large sulcata house

mgb

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Hi there. New sulcata owner here. I am adopting 2 adult sulcatas next weekend - one 70lbs and one 40lbs. I am debating on building a custom house or modifying a premade shed from like Home Depot or Lowe's. I live in Sacramento, CA. Any recommendations on which would be better? Also, is an overhead heat source better than a pig mat? The lady I am adopting them from uses only pig mats and said it provides adequate heat. Thanks for any advice.
 

Yvonne G

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Hi, and welcome to the Forum!

Do these two tortoises live together now? What I'm asking is are they the only two tortoises living together now? Reason for the question is two tortoises usually fight, one wanting to chase the other out of the territory.

I use pig blankets in my tortoise sheds, along with an overhead heat source for night time. In a couple of the larger sheds I use the pig blanket plus a 250 watt brooder bulb hanging at about 4'. In the smaller sheds the pig blanket along with a black light works fine.

I built my own sheds. I looked into buying a shed from Lowe's or Home Depot but figured I could build one better myself. This is the last one I built for my 110lb sulcata:

http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/dudleys-rebuild.111350/
 

Tom

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I tried to use many pre made houses. Igloos, dog houses, storage sheds, etc… Even with lots of modifications, they did not work well. Those things are just not designed for tortoise purposes. Instead I've taken to designing and building my own. Here are several options to look over:
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/another-night-box-thread.88966/
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/my-best-night-box-design-yet.66867/
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/double-door-night-box.129054/

Key elements are:
1. They must be well insulated.
2. They must be well sealed and not drafty.
3. You must use the correct heating elements. A lot of the commonly used items will damage the carapace of large tortoises, and still not do an adequate job heating them.
4. Use a thermostat to control the temperature.
5. If you are in a dry climate, like CA, add some humidity to your heated box.
6. It needs to have a closable, latch-able door.

Tortoises should not be kept in pairs. Especially not adult sulcatas. Please house them separately before you have an issue. If you need more convincing, we can link some threads showing you the damage they can do to each other. I know that I'm just some dude on the internet, but please trust me when I tell you that sulcatas do not do well in pairs. Groups can sometimes work, but not pairs. I've been raising them since the early 90's and I've seen all sorts of good and bad stuff. It would make my day if you didn't choose to learn this lesson the hard way. I know this may seem a little pushy, but if you had seen what I've seen, you'd understand.

Please come back and ask all the questions you might have. We love talking tortoises and your questions will fuel the discussion. Feel free to argue, disagree and ask for more clarification or justification for assertions. All of that is welcome.
 

Dizisdalife

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Welcome to the Forum. My sulcata is 6 years old and weighs 67 pounds. When it came time to move him outside I opted to build a night box similar to the ones Tom has built, heated with an mini-oil filled radiator. The first effort was smallish, a 2'x4'x 2' high box that my sulcata out grew in one winter. The current box is 4'x6'x2' high and has worked great for 3-plus years now. I expect it to last for many more years. I like the night box size because it was easy to build, uses less materials, it can be moved if necessary, and doesn't take much to heat in the winter or cool in the summer (I simply open the top for a couple of hours to let all the heat out). After some trial and error I ended up placing it under a patio cover to protect it from the sun and rain. That really has worked out well. Of course here is Southern California there aren't many periods where he has to stay in the box for days and days. At his size he will come out and sun himself, graze, and do the other thing that a sulcata does even when the air temp is in the 50's.
 

mgb

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I was told this is a "bonded pair" and have been together for at least 4 years. The female is the larger one. Is someone taking advantage of my inexperience and giving me misinformation do you think? I visited them once and they ignored each other the whole time I was there.
 

Yvonne G

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No, it is more than likely true, but when you move them to a new territory you may run into trouble. Be prepared to set up an additional yard so you can separate them. When you bring them home, try to do it on a week-end when you're going to be home to watch them throughout the day to interrupt any fighting or exuberant breeding.
 

Tom

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I was told this is a "bonded pair" and have been together for at least 4 years. The female is the larger one. Is someone taking advantage of my inexperience and giving me misinformation do you think? I visited them once and they ignored each other the whole time I was there.

Its certainly possible that whoever is telling you that really believes it, but yes, it is misinformation. Tortoises do not "bond". But they do fight, and a male will harass a female into sickness or death.
 

mgb

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Well that's just great! :( I knew I should have done some more research before agreeing to this. My fault. I just really wanted to rescue one as opposed to getting a baby. And I wanted one that is ready to just roam the backyard. I am already committed to adopting them and I am picking them up next weekend. I guess I will have to consider re-homing one as I don't want to divide my backyard. As for the house for them - our garage already has a 10ft x 5ft separate room in it that the previous owner used as a grow room (elderly woman with cancer). It is insulated, sheetrocked, and has electrical already run in it. My husband was setting it up as a brewing room but is letting me use it as a tortoise house instead. Just need to cut a doorway that leads right on to the back patio. It's a concrete floor so just gonna add some flooring and a heater with thermostat and it will be all set. It even has a little window so you can see from the main garage right into the little room - perfect for spying on the tortoise(s). Thanks for all the information!
 

Tom

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Well that's just great! :( I knew I should have done some more research before agreeing to this. My fault. I just really wanted to rescue one as opposed to getting a baby. And I wanted one that is ready to just roam the backyard. I am already committed to adopting them and I am picking them up next weekend. I guess I will have to consider re-homing one as I don't want to divide my backyard. As for the house for them - our garage already has a 10ft x 5ft separate room in it that the previous owner used as a grow room (elderly woman with cancer). It is insulated, sheetrocked, and has electrical already run in it. My husband was setting it up as a brewing room but is letting me use it as a tortoise house instead. Just need to cut a doorway that leads right on to the back patio. It's a concrete floor so just gonna add some flooring and a heater with thermostat and it will be all set. It even has a little window so you can see from the main garage right into the little room - perfect for spying on the tortoise(s). Thanks for all the information!

I would also use a Kane heat mat on the floor of that room. Even if room temp is 85, it will be significantly colder down on the floor.
 
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