Indoor Winter Basking Ideas

[Lindsey28]

I was wondering if anyone had suggestions for an indoor basking area for my two 2-year old sulcata torts?

I live in a 1/1 apartment that's mostly carpeted but I made sure to have a huge balcony for the them. I live in NC so the weather has been in the 40's lately - too cold for them to just chill outside all the time. So I've been keeping them mostly inside, but I don't have any supplemental heating areas (although I've been keeping my air around 75 for them).

They get about an hour of sunlight in the late morning and even though it's cold out, their shells are warm just from the direct sunlight. But for the rest of the day, they mostly go in and out of sleep in a corner that i've set up with blankets and such.

They eat food daily and they get to soak at least every other day for about 20-30 mins minimum.

But I've noticed a big slow down in shell growth for both of them (the bigger one's layers look dried out and peely) I've been putting a little coconut oil to help with the hydration, but I'm wondering if it's something else?

In any case, I think they miss the FL summer sunlight and warmth, so I was wanting to seek out suggestions!

Here's my little one (Loretta) and me:


Here's Loo (the bigger one) and me:



And here's his shell that I mentioned earlier with the dryness:

 

[Melis]

Are they in an enclosure? Or do they just wander your apartment? That is very unsafe for them, and they need a proper setup, as blankets and carpet are not proper. It's impossible to maintain proper temps, as 70s is too cold. It is also not recommended to keep 2 together, as one can bully the other.
Have you read the care sheets? There is some awesome information in the sulcata section to get your cute little ones set up successfully!

 

[wellington]

Everything said already is very true. You need to get them each a proper enclosure. Sun thru a window is not giving them any needed uvb. Blankets is not a proper substrate or warmth for a tortoise. Being in an apartment, not sure how you think your going to house one fast growing sulcata let alone two. Many needed proper changes are needed asap

 

[Lindsey28]

They do have a great set up with substrate, sand and a big heated (as best I can with door openings) hidey-hut (with different sections for them to be separated) out on the balcony, it's just been so cold I don't want them to linger out there. But they get direct sunlight outside on the balcony, not through a window - their shells get nice and warm even when it's 50 degrees out. I have child/tort proofed my apartment so there's nothing that can harm them - I have blankets set out so they can burrow a little (or at least get some dark bc I have so many windows in my place).

They only wander about when I'm watching them.. otherwise they are sleeping (which is night time anyways). And I have seen many warnings on bullying and I have seen some of that when they were younger, but I've provided plenty of space for them to go their own ways and be on their own.

It's been a fun two years having them grow up with me and I've definitely learned a lot so far Their shells have been growing great (except for this new dryness I'm trying to figure out and maintain)

But my initial question with this post was for suggestions for an indoor basking spot when they're about 8 inches long (too big for a measly boxed enclosure) and in a place that has a lot of carpeted areas - I would love some suggestions on that!

 

[Tom]

Basking areas for larger tortoises are problematic and generally ineffective. Even more so when they are kept in cooler areas like the floor where room temp is 70s. If room temp is 70's up where the thermostat sits on the wall, it is usually 5-10 degrees colder on the floor. When you put basking lamps over a large tortoise in a situation like this, they tend to park under them in a futile attempt to warm up. Being parked under the lamps all day, or night, as the case may be, severely desiccates their carapace and leads to what I call "slow-burn". Because their bellies are on the cold floor, their core temps never get warm enough, so they stay under the hot bulbs. This heat kills the living cells underneath and damages the keratin on top. See it here: https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/open-topped-pyramided-scute.19691/#post-174030

So there is the answer to your question. Your tortoises have gotten too large for basking lamps and you need to find some other way to heat them.

