Building an Outdoor Enclosure

[geim0]

Hello!
I've raised an African Sulcata for 10 years now. Her name is Willow, she's 10 this year and I need some advice on building an enclosure.
I used to keep her at my old house and she would burrow without a problem, but since I've moved it's been an issue with our water lines.
For reference I live in Phoenix where it's warm year round, usually never below freezing, and our summers reach up to 120°F
Any advice or tips? Thank you.

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

She’s beautiful! Perhaps you’ll find some different ideas in here, if you scroll down, it includes links to make a secure night box for her to sleep, with lots of different boarder and terrain ideas for the outdoors

Enclosure inspiration

Howdy folks! Hope everyone is well! As you all know, I’m a big fan of making threads that cater more towards visual learners like myself, I’ve really been wanting to create a thread full of adult enclosure inspiration for a while now, I’ve managed to find some great references over time! I do...

tortoiseforum.org

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

There’s some dig prof ideas too but hopefully others can weigh in there

 

[The_Four_Toed_Edward]

To you have a insulated shelter? If not, look into the night boxes by @Tom

Single Tortoise Night Box

I like my larger tortoises to live outside full time. My climate permits this year round with a little help. For people who live where it snows all winter, this type of box is still good for warmer weather, getting them out earlier in Spring, and keeping them out a bit later into fall. You'll...

tortoiseforum.org

 

[Tom]

Hello!
I've raised an African Sulcata for 10 years now. Her name is Willow, she's 10 this year and I need some advice on building an enclosure.
I used to keep her at my old house and she would burrow without a problem, but since I've moved it's been an issue with our water lines.
For reference I live in Phoenix where it's warm year round, usually never below freezing, and our summers reach up to 120°F
Any advice or tips? Thank you.

View attachment 390196

Hello and welcome!

Make the enclosure as large as you can, and make sure any plants the tortoise has access to are safe and non toxic.

For most of the year you will need a heated night box. It's not good to have them living outside all year with the cold night temps. Your AZ summer temps are like where they come from year round. There is no "winter" there and ground temps are always 80-85. This is what they need. Here are two examples of what you need to build:

Single Tortoise Night Box

I like my larger tortoises to live outside full time. My climate permits this year round with a little help. For people who live where it snows all winter, this type of box is still good for warmer weather, getting them out earlier in Spring, and keeping them out a bit later into fall. You'll...

tortoiseforum.org

Double Door Night Box

As the years have gone by and I build more of these boxes, I learn more and more each time. This one is the latest and I incorporated everything I've learned over the years. I also tried to take lots of pics so I can explain in more detail some of what is going on. It will take multiple posts to...

tortoiseforum.org

From about June to November, it's best to let them burrow in a climate like yours or mine to escape the scorching surface heat. Get a shovel and start a nice sloped burrow entrance where you want the tortoise to dig. This usually does the trick. You might have to put the tortoise in the hole you've dug a few times to get them to take it over and dig it out. Loose dirt on the bottom of the hole usually helps to encourage them to dig.