next 4-5 years) your 10'x10' should suffice. Beyound that tho, you will need a larger area and a heated house/bunker to keep it in and protected from the elements and preditors.
> 
> WalkingRock was 7 before we had to keep him outside all the time and up till then he had access to the balcony of our apartment (6'x15'). We now have a house with a big backyard just for him and he loves it. I live in Northern Texas (Dallas Metroplex) and the seasons are not to bad but he does hide in his heated bunker when it drops below 40*f.
> 
> This DOES NOT mean your little tort doesn't need to be outside on a regular basis just for the natural sunshine, it just means that if you have a 10'x10' area you'll have a few years to plan your next move.... However NOW is the time to start planting natural grass and weeds in your 10'x10' area in preperation of a grazing animal spending more and more time in it.



how long can the little ones stay outside grazzing on the grass, protected of coarse by other critters and the suns hot rays.


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## Laura (Feb 23, 2012)

They can stay out all day if they are safe and secure and have plenty of shade as well. 
They need minimum of 30 min in the sun.. 
you can use cinder blocks and build a enclosure and then put some sort of wire top on it to keep birds out, but the sun can still get thru.


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## Zamric (Feb 23, 2012)

as always, the more natural Sun light the better, but as Laura stated, 30 minits is better than none!


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## dmarcus (Feb 23, 2012)

I have a 13 month old sulcata that has lived outside 24/7 for the past 7 months. He has a secure enclosure to enclude a heated house. My 6 year old sulcata lived inside until he was 4.5 years old due to my living situation. SO where there is a will there is a way. 

So if you get a hatchling, you will have plenty of time to figure out the outside heating and enclosure.


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## Tom (Feb 23, 2012)

I only put hatchlings out for an hour or two. Once they are 6 months or so I will have worked up to 4-6 hours. By the time they are 12 months, they are out all day whenever weather permits and sleeping inside at night. Once they get around 10" they move outside permanently with a proper enclosure.

This is my preferred way of doing it, certainly not set in stone. Others use different strategies.


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