my first Sulcata

[this girl hoa]

I just adopted my first sulcata! He's a 32 pounds.

I've always wanted one but never had the chance, but now that i have big backyard with plenty of space I decided to adopt one.

so far he's healthy and well, the only problem i have with him is outdoor heating. I'm scare of over heating him and i'm on a budget for now. any good ideas?

 

[DonaTello's-Mom]

Hello and welcome! Whats your name, if I may ask? Look here at this link for some great ideas and you can post your questions there as well.
http://tortoiseforum.org/forum-7.html

I have a sully too (my first one too!) and everyone here has been REALLY helpful. Please post some pictures, we love seeing them!

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi "this girl hoa":

to the forum!!

(May we know your name?)

You live in Southern California, so you probably won't have too much to worry about outside for heat. If you think its getting too cold, then you can just set up a clamp light fixture with either a red or black bulb. Or you can use a CHE (ceramic heat emitter), but if you use a CHE, be sure to buy the clamp light fixture that has a ceramic base, not the Bakelite ones. The CHE gets pretty hot. The CHE doesn't put out any light, just heat, and you can mount it inside the shelter or dog house. Just be sure you mount your fixture high enough so that you don't burn the tortoise's back. You don't have to worry about heating the whole yard, only the shelter area. The tortoise will come and go as he needs to.

 

[Tom]

Yours is about the same size as mine. Here's what I do in SoCal:

http://tortoiseforum.org/thread-12237.html

Welcome to the forum!

 

[spikethebest]

Welcome to the forum. Tom and I are also in southern california!!

 

[Laura]

Congrats on adopting instead of buying! I have taken in 4....I live up north near Sacramento, so heating can be an issue.. $, but so far so good!

 

[this girl hoa]

Thank you for the help! much appreciated =]

My name is Hoa.

 

[Tom]

Hoa, were still patiently waiting for pics of Turbo. Tinypic.com makes it very easy. Just upload any size photo and copy/paste the IMG code into your post. They don't require you to sign up or give any personal info at all. I love it. Here's a link:

http://tinypic.com/

 

[TortieLuver]

Hello and welcome to the group! If you have any other questions, please feel free to ask. This is a very helpful group with answering questions. It is my experience that Sulcatas will take care of their temp themselves as long as they have access to it. If they are warm, they will move away from the heat source and vice versa. The only thing to watch is that the heat lamp is high, over 18 inches, away from him so it won't burn the shell.

 

[this girl hoa]

I'll try and get more pictures up! =]

 

[Stephanie Logan]

Oh, what a handsome tortoise! He looks healthy and alert.

How old is he, do you know? What is his personality like so far?

 

[this girl hoa]

I've only had him for a month. . so far he's really sweet, not aggressive at all. my backyard is still nice, he hasn't done any damage. =] oh, the best part is he comes to me when i sit in my backyard. I think he likes the company. overall, he's super sweet.