New African Sulcata 2 years old

[MandyV]

Thank you all!!! Question when she does go outside what size enclosure does she need. I can’t just put her out there right? Because she could dig a hole under the fence. How big does she need to be to go outside and does she have to go outside? In the rare cold months do I bring her back inside?

 

[The_Four_Toed_Edward]

@Tom can advice you on this, as I don't have any experience with sulcatas.

Shortly put, an outdoor enclousure will be a must at an certain point. You will be needing a heated shelter for when the days are warm enough but nights are too cold.

 

[MandyV]

@Tom can advice you on this, as I don't have any experience with sulcatas.

Shortly put, an outdoor enclousure will be a must at an certain point. You will be needing a heated shelter for when the days are warm enough but nights are too cold.

Ok thank you, if she is 6 inches now how long do I have to get this together for her roughly?

 

[The_Four_Toed_Edward]

Ok thank you, if she is 6 inches now how long do I have to get this together for her roughly?

It is hard to say because of the bad previous care and stunted growth. Usually at 8-10" tortoises are ready to be outdoors full time. Before this you can get them slowly used to it, more on this under the title "outdoor enclousure" https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/the-best-way-to-raise-a-sulcata-leopard-or-star-tortoise.181504/ . Tom also has great instructions on building the heated shelter.

 

[MandyV]

Lights and all😊

Here is an update on where I am so far.
I have ordered the T5 UV light I sent you the picture of. I ordered it from beanfarm.com it was the best price from what I saw and I couldn't find the 12% anywhere it seemed but they had it.

I have her on new food already, her water bowl is ordered.

I have ordered the flood light basking bulb and the ambient bulb

I have ordered the temp gun

I have ordered the CHE

I have ordered the cocoa coir and orchard fir bark

I haven't ordered her enclosure yet still waiting to hear from the seller. I have not ordered pond liner
I have not ordered the thermometers or thermostats or timers I am waiting for clarification on which ones I need.

Is there anything I am forgetting

 

[Tom]

Thank you all!!! Question when she does go outside what size enclosure does she need. I can’t just put her out there right? Because she could dig a hole under the fence. How big does she need to be to go outside and does she have to go outside? In the rare cold months do I bring her back inside?

See? These are all GREAT questions!

Outdoor enclosure size: The bigger the better. For a 6-10 inch sulcata, try for 30x30 feet. For an adult, Prefer a minimum of 50x50 feet, but larger is better.

Digging: They do not "dig under" fencing. If a sulcata digs, it digs a burrow at around a 30-40 degree angle, and it comes and goes out of the burrow. It doesn't dig down, and then dig back up in another direction. Fencing needs to have a visual barrier. You can use chainlink as part or all of the enclosure, but line the bottom with 16 inch tall x 8 foot long strips of plywood, or something similar.

When to put them outside and for how long?: My general rule of thumb is one hour of access to sunshine in an outdoor enclosure per inch of tortoise. You are past that point. At 5-6 inches, I leave them outside all day in favorable weather, but still have them sleep indoors in their closed chambers. Does she have to go outside? No, but she should. It is beneficial in many ways, as long as it is done safely. I like to move them outside full time, with a heated night box, when they reach about 10 inches. So probably next spring for you.

What to do in the colder months? This varies with climate and weather. Inside for a small one for sure. You'll want to figure out a way to do it outside as the tortoise gains size. Maybe a large night box, or an insulated and heated shed for the cold days.

 

[MandyV]

See? These are all GREAT questions!

Outdoor enclosure size: The bigger the better. For a 6-10 inch sulcata, try for 30x30 feet. For an adult, Prefer a minimum of 50x50 feet, but larger is better.

Digging: They do not "dig under" fencing. If a sulcata digs, it digs a burrow at around a 30-40 degree angle, and it comes and goes out of the burrow. It doesn't dig down, and then dig back up in another direction. Fencing needs to have a visual barrier. You can use chainlink as part or all of the enclosure, but line the bottom with 16 inch tall x 8 foot long strips of plywood, or something similar.