The following is intended to help you and your tortoises. It is not going to be what you want to hear, but it is going to be what you need to hear. The way you are housing them is likely going to result in their death for a variety of reasons, and I'm asking you to re-think what you are doing before it is too late. I'll elaborate:

• I've seen many tortoises get sick, injured, impacted and killed because people let them free roam. Every single person who has had one of these tragedies: Cared about their tortoise, supervised closely, was sure the area was safe, and had no idea anything bad would happen. They all learned the hard way. You don't have to learn the hard way and your tortoises don't have to pay the price for you not understanding what I'm telling you here.
• This is a tropical species. Where they come from the coldest winter day is in the high 80s or low 90s. Most days are around 100. WInter nights may occasionally drop into the high 60's but down in their burrows, temps are around 80. Cold will eventually make them sick. You need to keep them warmer. ASAP.
• They should never be on sand. It is a huge impaction risk and a possible skin and eye irritant.
• The dryness you are seeing is the direct result of the inappropriate way you are housing them. The heater in your apartment is severely drying out the air and the unnaturally low humidity is drying out their shells.
• The bullying that you are looking for might not happen until they are older, but you are failing to understand that there does not have to be obvious overt aggression for this to be a problem. Just the sight of the other tortoise across the room is enough to cause stress. They don't want to share a territory. Because they are too cold and being housed incorrectly you are getting away with it for the moment, but it is not good. The long term chronic stress hampers the immune system and can lead to sickness or death. They need to be separated. They should not have been housed as a pair before, and they should not be housed as a pair now.

Right about now, you are probably not too happy and sick of being lectured. I ask you to consider two things:

1. What would you do if you came across someone with tortoises that was clearly doing something that you knew would lead to the death of the tortoises. Say they were feeding only iceberg lettuce and cabbage. Or say they were feeding it cat food every day because it liked it. Or say they had an aquatic turtle in a dry set up. You choose the scenario. Whatever works in your mind. What would you do? What would you say to this person? What if you had decades of experience filled with failures and successes, lots of vet experience and you'd seen what happens with this hypothetical problem many times before? How would you convince the person to change things?
2. How are you going to feel if one or both of them die, after we all tried to warn you, but you chose not to heed the warnings because you thought you knew better, or it was inconvenient, or you told yourself the all-too-common "it won't happen to me…"?

Ask yourself: Why would some guy on the other side of the country spend all this time typing up a response trying to help you? What does that guy get out of arguing with you and potentially upsetting you? Why would a person do that, unless they really truly could see an all too familiar train wreck coming and wanted desperately to prevent it.

I'm not going to waste my time arguing with you. Won't do any good. But if you read these words and realize that you really do need to make some big changes for your tortoises, I'm happy to help. At this point you have a choice. You can tell me what a great big jerk I am and leave the forum in a huff. Or you can come back and thank me for pointing these things out, saving your tortoises from certain death, and helping you.

 

[Lindsey28]

Thanks for the tips and warnings @Tom! I've only had them inside for a couple weeks so I could find a way to help keep them sufficiently warm during the next couple months. This post I found a while ago and is what I modeled the outdoors hidey hut after: https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/my-best-night-box-design-yet.66867/

Because I just moved up here from FL two months ago, I haven't been able to have it AS well insulated, but I plan on upgrading it once I can get my hands on some tools. But I do have am electric heater, the plastic flaps over the doorways and have a door way to cover at night ( and like I mentioned earlier, I've sectioned the hut too so they can't even see each other when they're inside)

It's good to know about the basking spot for older torts.. I didn't know that (but luckily I haven't needed a "basking spot" ever yet anyway bc living in FL, there's plenty of sun and heat for them. So you just suggest that the hidey hut is their source heat for winter time in NC? What would you suggest to keep them active during the colder months?
What I've really been concerned about is keeping them warm enough during the DAY time (so they don't just sleep all the time) and keeping them active and happy.

Also, what are everyone's thoughts on reptile heating blankets? I would just be nervous if they were to urinate on them and cause some shock or something?

 

[Maro2Bear]

Follow Tom's sage advice.....but, check out Kane heat pads. You get one or two larger ones set up where your sullys could rest on and stay warmer. Just an option to check out.

Heres a link https://www.kanemfg.com/pet-heating/

 

[Big Charlie]

@Lindsey28 Can you update your profile to show your new location?
Some people's torts go out every day no matter how cold it is. If you provide a heated box for them that warms them adequately, they will most likely venture out, at least for a few hours. Our temps aren't as cold as yours. Last night it got down to 36F. It warmed up to 64 during the day, but Charlie didn't want to come out. He just put his nose out and looked around, staying like that for hours before turning around and going back to sleep.

His night box has a Kane mat on the floor and a radiant heat panel on the ceiling. It stays about 80F inside.

Your torts are much smaller than Charlie, and can't handle the cold as well. I wouldn't put smaller torts out in the winter unless you have a heat wave.