Getting a BIG tortoise
- Thread starter solstitialis
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solstitialis said:
I have no advice for you as I'm a new Sulcata owner myself. But you sure are in the right place for help. Scan and read thru the other threads here. You'll find a ton of info and tips on how to do things.
Welcome to the board and your new sully is a handsome boy.
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- Mar 19, 2009
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I have 4 sulcata. Biggest is only 50lbs. We have fast growing grass and weeds and yard that isn't really big - but offers lots to eat and areas to explore. I haven't had to get hay yet, but if we get an extended cold snap + snow cover, I'll have to break out the mazuri and feed some of the hay I have for my farm animals.
A good solid fence, good gate that latches well (I have a board blocking the lower part of the gate so the tort can't get out, even if the gate is left open by the kids...), water dish, grass, weeds, hay, and a tort shed is all you need.
Where do you live? I think you said either California or Arizona? If so, make sure there is a cool area available - shade, burrow, insulated shed that does not get over heated from the sun, etc. A nice mud wallow may be appreciated on really hot days as well.
For water, go to a home improvement center (lowes, Home depot, etc) and ask for water heater pans. They usually come in plastic or aluminum. I have aluminum, but think a very strong plastic may be better. They are only a few inches deep and wide enough for a 60+lb tort to soak in. They come in a few sizes, so i'd get the biggest one. Should run less than $20.
And yes, they can and probably will trash your yard. If you are a neat freak and like a perfect lawn, you are in trouble. Tort poop, white urates, possibly digging, eating bare patches, walking paths worked into the grass along fence lines, down spouts knocked off, siding scraped, furnature pushed over, plants moved down, etc etc. Torts are awesome, but they are powerful, determined, and can make a real mess if you are not ready for it...
A good solid fence, good gate that latches well (I have a board blocking the lower part of the gate so the tort can't get out, even if the gate is left open by the kids...), water dish, grass, weeds, hay, and a tort shed is all you need.
Where do you live? I think you said either California or Arizona? If so, make sure there is a cool area available - shade, burrow, insulated shed that does not get over heated from the sun, etc. A nice mud wallow may be appreciated on really hot days as well.
For water, go to a home improvement center (lowes, Home depot, etc) and ask for water heater pans. They usually come in plastic or aluminum. I have aluminum, but think a very strong plastic may be better. They are only a few inches deep and wide enough for a 60+lb tort to soak in. They come in a few sizes, so i'd get the biggest one. Should run less than $20.
And yes, they can and probably will trash your yard. If you are a neat freak and like a perfect lawn, you are in trouble. Tort poop, white urates, possibly digging, eating bare patches, walking paths worked into the grass along fence lines, down spouts knocked off, siding scraped, furnature pushed over, plants moved down, etc etc. Torts are awesome, but they are powerful, determined, and can make a real mess if you are not ready for it...
emysemys said:Thanks for the picture! Be prepared for an unhappy tortoise for a couple or three weeks. They get pretty set in their ways and are not happy to be moved to a new place. He might go off his feed and march the perimeter of the yard for a while. I call this "pouting." But when he gets used to his new area and realizes he's got food and water, he'll settle down and behave himself.
I use the top of a garbage dumpster for water.
Wow what a great idea, now where can I find a dumpster...
Call your local garbage company and ask for the manager of the yard where the trash cans are kept. If you can talk to him, ask if you can have the lid off a broken dumpster. Here in Fresno, they just let us go to the yard and take what we want. They have a place where they dump all the broken cans and barrels.
I got plastic garbage can lids at the hardware store.. $1. they were in the bargain bin.. left overs? someone bought the can and forgot the lid??
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