My wife and I will be moving from New Mexico to Maryland this summer. Our Tortoise will be going with his house in a U-Haul. Does anyone have any moving tips for Sulcatas? He's a healthy 65 pounds now.
Moving a Sulcata?
- Thread starter Bill Walkowiak
- Start date
It will get much too hot for him in the back of a U-Haul truck. Are you guys driving the U-Haul?
Yes, we are driving it. But, he can't be in the Jeep with us because we will have a great dane and three birds. Maybe I can leave it open a little for fresh air?
I really don't think that will be good enough at all. The air Will not circulate where he needs it. Can you rent another car and split up the animals between the two? I've heard that people move their big tortoises in A plastic tub with hay in it.
Get a remote probed thermometer and watch the temps very carefully. Might be good to have more than one thermometer, just in case. If you make a mistake, he could cook back there. If all goes well, he should be fine.
Test your thermometers thoroughly BEFORE move day, and leave in the wee hours of the morning to get out of the hot summer NM temps and get farther north. Hopefully it won't be during a summer heat wave. If it is, you might have to make other arrangements.
What are you going to do with a 65 pound sulcata in a MD winter? Man that's going to be tough on you AND the tortoise.
Test your thermometers thoroughly BEFORE move day, and leave in the wee hours of the morning to get out of the hot summer NM temps and get farther north. Hopefully it won't be during a summer heat wave. If it is, you might have to make other arrangements.
What are you going to do with a 65 pound sulcata in a MD winter? Man that's going to be tough on you AND the tortoise.
Do some searches for cooling devices that run on 12 volts, I have a chest type cooler that works plugged into a cigarette lighter, It will hold a sulcata of about 30 pounds with the cooler on it's side with the top open or removed. Larger ones should be available.. Even if the tortoise can't get completely inside the cool air would help. Just be careful, letting a tortoise overheat is much harder on them than being colder than normal. There are 12 volt fans sold also if air circulation is necessary. Good Luck on the trip, I keep sulcatas in Maryland and Virginia, it is very doable.
And maybe drive only at night.
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The cooler will not work on it's side . I drove four hours with a tortoise on my lap . My sulcata Sally was about 60 lbs . I had her in a mixing tub . My wife drove and I held on to the tortoises . We had her in the back seat but she kept climbing out . Didn't want to clean tortoise poop off my seats . We stopped at every rest stop a long the way .
Have you thought of shipping it?
Thank you all for the temperature advice. He seems to be quite tolerant of warm temperatures. The house I built him has a thermometer and three separate heat sources all on thermostat control. We have two wifi thermometers that transmit the temperature into our house. He loves to bump around in there, even in the summer. He is free to go in and out of it to regulate his own temperature. In the summer, while it is sitting in the sun, I have seen it get up to 114F inside, despite two smartly installed vent windows, and he still goes in and out of it. In the winter, we have had extended cold temperatures in New Mexico; weeks of barely ever getting above freezing. He still will come out for brief periods. Two years ago he managed to make a break for it and disappeared into the desert behind our house. It was a snowy and cold February. After extensive searching with all our neighbors involved, we just couldn't find him. But on the 8th day, he came walking right out of the trail, happy as a clam and looking a little bigger than before he left. It is harder on him in the cold, so I will probably build a new suite with a big passageway between the two, so he can move around more and gives us some heating redundancy in Maryland. On the other hand, some of the houses we are looking at have detached work-sheds and garages. One of them might prove an ideal option for a winter habitat. So, I would like to emphasize that he is thriving and a pretty happy guy, but all your advice is very welcome and helpful. I will ensure I monitor the temperature and air flow, whatever manner of transportation we decide on. Although, I am thinking he will be less traumatized if I transport his whole house as a unit, so at least inside of it will be familiar. But, we are planning this months out so that we try to think of as many contingencies before we head down the road.
I was concerned with Tom's comment about living conditions for George at our new home. At least temperature-wise, shouldn't be a problem, although anecdotally, you would think it'd be more brutal during Maryland winters, especially after last year's big snow. I made an annual temperature spread comparison chart for my own peace of mind. See attached.
It does sound like you are doing your homework on this. Would there be a way to make his house a little cooler if needed on the trip?
