Can I keep my sulcata outside full time?

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Hello I'm moving to south California next month and I will ofc take my torts with me
Can I keep them outside full time? They are almost 3 years old
I would build them a night box with additional heat but I'm worried about humidity...
 

Tortoisefanatic88

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At 3 years old they can stay outside all day. I still bring mine inside at night and have him sleep in a humid night box. He’ll be 4 in April
 

Tom

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Hello I'm moving to south California next month and I will ofc take my torts with me
Can I keep them outside full time? They are almost 3 years old
I would build them a night box with additional heat but I'm worried about humidity...
What size are they and where are you moving to? CA has many different climates Different advice for Riverside vs. Redondo Beach.

Here are night box designs that work well in my area:
https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/another-night-box-thread.88966/
https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/my-best-night-box-design-yet.66867/
 
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Tom

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I'm moving to Lemoore
And They are 9"
Thx for the links :)
In that case, you should be fine with a good night box for them and a large outdoor enclosure. There is nothing we can do about the outside humidity, but you can make the inside of the box humid with water tubs up on shelves.

How many do you have? I only see two in the avatar pic. They should never live as a pair. Here is an easy solution for you:
https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/double-door-night-box.129054/

You will be just a little north of me and south of Yvonne. :)
 
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In that case, you should be fine with a good night box for them and a large outdoor enclosure. There is nothing we can do about the outside humidity, but you can make the inside of the box humid with water tubs up on shelves.

How many do you have? I only see two in the avatar pic. They should never live as a pair. Here is an easy solution for you:
https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/double-door-night-box.129054/

You will be just a little north of me and south of Yvonne. :)
I Got 5 sulcata tortoises all from the same hatch why should they not live in pairs ? I have them currently all inside in a family plastic pool from intex they seem to enjoy that they are together... the breeder I got them from said better to get a little group
 

Tom

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I Got 5 sulcata tortoises all from the same hatch why should they not live in pairs ? I have them currently all inside in a family plastic pool from intex they seem to enjoy that they are together... the breeder I got them from said better to get a little group
Groups of juveniles tend to do fine. Pairs do not. With pairs one will be dominant and one will be the submissive. Both want to get away from the other, but they can't and the low level stress causes many problems. Group dynamics are a completely different thing than pair dynamics. You probably won't run into any trouble until they start getting close to 12 inches and the males start acting like males. That is, if you have one or more males. If you have a group that just happens to be all female, they will probably live together peacefully forever. Males mature much earlier than females, and you'll need to separate young males from each other and from the females. You'll see what I mean soon... :)
 
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Groups of juveniles tend to do fine. Pairs do not. With pairs one will be dominant and one will be the submissive. Both want to get away from the other, but they can't and the low level stress causes many problems. Group dynamics are a completely different thing than pair dynamics. You probably won't run into any trouble until they start getting close to 12 inches and the males start acting like males. That is, if you have one or more males. If you have a group that just happens to be all female, they will probably live together peacefully forever. Males mature much earlier than females, and you'll need to separate young males from each other and from the females. You'll see what I mean soon... :)
Let's say I'm lucky and they get along are 3 acres enough space for 5 full adults? And should I build a smaller outdoor enclosure till they get bigger or can I get them all 3 acres directly?
 

Tom

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Let's say I'm lucky and they get along are 3 acres enough space for 5 full adults? And should I build a smaller outdoor enclosure till they get bigger or can I get them all 3 acres directly?
1 acre is enough space for 30 of them. No one gets that lucky. Have a plan to divide up the yard. You can also make lots of separate areas to grow food for them. Open up areas to let them graze and after they munch it all down, close that area for recovery and open a new area for grazing. If you have enough areas and manage it well, you'll never have to "feed" your tortoises.

I would keep them in a smaller area while they are so little and expand it as they grow. Also best to have multiple heated night houses available so no one gets left out in the cold in case of conflict.
 
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1 acre is enough space for 30 of them. No one gets that lucky. Have a plan to divide up the yard. You can also make lots of separate areas to grow food for them. Open up areas to let them graze and after they munch it all down, close that area for recovery and open a new area for grazing. If you have enough areas and manage it well, you'll never have to "feed" your tortoises.

I would keep them in a smaller area while they are so little and expand it as they grow. Also best to have multiple heated night houses available so no one gets left out in the cold in case of conflict.
Thank u very much for ur answers [emoji1] I'm gonna make a smaller enclosure then first and when they grow increase it to more space thx for the idea with the different areas for lawn maintenance definitely gonna try to let that grass recover but that gonna be in the future but i cant wait to see them fully grown after I set up my new home I maybe will try to rescue some adults since I got that much room anything to watch out for before rescuing adults? Do they need a quarantine time?
 

Tom

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Thank u very much for ur answers [emoji1] I'm gonna make a smaller enclosure then first and when they grow increase it to more space thx for the idea with the different areas for lawn maintenance definitely gonna try to let that grass recover but that gonna be in the future but i cant wait to see them fully grown after I set up my new home I maybe will try to rescue some adults since I got that much room anything to watch out for before rescuing adults? Do they need a quarantine time?
Yes. All new additions need at least 3-6 moths quarantine time.

1 male per enclosure.

If you put males and females together, you will have a new full time job of hatching, raising and selling baby tortoises. I'm not kidding. It will take over your whole life. I recommend against it.
 
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Yes. All new additions need at least 3-6 moths quarantine time.

1 male per enclosure.

If you put males and females together, you will have a new full time job of hatching, raising and selling baby tortoises. I'm not kidding. It will take over your whole life. I recommend against it.
Thank u for ur fast responses definitely gonna make sure to rescue mostly females not gonna try to breed but I guess life finds a way [emoji28]
 

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