Any advice on rescuing a Sulcata?

[Alauren1608]

I am currently considering taking in an 8" Sulcata that is in a dangerous environment. The person I would be getting them from asked if I was interested about 6 months ago, but I declined because we did not have the room to provide the life the tortoise needs. We have always talked about having a Sulcata one day (currently the proud parent of a 3 years old RF) but we wanted to wait until we move in the next 2-4 years (or sooner).

I recently found out the person is desperately trying to rehome the Sulcata now because her husband's dog ate the other two she had! I don't want this baby stuck in that environment and feel like I can provide a better home than s/he currently has. I reached out and told her that I would take the tortoise in and am waiting to hear if she will give us an enclosure or anything. If not, I have a 20g terrarium I can use for the immediate enclosure and work on providing something better.

Is there anything specific I need to know or focus on? What is the best enclosure for an 8" Sulcata (I believe s/he is 3-4 years old)? What should I make sure to have before picking them up?

Any advice/tips would be amazing. I have been doing research for a while so I would know enough when we were ready. I just didn't expect it to be so soon.

(I have 14 pets including exotics - cats, dogs, conure, chinchillas, hedgehog, axolotl, and a redfoot tortoise. So I feel confident we can care for it... We are still considering if we would keep them or rehome them to someone with more space)

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

Hello and welcome! Bless you for wanting to rescue this tortoise! A 40 gallon tank won’t last as a long term solution for an 8” tortoise, but I understand you wanting to get them out of a potentially dangerous situation whilst you set something more appropriate up, you could probably house them in there a week or two, I wouldn’t go into months with that size.

At the age they are, they should definitely be measuring a bit bigger by now, they’re technically at an age most would be ready to be outdoors, but this one still needs to grow a few more inches to be ready for that, in the meantime they’ll be best housed in a closed chamber set up.

I’m going to include some information below on how I’d personally tackle an indoor starter set up for this guy until they’re bigger. Hopefully it helps give you some ideas!

Basking light should be an incandescent floodlight(example attached) on a 12 hour timer.

Basking temperature directly under the floodlight should be 95-100f. The rest of the enclosure should be ranging 80-85, not dropping lower than 80 at night all over.

You may also wish to add ambient lighting on the same timer as the basking light, providing shady areas with hides and such.

If the floodlight isn’t enough to bump up the over enclosure temperature, you could add a CHE(ceramic heat emitter)or two depending on the size you go for, they’re a non light emitting heat bulb that people use to help make heat up/night heat. Again if it’s dropping below the 80’s at night, a CHE is a good idea. Always run any ceramic bulbs on a thermostat, you’ll set the thermostat for around 80, plug the ceramic(s) into the thermostat and plug the thermostat into the mains, it’ll be on 24/7, but the thermostat will only turn on the ceramic(s) if the temperature drops below 80, and will keep them off if the temperature is fine.

Large wide dome fittings do help in projecting the heat down, just make sure to never solely rely on the clamp fittings that can come with them, they can fail, so it’s always best to hang them securely👍

Any indoor Uv should be a t5 fluorescent tube, avoid the compact and coil uv bulbs, they don’t give out enough uv and can hurt the tortoises eyes. The uv can be on a 4 hour timer from noon. I’ve attached the brands to go for, the Arcadia proT5 kit 22% comes with the reflector fitting, the reptisun needs it buying separately.
If you’re able to get them out for a few hours of natural sunlight in a safe and secure run with lots of shade, providing it’s not too hot or too cool, then you may not need to worry about indoor uv.

With lighting always avoid anything labelled halogen or mercury vapour.

For substrates, either coco coir, dampened and packed down by hand as a base, with a layer of orchid(fir not pine) bark or forest floor on top, or just the orchid bark/forest floor. Never use anything with sand mixed in, no top soils and no kinds of moss. The trouble with top soil is you don’t know what kind of plants have gone into it, they could be toxic. Sand and moss are impaction risks.

You want to aim to have the bottom layer of substrate damp, to do this pour lukewarm water into the corners, not loads but enough to dampen the entire bottom layer. To stop that top layer getting too dry/dusty, mix the substrate now n then, which also helps boosting humidity or give the top a spray. Check your monitors and substrate to do the pours as and when needed. I don’t recommend misters or foggers, they get the air too wet and cause respiratory problems.

Humidity for younger growing tortoises benefit when maintained around 80%+, 24/7, you’ll find that difficult to achieve with an open top tank, for the set up I’m recommending I’d get a greenhouse cover.

To maintain humidity whilst the tortoise is younger a greenhouse style set up works well and provides more space, the bigger you go the better, it’s ideal if you can build your own base to go as big as you can for the room you have for now. Try aiming for 8x4 foot or bigger.
Obviously once bigger they are going to need a large secure outdoor space, and can’t be introduced to your red foot ever. I appreciate the fact you’ve added you’ll potentially re home when that time comes, it shows you’re being realistic in wanting the tortoise to get what it needs. But I respect you wanting to get them out of immediate harms way❤️

If you can’t find an exact fit for your base with the cover, then place it over like the one with the white base in the photo, I’d put lining down under the base and cover though to stop condensate getting on your floor. Bear in mind the ones pictured I don’t think are personally big enough to house this tortoise, they’re just to give you an idea.

When making your base, just make sure the material is safe, some use flower beds or just make their own, for both these options I’d line with cheap pond liner to protect the base, making sure the liner goes up the sides too and make sure those sides are deep enough to prevent escapes.

Some people even hang their lighting from the greenhouse frame!(if it feels sturdy enough) Simply wrap the wire round so it’s at the height you need(check with temp gun/put thermostat in, 18-21 inches for the Arcadia uv) then secure with cable ties and chains.

I’ve also included examples of stands people make/buy.

I think for the size you’ll need to go, you may struggle to find a topper, in that case you could maybe throw some pvc covering over the stands if you can’t find one, but again if you do that, I’d put lining down under the base to stop condensate.

For a water dish a large, shallow terracotta saucer big enough for the tortoise to soak in, is considered safest, they have grip in the event your tortoise flips themselves, most pet store options are a known hazard.

Ignore whatever else is in these enclosures in the photos, they’re just to give you an idea, and again these particular ones look to small for the species imo to last long, but hopefully they help inspire an idea👍

I’d also always recommend getting your hands on a temp gun, they’re SO handy when setting up a new environment or for checking your monitors are correct🙂

As this is a closed chamber set up, I’d recommend letting the materials off gas for about a week or until there is no odour

Also no fruit for this fella, their diet is completely different to your red foot👍

Hope some of this helps! I’m going to tag @Tom because he’s more knowledgeable on this species, perhaps he’ll see if I’ve missed anything/ if a different approach is needed.

Wishing you all the best from the uk🥰