Guide on building an outdoor house for adult sulcata in Arizona

[TKoz]

My wife and I have a 4 year old, about 45lbs Sulcata named Mikey. We live in southern Arizona. We want to either buy or build a house/shed for him for the winter time. He currently has the entire backyard for roaming around. We had a previous plastic shed last year, but it recently burned down.
Should we do a wooden or metal shed?
Anyone have step by step guides on building a house/shed for him? Pictures/videos would be excellent. We are looking to do something around 4”x4”x6” (smallest size we consider) or bigger. Any and all help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[wellington]

Look for Toms night box threads. That's what you need. Made from wood, insulated and heat ready for those few cold nights you have.

 

[wellington]

Thread 'ANOTHER Night Box Thread...' https://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/another-night-box-thread.88966/

 

[Tom]

My wife and I have a 4 year old, about 45lbs Sulcata named Mikey. We live in southern Arizona. We want to either buy or build a house/shed for him for the winter time. He currently has the entire backyard for roaming around. We had a previous plastic shed last year, but it recently burned down.
Should we do a wooden or metal shed?
Anyone have step by step guides on building a house/shed for him? Pictures/videos would be excellent. We are looking to do something around 4”x4”x6” (smallest size we consider) or bigger. Any and all help would be greatly appreciated.

You should encourage the tortoise to dig and use a burrow from about June through October. Then in fall, block off the burrow entrance with a sheet of plywood, and make the tortoise start using its heated shelter for the cooler months.

Here is the requested info:

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

Here is the 4x8 rendering of Tom's Night Box. With Exploded view.

This is a rendering I did based off of @Tom 's heated night box enclosure. Its probably not a 100% accurate. Door is offset to one side for my personal needs but can easily be moved. Let me know if you see any issues with it. Feed back appreciated. High res renderings can be downloaded here...

tortoiseforum.org

What You'll Need to Build A Night Box

I just typed up a list of the needed supplies to build a night box and thought I'd copy paste it here: For sulcatas, I make the doors 26x16". This will fit all but the largest of large males for their entire life. If you end up with one of the giants, you will eventually have to make another...

tortoiseforum.org

 

[TKoz]

Updated size: 4ft x 6ft x 6ft. Would be the smallest size we’d consider.

 

[Tom]

Updated size: 4ft x 6ft x 6ft. Would be the smallest size we’d consider.

It makes no sense to build a 72 inch tall structure to heat to 80 degrees on a 30 degree night when the tortoise only occupies the bottom 16 inches. You can do it, but you will spend exponentially more trying to keep the floor warm enough while all the heat is rising into your tall ceiling.

 

[TKoz]

It makes no sense to build a 72 inch tall structure to heat to 80 degrees on a 30 degree night when the tortoise only occupies the bottom 16 inches. You can do it, but you will spend exponentially more trying to keep the floor warm enough while all the heat is rising into your tall ceiling.

Yeah that makes sense. Just want something I can easily get into. So maybe like 36-48 inches tall

 

[TKoz]

It will be a structure he can get in anytime of the day, any time of the year. Will only have the heat sources on during the colder months.

 

[vladimir]

We have a 4W x 8L x 2H night box with the lid on hinges. It's no problem to pop the lid open to clean things up.

This was the design we used as a basis https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/h...g-of-toms-night-box-with-exploded-view.97697/

 

[Tom]

Yeah that makes sense. Just want something I can easily get into. So maybe like 36-48 inches tall

One of our moderators, @Yvonne G , also prefers this style. She claims to not be a spring chicken anymore, and she doesn't like having to bend down or lift a heavy lid, so her sulcata house is an insulated shed. It works for her.

I found it very difficult to get enough heat down low in a taller structure and I was spending a fortune in electricity trying to do it. That is one of the many things that led to the various iterations of the threads on my night boxes that I linked for you.

My 4x4 and 4x8 sulcata boxes are only 21 inches tall inside, and the hinged lids are very easy to lift up and open for cleaning. I just use a rake or flat head shovel while standing in or next to the boxes. Easy peasy.

 

[TKoz]

One of our moderators, @Yvonne G , also prefers this style. She claims to not be a spring chicken anymore, and she doesn't like having to bend down or lift a heavy lid, so her sulcata house is an insulated shed. It works for her.

I found it very difficult to get enough heat down low in a taller structure and I was spending a fortune in electricity trying to do it. That is one of the many things that led to the various iterations of the threads on my night boxes that I linked for you.

My 4x4 and 4x8 sulcata boxes are only 21 inches tall inside, and the hinged lids are very easy to lift up and open for cleaning. I just use a rake or flat head shovel while standing in or next to the boxes. Easy peasy.

Awesome! Thanks Tom! Appreciate all the info. I’m def not trying to spend alot on electricity.

 

[Tom]

Awesome! Thanks Tom! Appreciate all the info. I’m def not trying to spend alot on electricity.

Questions are welcome, and please post pics of the build. We all learn new things and get ideas from what other people come up with.