Can 18 month old (small) sulcata live full-time in outside terrarium?

[Benjaming29]

Hello guys, first post. I have a baby (or juvie?), about 18 months old who is about 4.5 inches from front to back and decently heavy. Not sure about exact weight but I will find out soon.

I built him/her a 4'x8' outside play pen/terrarium with front acrylic viewing panels and screen tops out of wood but now I want him/her to live in it full time. His/her inside tank is way too small. It's only 2'x2' on a pedestal. I unfortunately have no room in my house for a bigger inside tank.

I know babies aren't supposed to be kept outside full-time but I am in the process of building a heated night box like the one Tom posted and am wondering if with that, can he/she live full-time in the outside terrarium?

Thanks for all your help!

 

[wellington]

No, it could get to hot. You can't control the sun heating it up. Babies get over heated easily. Besides a 4x8 won't last him long.

 

[Benjaming29]

Thanks for the reply! How does everyone give the babies the space they need indoors? It's a lot of space lol

 

[Tom]

Thanks for the reply! How does everyone give the babies the space they need indoors? It's a lot of space lol

They should not live outside full time until they are at least 8-10 inches, but the longer you keep them inside, the better. Putting them outside full time when too small will cause pyramiding and slow their growth tremendously. I've done side-by-side comparisons with dozens of clutch mates of several species to come to this conclusion. The heated night boxes work great for housing them here in CA when they are large enough to live outside full time.

What does everyone do? There are infinite answers to this question, but everyone runs into this issue with this species, and all the other large species too. What you should be asking is: What should everyone be doing? What everyone should be doing is meeting the needs of their chosen species. If you don't have the space, money, or inclination to give them what they need, then you have chosen poorly, and you need think more carefully about what species to acquire in the future that will fit into your allotted space requirements. There are many wonderful reptile pets that could live in a 2x2 foot space, but the third largest tortoise species in the world is not one of them. You need to figure out how to make more space for your tortoise. In a large warm humid closed chamber, your tortoise will probably grow large enough to move outside full time in June or 2025. Soak frequently and feed it original Mazuri twice a week, and it should be plenty big this time next year. You just need to use up some inconvenient space in your house for a few more months over winter. You can use a 4x8 planter box with a greenhouse tent over it if you want to save money. If you want it to look nice and function superbly, get one of Mark's Smart Enclosures. You can use the outdoor enclosure a few hours a day in nice weather, but your baby will fare much better if kept mostly indoors.

 

[Benjaming29]

Thanks Tom!

 

[Benjaming29]

@ Tom @ wellington

Hey guys could this terrarium work outside full-time if I swap the acrylic for wood and seal the top? I ran misters into it to keep up humidity. As for the sun heating it up, would a sort of sun shade above the tank help? Or even a blanket or something to bear brunt of the heat? Let me know what you think. Thanks!

 

[Benjaming29]

And thank you wellington for the advice about the sun. I ran some temp tests today and the acrylic panels seem to magnify the sun. It got up to 119° in there!

 

[Benjaming29]

I really hope I don't have to abandon this terrarium all together. I worked very hard to build it :/

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

@ Tom @ wellington

Hey guys could this terrarium work outside full-time if I swap the acrylic for wood and seal the top? I ran misters into it to keep up humidity. As for the sun heating it up, would a sort of sun shade above the tank help? Or even a blanket or something to bear brunt of the heat? Let me know what you think. Thanks!

Hi! Just wanted to add that I think you will still run into the over heating problem in there, and it’s not recommended to have misters in enclosures, they can make the air too wet causing respiratory problems, I think this will work as an outdoor run for them to spend a few hours in providing it’s not too hot outside, you can definitely pop some sort of sun shade over top to help that. Once your baby is ready to be outdoors full time they’ll need a much bigger outdoor space, but this could work as their run whilst they’re still smaller🙂

 

[Benjaming29]

Thanks for the reply! Does misting the substrate to keep up humidity also cause respiratory issues? If so, how do I raise humidity without spraying?

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

Thanks for the reply! Does misting the substrate to keep up humidity also cause respiratory issues? If so, how do I raise humidity without spraying?

Giving a spray is fine as long as you don’t over do it🙂 but to maintain humidity in a closed chamber for longer, it’s recommended to pour lukewarm water into the corners of your substrate to get the under layer nice and damp, not too wet of course, but provided the bottom layers are kept nice and moist, that will help the levels hold👍

 

[Benjaming29]

Ok that makes sense. Like when I change his coconut coir and the humidity stays high for a long time since all the substrate is kind of wet. Thank you!

 

[Benjaming29]

What if I move the enclosure inside the garage?

 

[Tom]

What if I move the enclosure inside the garage?

Depends on the temperature inside the garage. Hot hot does it get inside the garage during one of our summer heat waves? How cold does it get on the coldest of cold winter nights?

With a proper closed chamber made of 1/2 PVC material, it can be done. With a wooden enclosure, you will need to insulate it well. It will essentially be a large night box for an adult, but with a viewing window.

I really hope I don't have to abandon this terrarium all together. I worked very hard to build it :/

You don't have to abandon it. Just move it inside.