# how much room for a sulcata tortoise?



## tortoise007 (Apr 4, 2013)

Hello! I am going to get a new tort soon I'm just starting to consider sulcatas! We are moving to a home with a not so large back yard, so I was wondering how big the yard has to be to have an adult sulcata roaming free back there? I live (and still will when we move) in the Phoenix AZ aria. Tempe to be exact


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## Laura (Apr 4, 2013)

Iv'e heard suggested.. 40x40 as a minimum for a adult.


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## tortoise007 (Apr 4, 2013)

I think we will have that much room...


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## andrew45 (Apr 4, 2013)

The room should have the length of 30 feet minimum but more space will be more beneficial. But the space should have maintained temperature for better environment to them.


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## Tom (Apr 4, 2013)

I wish you lived close by so I could give you and your parents a tour of the mayhem and destruction caused by a typical sulcata. I did this recently with another young tortoise forum member and they made the decision to go with something more manageable and practical. I don't wish to discourage you or anyone else, but I do want to try to be realistic and accurate. It is hard to accurately demonstrate what a large sulcata will do to a nice back yard in a few internet sentences. I love the species, but they require a pretty extensive set up.

If you leave him loose, he will likely tear up and chain link and push fence boards right off the frame. They will rub the bark off your trees and the stucco off the side of the house. They will break off hose bibs on PVC pipes and flood the yard. They will drag yard furniture and bulldoze or break anything in their path. Any vegation will be eaten or trampled, leaving nothing but bare dirt. Do a search for "Bob" and "Maggie3fan". You will see what I mean. Normal attempts to fence or wall them in usually fail, and we haven't even begun to discuss the burrowing...

The burrowing: Its hot in Phoenix. Real hot. Africa hot. Sulcatas go under ground to avoid heat. They have a knack for starting their massive holes in the worst possible places, like under the foundation of your house or under the fence line of a block wall. They almost have to get under ground to survive the heat of a Phoenix summer. My small adults dug a 17' deep burrow big enough for me to go all the way down in 3 days. You could leave for school one day and come home and find the tortoise 10 feet UNDER the foundation of your house. Breaking any pipes or electrical wires along the way. Then the problem is you can't get them out. You have to wait for him to come out of the burrow and then prevent him from going back in while you refill it. But the reason he started digging THAT burrow will cause him to dig another one tomorrow. Then when winter comes, its too cold to leave him down there. Gotta get him out, fill it in and give him a heated house for winter. Or you can just leave him down there and he'll probably survive. Most in Phoenix do, but some don't. How'd you like to spend years raising him and then find him dead in his hole after a few cold winter nights? Its a dilemma. In my area, we can give them a box to sleep in at night, and enough bushes and shade to get them through the few 100+ days a year without burrowing. In Phoenix, they almost have to burrow in summer. They will die if they get too hot, just like a person, but with no sweat glands to cool off.

I think 40x40 is satisfactory. Not great , but okay. Bigger would be better. But you'll have to make some sort of solid pen to contain him, an insulated heated night box for him to sleep in, and some way for him to keep cool in summer.

It would be much easier and cheaper if you went with a smaller, less destructive species. Having said all that, sulcatas are awesome. If you and your family don't care about all the thousands that will be spent trying to contain him and meet his needs, and you don't care that a beautifully landscaped backyard is turned into bare dirt, and if you understand the sheer volume of food that they can eat every day, then go for it. Even of you understand it, you better make sure your parents understand it and agree to it all up front too.


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## Team Gomberg (Apr 4, 2013)

Well explained Tom.

Exactly why a Sulcata isn't for me


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## tortoise007 (Apr 4, 2013)

OK then never mind on a sulcata... probably. would you have any suggestions on torts that I could let loose on the backyard?


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## Steve_McQueen (Apr 5, 2013)

Leopards are a lot like Sulcatas, minus the burrowing and general destruction.


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## tortoise007 (Apr 5, 2013)

but don't leopards need a lot of humidity? I guess I could make it more humid with sprinklers and massive underground humid hides. would that work? How much does a baby leopard generally cost?


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## RuthJanice (Apr 5, 2013)

I have a sulcata that I adopted from my neice who had no time for him 30 days later once the "new" facination was over. He is growing an average of 1/2 inch every 4 weeks. This forum has given me the tools to provide a good home for him - I have plenty of yard space that I intend to build an outside enclosure for him when he is old/big enough so he does not destroy my beautiful backyard. I value your experience and knowledge so want to know if it is possible to keep them contained as adults? 


Tom said:


> I wish you lived close by so I could give you and your parents a tour of the mayhem and destruction caused by a typical sulcata. I did this recently with another young tortoise forum member and they made the decision to go with something more manageable and practical. I don't wish to discourage you or anyone else, but I do want to try to be realistic and accurate. It is hard to accurately demonstrate what a large sulcata will do to a nice back yard in a few internet sentences. I love the species, but they require a pretty extensive set up.
> 
> If you leave him loose, he will likely tear up and chain link and push fence boards right off the frame. They will rub the bark off your trees and the stucco off the side of the house. They will break off hose bibs on PVC pipes and flood the yard. They will drag yard furniture and bulldoze or break anything in their path. Any vegation will be eaten or trampled, leaving nothing but bare dirt. Do a search for "Bob" and "Maggie3fan". You will see what I mean. Normal attempts to fence or wall them in usually fail, and we haven't even begun to discuss the burrowing...
> 
> ...


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## Laura (Apr 5, 2013)

take a look at this :

http://turtlerescues.com/sulcata_challenge.htm


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## Shannon and Jason (Apr 5, 2013)

tortoise007 said:


> but don't leopards need a lot of humidity? I guess I could make it more humid with sprinklers and massive underground humid hides. would that work? How much does a baby leopard generally cost?



I myself have a sulcata ( I also have a very large pasture that will become his when he out grows being indoors) they require a lot of huimidity as hatchlings and even as juveniles. A leopard also requires humidity as a hatchling. Cost depends on if you go through a breeder (we have a few on this forum), online, or pet store (don't reccommend)


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## Tom (Apr 5, 2013)

tortoise007 said:


> but don't leopards need a lot of humidity? I guess I could make it more humid with sprinklers and massive underground humid hides. would that work? How much does a baby leopard generally cost?



Leopards are great. As babies they need good hydration and humidity to grow smoothly, but as adults they are fine in the dry air. I start learn hatchlings with just and hour a day of sunshine and the rest of the time on a large indoor closed chamber with warm temps and high humidity. I also soak hatchlings every day. As they grow I leave them outside longer and longer, but they still sleep inside at night. When they get too big to sleep inside at night, they move to an outdoor enclosure with a heated night box.

Leopards usually cost around $100-$150 for a baby.


RuthJanice, yes they can be contained as adults. You just need something opaque and strong enough to hold them. Many ways to accomplish this.


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## tortoise007 (Apr 5, 2013)

Tom, should all my hides be humid hides?

Also, what square footage is required for a redfoot/yellofoot? I can probably provide a little more than 35... With a closed enclosure I could keep the humidity up, but I doubt they could go outside much because it's so dry. Can you keep a redfoot indoor for almost all the time?


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