Hello, new member with a baby sulcata, looking for critiques or recommendations for its current enclosure

[wellington]

The growth rate depends on a lot of things. How he was started before you got him, how you house and feed him, etc etc. You can guestimate around two years maybe 3 tops.

 

[Tom]

But putting the tortoise outside at the age of 1 or 2, that's not Toms info, not to live 24/7 as the OP was talking.

Yes it is my info. Most of them reach 10 inches in the first year. That general recommendation is based on size, but if all is well, they should reach that size in a year or two easily.

 

[wellington]

Yes it is my info. Most of them reach 10 inches in the first year. That general recommendation is based on size, but if all is well, they should reach that size in a year or two easily.

Yes, we already have it figured out.

 

[Tom]

Hello my name is Mike and we live in Phoenix, AZ. We recently got a baby sulcata in the last month, haven’t settled on a name but possibly tortellini, my daughter has been asking about getting a tortoise for the last year and a half and figured she would forget about it at some point but she never did so here we are now.
I’ve kept Chinese water dragons and a bearded dragon in my youth through my early 20’s, I was an active user on repticzone (doesn’t look like it’s around anymore). So I am dedicated to providing the proper long term care required.
Before getting long winded I’ll preface with this, basically I’m posting because I would like critiques and recommendations for the enclosure specifically on adding foliage or moss, can I use a UVB bulb as a basking lamp because I have a 125w incandescent flood light dimmed down for proper basking temps but dimming it down generates a not nice whining noise. Is it recommended to keep the plastic hide container in the hutch, is it necessary when it’s already an enclosed hutch? I will attach images of everything we’ve got going on.
Setup the cage in advance, looking back I probably should have bought a fully enclosed reptile plastics cage but I wasn’t aware of the humidity requirements at the time so we got an aivituvin tortoise enclosure. I worked with the temps and enclosure sealing to generate 70-90% humidity depending on location. I ended up putting truck bed camper shell weather stripping around the top of the enclosure so the doors have a tight seal, I used some extra kids place mats and cut them to fit on top of the screened lid and taped them down and cut a circle for the basking lamp. We keep our home A/C thermostat between 78-80 depending on the time of day.
I was able to find a dimmable 125w incandescent flood lamp bulb and dimmed it down to generate between 95-100 degrees at the basking spot. The far left back corner of the enclosure has a temp probe and reads around 80-82 consistently. Inside the hutch portion of the enclosure the temp is around 80-82 as well. For a substrate there is a thick layer of zoo med reptibark.
We spray the enclosure twice a day with softened and RO treated water, the tort gets a daily soak for about 30 mins, gets sun time for around an hour 2 times a week early in the AM before the extreme heat of Phoenix starts, trying to avoid greens but haven’t really established and dialed in the diet, bought some mazuri small tortoise diet LS and a natural cuttlefish bone.
So far I think we are going in the right direction.
The tort likes the basking spot, sleeps there and in his hide, has been digging down into a corner in his hide, eats well, likes to move when it’s not napping.
Well if you’ve read this far thank you! And thank you in advanced for any help!

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[Sulcata_AZ]

I felt like posting an update on Torts housing situation.
I had purchased this 4x2x2 enclosure to eventually house a lizard of some kind. Well I’ve just been looking at it empty and sitting there with all this space and felt that it was unfair to tort. So for the time being it’s the tortoises home until I finish his larger fully enclosed tank in about 2 months.
I have the Arcadia 75w flood bulb for heat and lighting, I have a zoomed 100w ceramic heating element on a thermostat controlled power strip set for 80 degrees. I’ve had it setup for about 2-3days monitoring temp & humidity and it’s holding above 80-90+ with daily misting in the morning. Temps check good, 95-100 on the basking rock, I adjusted the height of the substrate to get it within that range, it’s about 80-90 in the rest of the tank.
I do give him about 1-2hrs outside in the earlier morning on the weekends for him to get sunshine, would a UVB fixture still be recommended? I do eventually plan on housing a lizard in here after tort so the purchase wouldn’t be a waste.


There is a ton more “open room” to roam compared to his last enclosure so I know that this will be good for his health from “exercise”. He’s spent the last few hours just moving around and checking stuff out between eating.

Any suggestions for other items for the enclosure? It just seems lifeless and sterile in there, which is good but would objects or foliage help him feel more secure? Is that concern for tortoises? He has his humid/hide box.
We’ve Also started growing seed mixes indoor from tortoise supply, too hot right now to plant outside with hopes of it growing after germinating.

 

[Alex and the Redfoot]

Hello! This is definitely a good upgrade. Right now optimal time to get UV outside is between 9-10AM. While this is sufficient for D3 synthesis, I would still add a UVB tube - it also emits UVA which is perceived by tortoises as one of basic colors. The UVB lamp suitable for sulcatas is the same as recommended for common lizard species like bearded dragons or blue-tongued skinks).

