I usually attach my hinges to the front of the box instead of the inside floor of the box, but I think what you did will work just fine. I never make the doors airtight.
Double Door Night Box
- Thread starter Tom
- Start date
Inside my sulcata's shelter was always around 80-85°F.
What size and species of tortoise are we talking about?
Basking temperature for any species should be no more than 95-100 at shell height.
Basking and overhead heat lamps don't work for larger tortoises. You'll burn the top of the carapace. For a sulcata, I like the inside of the box to be around 80 in warmer weather and I bump it up to 86 in our winters when its sunny most of the time and daytime highs are usually in the 70s, which is cool for a sulcata.
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Male sulcata. He is a rescue I've only had him a month. He is 23lbs about 15 years old
I have the oil heater, during the night have it currently set to turn on at 70 and off at 75. During the day on at 80 and off at 85. Should bring him inside when the daytime temps drop below 70? Thank you!
70 is much too cool. It should never drop below 80 for a sulcata at any time day or night. You can get away with 70s during the day if it is sunny and the tortoise can bask in the sun to warm up.
At 15 years old he should be over 123 pounds, so something has been very wrong for his whole life. Temperatures are the likely culprit.
Bringing him "inside" does no good unless inside is around 50x50 feet with an ambient of 80+ on the floor, and somewhere to warm up well above that temp into the 90s. This species needs hot temperatures year round and they need huge spaces. Giant tortoises require giant enclosures. There is really no practical way to keep this species in your climate. They need to live in warm climates where that can walk around outside in huge pens in warm weather year round.
At 15 years old he should be over 123 pounds, so something has been very wrong for his whole life. Temperatures are the likely culprit.
Bringing him "inside" does no good unless inside is around 50x50 feet with an ambient of 80+ on the floor, and somewhere to warm up well above that temp into the 90s. This species needs hot temperatures year round and they need huge spaces. Giant tortoises require giant enclosures. There is really no practical way to keep this species in your climate. They need to live in warm climates where that can walk around outside in huge pens in warm weather year round.
Thanks Tom. I am currently fostering him for a turtle rescue, but I was hoping to adopt him. I realize now that's not what's best for him. I couldn't provide him with enough space when he's inside. I do want to make his time here the best it can be.
If anyone knows of a sanctuary that is currently taking male sulcatas please let me know. I am willing to bring him where he needs to go.
The_Four_Toed_Edward
Well-Known Member
Check out Joshua Tree Reptile Haven run by a forum member @EppsDynasty
Thank you! I will!
Xxlilcasonxx
New Member
Hey there! I live in Phoenix, AZ where average low can be between 45-60F and average high can be between 105-115F and occasionally higher. I want to build my buddy a box that keeps him warm at night, but also cooler in the summer.. what are your suggestions for help it stay cooler during the summer? I’m worried about his box getting too hot? He is in an area w/ about 80% shade but against the brick wallI make these little portals over my doors to keep rain ou on the rare occasion that we get rain here:
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Here is the inside front and side all framed up and with insulation in place. Next I run a silicone bead put the walls up and screw them to the framing all around:
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Here the sides, front and back are all sealed and buttoned up. I've added the little walled area that will keep the torts from touching the heater and you can see the removable divider in the middle. Next summer I plan to mix the males and females. When that finally happens I will probably remove the divider and let them all move back and forth between the pens as needed. This will give me the option of separating the male if he becomes too aggressive, and I can also close one door, remove the divider and make them all live on one side while I grow stuff to graze on one side or the other. Options. This box gives me lots of options.
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I hate power cords sitting out exposed. They get weathered, tripped on, and I don't want the torts to have access to them.
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Here is what I came up with for this situation. I ran the cord through this pipe into the ground and buried the remainder.
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Same thing on the side where it plugs in:
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Here it is all done and plugged in. No cord!:
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One more post and we will be done...
Seal and insulate the box to keep heat in in winter, and keep heat out in summer.
Then, shade the box as much as you can. I buy 10x10 EZ Up style canopies and ties them down securely over the boxes in summer.
If we are talking about a sulcata or a desert tortoise, it is best to encourage them to dig and use their own burrow from June-ish until late October-ish, depending on the weather. Then close off the burrow, and make them use the insulated house over the cooler months. There is just ow way to keep a box cool when day time highs are over 100 and night time lows only drop into the 80s or 90s. We get over 100 here nearly every day in summer, but we cool down in to the 60s almost every night in summer too. My boxes stay in the high 80s or low 90s in those circumstances. Without the night time cool down, the average temperature in your box will be too high. Underground is how they escape the heat in the wild, and it's what works in captivity too. Or you can run AC into the box somehow or other.
Xxlilcasonxx
New Member
It’s a leopard tortoise so he doesn’t dig. I could figure out how to dig a burrow for him to go into during the summer nights so he’s more under ground? He’s been living outside for the last two years while I was away but now that I’m back I want to get a better set up for him. My mom dug him a makeshift burrow/brick house that’s in the shade and has been spraying it down daily in the summer and he's survived just fine, then during the winter months we have a box on our porch that’s heated for him but it’s only like a 3x5 and he doesn’t have a way in and out of it himself. I don’t like keeping him confined that much.
Our back yard is mostly rock but there’s lots of plants he can eat and he forages on his own just fine. I’ve cleared out rock in a 10x10 and am planning on doing a little tort house and all kinds of plants. Possibly a little pool too
Our back yard is mostly rock but there’s lots of plants he can eat and he forages on his own just fine. I’ve cleared out rock in a 10x10 and am planning on doing a little tort house and all kinds of plants. Possibly a little pool too
Leopards tend to do well in your climate. And they tend to like shallow pools too.
A sunken lair might help, along with misters, sprinklers and lots of shade to get through summer. The heated and insulated box will help keep him warm enough on cooler nights there, and during those occasional winter cool spells.
Xxlilcasonxx
New Member
Thank you for your wisdom!
JusJoshinYa
New Member
I've studied this thread quite a bit and want to make sure I understand...
The oil filled radiator heater serves as the heating element for this whole box and is connected to the Zilla thermostat, correct? From what I can tell from photos, it's different from a single box that has the Mat and Radiant Heat Panel.
Does your thermostat have a temperature probe? I want to try to use what I already have so I am wondering where I would place the probe in mine.
All correct, and yes, the thermostats all have a probe. The probe should be placed away from the heating elements and high enough up to be out of tortoise reach so they don't get tangled in it or rip it out. This will ensure that the heat remains on until the coolest part of the box farthest from the heater is the correct temperature.
Another note is that a couple of years after that thread, Zilla stopped making those thermostats. Most of us just buy whatever we can find on Amazon. BN Link, Inkbird, and several other unknown brands are commonly offered for sale. Most of them seem to work just fine, but be sure to get one rated for at least 1000 watts, even though you won't be using that much power. Many of them are rated to 1200 watts, and that works too.
JusJoshinYa
New Member
Thank you!
jay.z
New Member
@jay.z The mini radiant oil heaters can work in a 4x4 foot box, but you have to take up a fair amount of your floor space with the heater and the little wall around the heater. For a lager species, like a sulcata, I prefer to keep as much floor space as possible. 2-3 inches of clearance is enough, and I screw the feet of the heater down so that it can't move closer to the wood, or get moved closer to the wood by a big tortoise.
My preferred method of heating a 4x4x2 foot box is shown here:
tortoiseforum.org
My preferred method of heating a 4x4x2 foot box is shown here:
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
