Our Aldabras, Bigfoot, Littlefoot and Meatball
- Thread starter Dustin
- Start date
Not sure. It is quite young though, only ~8 years old. They all have 1-2 acres to roam in this enclosure but Yellow and Red spend very little time exploring. When they do we don't have much uneven terrain for them to walk on. There are areas that they can walk amongst dense Palmetto trees to get exercise but they avoid those areas completely.
Perhaps she didn't get enough exercise and grew to fast? Maybe a physical injury somehow? She still gets around well enough most days but it bums me out thinking we might have done something to cause it.
If I saw her at someone elses house I would guess that she was fed to much junk food and was kept in too small of an enclosure but that is far from the truth.
Perhaps she didn't get enough exercise and grew to fast? Maybe a physical injury somehow? She still gets around well enough most days but it bums me out thinking we might have done something to cause it.
If I saw her at someone elses house I would guess that she was fed to much junk food and was kept in too small of an enclosure but that is far from the truth.
Your farm looks like paradise for them
Are some of those tortoises pictured Galapagos Tortoises? The cat on top of Red gives a great idea of her size.
Yes, we only have three Aldabras but there are many Galapagos Tortoises in this yard. The Aldabras are in our "Main Yard" which is divided into a winter yard and a summer yard. We have two other yards that contain only Galapagos tortoises and a third one far from the others for our Radiated tortoises.
Here is a panoramic shot of the main yard. On the far left is the night house. The tortoises grew more than expected this year and we needed some temporary housing really quickly so we converted a horse trailer to a night house. Also on the left is a 16 x 64 isolation area with its own night house. I should have cleaned before I took the pictures.
Horse trailer turned night house. . .
This is an overall view of the summer yard. There are a ton of Palmettos in here and it is difficult to find the torotises if they decide to sleep in them on a cold night. We keep them locked out of this area if we will have temperatures below 55 degrees which is our cut off for letting them sleep outside. When they have access to this area it about doubles the size of their yard.
The Palmettos create quite the obstacle course for the torotoises and they do provide some exercise. They generally avoid them though unless its Palmetto Berry season which they are quite fond of.
The light bulb in the cartoon thought bubble over my head just went on with that trailer picture!!!
I've been wracking my brain for months trying to figure out more housing and larger housing for my growing herd. Tuff Sheds are stupid expensive and would take another $2000 or more to insulate and finish the inside, plus I'm limited to only 10x11 feet without permits and inspections. I was thinking of building my own house from scratch, but there are too many gaps in my knowledge of how to build. Paying someone else to build costs too much, and no one seems to be able to answer my questions about what foundation would be best, or how to do the roof.
I could easily buy a cheap used horse trailer that someone is trying to get rid of and then insulate and close up the inside. I could park several of them side-by-side in case maturing males start to get territorial about the night house. Then they would be relatively easy to unplug, hitch up, and drive away in the event of a fire or other emergency. Built in shade. Rats can't chew in. Safe from all predators and pests.
Oh man. I really like this idea!
I've been wracking my brain for months trying to figure out more housing and larger housing for my growing herd. Tuff Sheds are stupid expensive and would take another $2000 or more to insulate and finish the inside, plus I'm limited to only 10x11 feet without permits and inspections. I was thinking of building my own house from scratch, but there are too many gaps in my knowledge of how to build. Paying someone else to build costs too much, and no one seems to be able to answer my questions about what foundation would be best, or how to do the roof.
I could easily buy a cheap used horse trailer that someone is trying to get rid of and then insulate and close up the inside. I could park several of them side-by-side in case maturing males start to get territorial about the night house. Then they would be relatively easy to unplug, hitch up, and drive away in the event of a fire or other emergency. Built in shade. Rats can't chew in. Safe from all predators and pests.
Oh man. I really like this idea!
This would be very handy in a fire prone area, maybe even necessary?? It is hard to heat though. This trailer has an inner and outer aluminum skin but there is no insulation between the layers and the windows leak pretty bad. With a Kane heat mat and a 1500 watt space heater I can only keep it about 15-20 degrees over ambient. With our extreme cold temperatures this week I am not letting any of the tortoises use it. I have been playing tortoise tetris trying to fit them into the main house without starting a riot inside with the ones who where smart enough to go to bed on their own.
I think a regular utility trailer with a ramp would be a bit easier to insulate and covert but the wood floor would be a constant problem.
Some day I am going to build the perfect tortoise house with heated concrete floors sloped to a center drain. With an automatic door too so I can let them out in the morning without getting out of bed.
I think a regular utility trailer with a ramp would be a bit easier to insulate and covert but the wood floor would be a constant problem.
Some day I am going to build the perfect tortoise house with heated concrete floors sloped to a center drain. With an automatic door too so I can let them out in the morning without getting out of bed.
Dear @Dustin,
I'm glad that they're all doing well and I hope it warms up soon. Do they still fight over the Mazuri? If I ever win the lottery I would buy a farm like yours.
Natrah
I would build insulated walls, floor and ceiling inside the trailer. I'd drop the ceiling down to around 6 feet too. No windows. Essentially a tortoise box built inside a horse trailer.
I hope it warms up soon too. We are supposed to get down into the 20s this weekend. It is really going to put our heating systems to the test!
Here is a funny picture from this morning. They were quite anxious to leave the house. Nibbles decided to take a shortcut over the top of everyone. I need to get their taller house built this summer, its only a matter of time before they start getting tangled up in the all the cords from the thermostats, sensors and heat panels if they are going to climb on top of each other like this.
Our newer houses are tall enough for a person to walk in, I would never build another like this...
I'm copying in @zolasmum, @MoggyMad, @The_Four_Toed_Edward, @Chefdenoel10, @Cathie G, @Lyn W, @jeff kushner and @Ray--Opo
Most of the tortoises know that water is available in this pipe after a light rain. It is a redirected
downspout from the rain gutters on our house.
That is Red and the pipe is 4" SDR for size reference.
downspout from the rain gutters on our house.
That is Red and the pipe is 4" SDR for size reference.
Thanks to @Alice Sulcatia I have watched this video again and it's hilarious. Now if @Ray--Opo was to post the videos about Ms Sully, Opo and the lawnmower man or Opo trying to get at Ms Sully we will all be in stitches!I've just watched this again. It's so funny. Note the dog is desperate to get his friend back and his friend is very indignant about being brought back in a wheelbarrow
Natrah
There is nothing like Sulcata shenanigans! They are the best!
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