More hiding places are certainly a good idea (hatchlings are easy prey so they prefer to stay out of sight). You can use live plants (like boston fern, spider plant, carex or hosta) to provide shady areas, halves of flower pots buried in substrate or flat cork bark pieces for hides. Make sure that plants are grown without pesticides and repotted in soil without perlite, vermiculite, pumice and similar additives. Plants propagated from fresh cuttings or grown from seeds are preferred.

 

[Sulcata_AZ]

Hello! This is definitely a good upgrade. Right now optimal time to get UV outside is between 9-10AM. While this is sufficient for D3 synthesis, I would still add a UVB tube - it also emits UVA which is perceived by tortoises as one of basic colors. The UVB lamp suitable for sulcatas is the same as recommended for common lizard species like bearded dragons or blue-tongued skinks).

More hiding places are certainly a good idea (hatchlings are easy prey so they prefer to stay out of sight). You can use live plants (like boston fern, spider plant, carex or hosta) to provide shady areas, halves of flower pots buried in substrate or flat cork bark pieces for hides. Make sure that plants are grown without pesticides and repotted in soil without perlite, vermiculite, pumice and similar additives. Plants propagated from fresh cuttings or grown from seeds are preferred.

Okay then I will get the arcadia T5 lamp/tube that was recommended by @Littleredfootbigredheart
I'll get some flower pots and cork bark pieces, is pothos an option because I have a lot of that

 

[Sulcata_AZ]

He’s literally zooming around the enclosure doing laps and has pretty much not stopped since I put him in there, fastest I’ve ever seen him move too. This is a good thing right? Before he would move around quite a bit but not like what he’s doing now. And he would spend a lot of time in the corner on the basking rock in his old enclosure.
He’s explored every corner of his enclosure and gone into the hide a few times but then zooms back out after a minute.
Is he just exploring and pacing because of the new environment? Is it the sliding glass? Before he couldn’t really see out of his old enclosure, should I cover the bottom portion of the sliding glass?

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

Sounds like they’re exploring their new spacethey’ll settle eventually and might even seem a bit ‘off’ for a bit because you’ve changed things, they hate any kind of change, even the positive ones lol

 

[Sulcata_AZ]

Sounds like they’re exploring their new spacethey’ll settle eventually and might even seem a bit ‘off’ for a bit because you’ve changed things, they hate any kind of change, even the positive ones lol

Okay cool, I was just surprised by him not stopping
And I ordered an Arcadia proT5 Lumenize 36” with 12% UVB tube. I saw they had this one called lumenize which seems like a cool feature and will be useful in the future for whatever lizard goes in this tank.
I also ordered some cork bark panels for the enclosure.

Also another question, I’ve been really thinking about the future enclosure and building something I can use for another smaller tortoise breed that could live in it full time as an adult when tort goes outside. Do you think either 6’ x 2’ x 2’ or 8’ x 2’ x 2’ would be enough to last him until he’s ready to go outside and then house a smaller breed of tortoise in the future? Is the 8’ overkill?
Any tortoise recommendations for that size of enclosure?

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

Okay cool, I was just surprised by him not stopping
And I ordered an Arcadia proT5 Lumenize 36” with 12% UVB tube. I saw they had this one called lumenize which seems like a cool feature and will be useful in the future for whatever lizard goes in this tank.
I also ordered some cork bark panels for the enclosure.

Also another question, I’ve been really thinking about the future enclosure and building something I can use for another smaller tortoise breed that could live in it full time as an adult when tort goes outside. Do you think either 6’ x 2’ x 2’ or 8’ x 2’ x 2’ would be enough to last him until he’s ready to go outside and then house a smaller breed of tortoise in the future? Is the 8’ overkill?
Any tortoise recommendations for that size of enclosure?

An 8x2x2 should last until they’re ready for outdoors, though 8x4x2 would be better, it’s definitely not overkill.

Even smaller breeds like Russians or Hermans need a minimum of an 8x4foot space as adults, pet stores and the like are so far behind when it comes to recommending sizes, they ultimately know most people don’t have the space and priority is selling them. So many folks would probably look at you like you’re crazy for putting a Russian into an 8x4, but fact is, once you see them in that size and see them use every bit of it, you’ll see how necessary it is. They’d walk for miles in the wild, the roaming aids in their digestion and builds muscle strength, its vital for an overall healthy tortoise

 

[Maggie3fan]

He’s literally zooming around the enclosure doing laps and has pretty much not stopped since I put him in there, fastest I’ve ever seen him move too. This is a good thing right? Before he would move around quite a bit but not like what he’s doing now. And he would spend a lot of time in the corner on the basking rock in his old enclosure.
He’s explored every corner of his enclosure and gone into the hide a few times but then zooms back out after a minute.
Is he just exploring and pacing because of the new environment? Is it the sliding glass? Before he couldn’t really see out of his old enclosure, should I cover the bottom portion of the sliding glass?

