Moving juviniles from their inside enclosure to an outside space

Nibs

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Joined
Dec 15, 2015
Messages
63
Hello all,

I was looking for some advice please on the transition of moving my sulcata's from their totally indoor enclosure to an outdoor space on a more permanent basis.

I have two Sulcata's, both two and a half years old, one 7" and the other 8". At the moment they live inside the house, in two large closed chambers and they have supervised time outside as often as I can manage it for grazing, exercise and sunlight but are never left alone as the garden fencing needs to be changed first to ensure they cannot escape. So far mine have not been out of the house for more than an hour in one stint as after that time their underside starts to feel cold and so I bring them in and back into their indoor enclosure to go under the heat lamp, as advised by the breeder I got them from.

Having just moved into a new house, my priority for the new year is to get the garden and outbuilding sorted for them ready for the Spring and for them to spend significantly more time outside than they are able to currently.

Long term, they have a large space to roam in and there is a large garage (which will be insulated and heated) that they will have for indoor space for the winter especially and which will contain two hide areas for them as night shelters. (If any of that does not sound suitable for adults, please shout and I will make adjustments accordingly!).

I am unsure how to handle the transition between the two scenarios and would like your advice please. As a starter, I am looking to build an enclosure asap within the garden that gives them plenty of space with access to a heated house with their lamps etc but all on a smaller scale than they will have as adults simply due to the scale of work meaning I will need to do it in stages - but I have quite a few questions in relation to this:

- are they old enough now to have free access to an outdoor enclosure? I was originally advised to keep them inside until they were five, only letting them out for small runs. All the other advice I received from that source has proven to be debatable, so I am hoping this might be too as they love to be outside.

- would I need to start building up the time they spend outside first, or can they go straight from one environment to the other?

- do people close their torts into the night shelter at night or do they have free access all the time to come and go as they please?

- in terms of security, I am at work all day and so they will be alone from 9-5. For the small enclosure, I was intending to fit a top to the enclosure initially to they are safe from birds. At what kind of size does the risk of damage diminish enough that people do not worry about that type of thing?

- my neighbour has spotted a rat in his garden. Has anyone experienced problems with torts and rats at all, and is there any special precautions they suggest I should therefore take into account for this when building the enclosure?

Any advice would be much appreciated (I am UK based if that affects your responses due to the weather etc!). Sorry this rather turned into an essay.....

Thanks,
E
 
M

Maggie Cummings

Guest
I locked my large Sulcata into his shed nightly as we have rats and 'coons. I think your garage is too big to heat properly. Let @Tom finish, you'll get a more in depth answer from him. I also think that they are too small to be out all day. Your weather is too cold just yet, isn't it?

Oh and it sounds to me like most of the advice you got was wrong. Glad you and your tort found us, welcome.
 

Nibs

Member
Joined
Dec 15, 2015
Messages
63
I locked my large Sulcata into his shed nightly as we have rats and 'coons. I think your garage is too big to heat properly. Let @Tom finish, you'll get a more in depth answer from him. I also think that they are too small to be out all day. Your weather is too cold just yet, isn't it?

Oh and it sounds to me like most of the advice you got was wrong. Glad you and your tort found us, welcome.

Thanks Maggie :) Sorry, I should have said that I will be keeping them in over Autumn and Winter come what may as it is definitely too cold for them to be outside. I am just starting to think about the spring and summer though and try to use these months to get the right environment for them built for the spring so that they can be outside more than they are at the moment especially for exercise - I give them as much space in the house as possible but they will outgrow that in the next few years and so I thought I'd try and future proof things a little!

Absolutely re the advice - I am very glad I found this forum as so far everything I had been advised previously has turned out to be incorrect. I have now read through all the care sheets and made a lot of adjustments to their enclosures and food as a result - they seem a lot happier now. But there is certainly lots more I need to learn!
 

Nibs

Member
Joined
Dec 15, 2015
Messages
63
Just to clarify as I realise I might have been misleading with the garage bit - I wasn't thinking of the garage as being their actual enclosure, but would build within it either one or two large enclosures that can be accessed straight from outdoors by modifying the entrance doors, along the lines of those in the care sheets - so they would be warm and humid to the correct levels as their home for winter.

I was intending though to allow them in really inclement weather during the winter to have some time to be able to wander around in there just to stretch their legs somewhere that is warm and dry. It is an unused space that would be given over completely to the torts and is fully insulated and heated for general human use - currently it is set up as an office but I do not need it and could happily modify it for their use if it would actual be useful for them.
 

Tom

The Dog Trainer
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Hi Nibs. I have no experience keeping a large tropical tortoise in a climate like yours, but I'll share what I know.

I put babies outside for an hour or two every day that the weather is nice enough. I use a wire covered enclosure with lots of shelters and hiding areas, and I make adjustments according to the weather. I soak the babies in warm water after their outdoor sunning time.

As they gain size (regardless of age), I leave them out longer and longer. By the time they are 5-6" I leave them outside all day, weather permitting, soak them on the way in, and they sleep in their warm closed chambers over night. At 5-6" or larger, I no longer worry about birds. You just have to keep them safe from dogs and humans. Mine are only out during the day while I am around, so I'm not too worried about other predators.

In short, my strategy is to have large, 4x8' closed chambers inside for them, and even larger outdoor enclosures for them that I use during nice weather. Either enclosure should be all they need and be able to house them full time. If the weather is nice, I put them outside. If its not, I leave them in and its perfectly fine.

Once they start reaching 8-10", I move them outside full time with proper heated shelters for nights and cold days. This last part won't work in your climate, so I think your heated, insulated garage will take the place of my "outdoors full time".

Hope this all helps. Come back with any questions.
 

Nibs

Member
Joined
Dec 15, 2015
Messages
63
Hi Nibs. I have no experience keeping a large tropical tortoise in a climate like yours, but I'll share what I know.

I put babies outside for an hour or two every day that the weather is nice enough. I use a wire covered enclosure with lots of shelters and hiding areas, and I make adjustments according to the weather. I soak the babies in warm water after their outdoor sunning time.

As they gain size (regardless of age), I leave them out longer and longer. By the time they are 5-6" I leave them outside all day, weather permitting, soak them on the way in, and they sleep in their warm closed chambers over night. At 5-6" or larger, I no longer worry about birds. You just have to keep them safe from dogs and humans. Mine are only out during the day while I am around, so I'm not too worried about other predators.

In short, my strategy is to have large, 4x8' closed chambers inside for them, and even larger outdoor enclosures for them that I use during nice weather. Either enclosure should be all they need and be able to house them full time. If the weather is nice, I put them outside. If its not, I leave them in and its perfectly fine.

Once they start reaching 8-10", I move them outside full time with proper heated shelters for nights and cold days. This last part won't work in your climate, so I think your heated, insulated garage will take the place of my "outdoors full time".

Hope this all helps. Come back with any questions.

Great, thank you Tom that's really useful.
 

Tom

The Dog Trainer
10 Year Member!
Platinum Tortoise Club
Joined
Jan 9, 2010
Messages
63,270
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