I think he is stressed out at the bright bare lites. Plant some stuff...I put broken brick pieces or wood stuff around. I have a 3 yr old Redfoot who rearranges her greenhouse enuf she breaks ceramic pots while she's moving stuff. Don't try to make it pretty or orderly right now...that baby needs cover. Also remember, you are a predator above him, be aware. Make hiding places and digging places...put in some softer substrate so he can dig.

 

[Maggie3fan]

Okay cool, I was just surprised by him not stopping
And I ordered an Arcadia proT5 Lumenize 36” with 12% UVB tube. I saw they had this one called lumenize which seems like a cool feature and will be useful in the future for whatever lizard goes in this tank.
I also ordered some cork bark panels for the enclosure.

Also another question, I’ve been really thinking about the future enclosure and building something I can use for another smaller tortoise breed that could live in it full time as an adult when tort goes outside. Do you think either 6’ x 2’ x 2’ or 8’ x 2’ x 2’ would be enough to last him until he’s ready to go outside and then house a smaller breed of tortoise in the future? Is the 8’ overkill?
Any tortoise recommendations for that size of enclosure?

that baby is a Sulcata and you ask if 8' is enuf?.....lololololololololol this turned out not to be big enuf...

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

that baby is a Sulcata and you ask if 8' is enuf?.....lololololololololol this turned out not to be big enuf...View attachment 377234

I think they meant up until they build the outdoor space

Even for an indoor enclosure up until they can live outside full time, think the bigger the better

 

[Sulcata_AZ]

I think he is stressed out at the bright bare lites. Plant some stuff...I put broken brick pieces or wood stuff around. I have a 3 yr old Redfoot who rearranges her greenhouse enuf she breaks ceramic pots while she's moving stuff. Don't try to make it pretty or orderly right now...that baby needs cover. Also remember, you are a predator above him, be aware. Make hiding places and digging places...put in some softer substrate so he can dig.View attachment 377233

I've got some stuff coming, 12"x16" cork bark panels and fake foliage and I will be checking out the nearby nursery for some foliage plants and picking up some terracotta pots. Is Pothos an option because I have a lot of it.

that baby is a Sulcata and you ask if 8' is enuf?.....lololololololololol this turned out not to be big enuf...View attachment 377234

It was more of a question on whether the enclosure would be enough to last between 1-2yrs old and then also be able house an adult tortoise of a smaller breed when I move the Sulcata to an outdoor pen, I would hate to build something and then have it go to waste. In the fall I will start working on a 10' x 15' foot outdoor enclosure.

 

[Sulcata_AZ]

I think they meant up until they build the outdoor space

Even for an indoor enclosure up until they can live outside full time, think the bigger the better

yes that's what I meant, I also realized after saying 8'x2'x2' that it was nowhere near enough and was thinking more 8'x3-4'x2

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

yes that's what I meant, I also realized after saying 8'x2'x2' that it was nowhere near enough and was thinking more 8'x3-4'x2

An 8x4 size would be perfect for an adult Russian or Herman to live in

 

[Alex and the Redfoot]

I've got some stuff coming, 12"x16" cork bark panels and fake foliage and I will be checking out the nearby nursery for some foliage plants and picking up some terracotta pots. Is Pothos an option because I have a lot of it.


It was more of a question on whether the enclosure would be enough to last between 1-2yrs old and then also be able house an adult tortoise of a smaller breed when I move the Sulcata to an outdoor pen, I would hate to build something and then have it go to waste. In the fall I will start working on a 10' x 15' foot outdoor enclosure.

Pothos plant is relatively safe. It's not a safe staple food but occasional grazing is OK. I would make a shallow hide/burrow and put pothos pot on top of it. This should make enough space under the vines and add some protection for the plant. Also, you can use some cords/ropes to keep vines off the ground and make better shade coverage.

 

[Sulcata_AZ]

Pothos plant is relatively safe. It's not a safe staple food but occasional grazing is OK. I would make a shallow hide/burrow and put pothos pot on top of it. This should make enough space under the vines and add some protection for the plant. Also, you can use some cords/ropes to keep vines off the ground and make better shade coverage.

good idea thank you!

 

[Maggie3fan]

Pothos plant is relatively safe. It's not a safe staple food but occasional grazing is OK. I would make a shallow hide/burrow and put pothos pot on top of it. This should make enough space under the vines and add some protection for the plant. Also, you can use some cords/ropes to keep vines off the ground and make better shade coverage.

I also use pothos in the enclosures; they are so easy to grow after some Sulcata has destroyed it...