When to put them outside and for how long?: My general rule of thumb is one hour of access to sunshine in an outdoor enclosure per inch of tortoise. You are past that point. At 5-6 inches, I leave them outside all day in favorable weather, but still have them sleep indoors in their closed chambers. Does she have to go outside? No, but she should. It is beneficial in many ways, as long as it is done safely. I like to move them outside full time, with a heated night box, when they reach about 10 inches. So probably next spring for you.

What to do in the colder months? This varies with climate and weather. Inside for a small one for sure. You'll want to figure out a way to do it outside as the tortoise gains size. Maybe a large night box, or an insulated and heated shed for the cold days.

This is great information, I have a fenced in back yard with wood. If she wont dig out and escape why does she need the bottom in the enclosure? My back yard is pretty big does she need a seperate enclosure if she could have the whole yard. Maybe I am not understanding clearly lol.

 

[MandyV]

I’m noticing it says bars not bar so I’m thinking there’s more than that one at the top

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

Here is an update on where I am so far.
I have ordered the T5 UV light I sent you the picture of. I ordered it from beanfarm.com it was the best price from what I saw and I couldn't find the 12% anywhere it seemed but they had it.

I have her on new food already, her water bowl is ordered.

I have ordered the flood light basking bulb and the ambient bulb

I have ordered the temp gun

I have ordered the CHE

I have ordered the cocoa coir and orchard fir bark

I haven't ordered her enclosure yet still waiting to hear from the seller. I have not ordered pond liner
I have not ordered the thermometers or thermostats or timers I am waiting for clarification on which ones I need.

Is there anything I am forgetting

Amazing well done!😁
I’d add your two plug in wall timers😊here’s an example, just type in 24 hour plug in wall timer, a bunch will come up for you🙂

@Tom do you have a thermostat and monitors you could recommend?

 

[MandyV]

Amazing well done!😁
I’d add your two plug in wall timers😊here’s an example, just type in 24 hour plug in wall timer, a bunch will come up for you🙂

@Tom do you have a thermostat and monitors you could recommend?

Wall timers ordered
I still don’t have any thermometer or thermostat

I am attaching an enclosure it’s 8x4 with cover and I thought maybe I could use the bar on top for the Lights?

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

Wall timers ordered
I still don’t have any thermometer or thermostat

I am attaching an enclosure it’s 8x4 with cover and I thought maybe I could use the bar on top for the Lights?

That does look good actually! But I’m thinking the other one might be better height wise, unless you get yourself some chain from the hardware store to hang the lighting😊
I do also see bars in the middle again though?

 

[MandyV]

That does look good actually! But I’m thinking the other one might be better height wise, unless you get yourself some chain from the hardware store to hang the lighting😊
I do also see bars in the middle again though?

Dang bars! Ok there was a review on there were someone else used it as a tortoise enclosure so I thought score lol

 

[Megatron's Mom]

Dang bars! Ok there was a review on there were someone else used it as a tortoise enclosure so I thought score lol

The only down side to that one is the height. It's not a big deal but would take more to keep it heated properly. So you might need more than one CHE. Only way to find out is to tested it out when you get it.

Don't worry about the bars on the bottom. You're going to put substrate down. Just make sure it covers them. Since you are doing a 4x8 I found cypress mulch to be the easiest to find.

 

[Megatron's Mom]

Did your base have a bottom? I’m just thinking, if they plan to use that base with no bottom, that liner taped together might manage leak some moisture onto the floor, I’d personally opt for the cheap pond liner but the shower curtains might work too and is a nice cost effective idea🙂

It won't leak, Mines been going for 1 yr and half now. The OP will only need it for a year most likely
I did build a table for this to sit on top of or my dogs would get into it.

 

[Megatron's Mom]

I found this one

Go with this one don't worry about the bars. You would not be filling it with 2 feet of dirt.

 

[The_Four_Toed_Edward]

It probably depends on the shower curtain. What kind did you use? Also, it is probably easier finding a pond liner big enough than a shower curtain-

It won't leak, Mines been going for 1 yr and half now.
I did build a table for this to sit on top of or my dogs would get into it.

 

[Megatron's Mom]

It probably depends on the shower curtain. What kind did you use? Also, it is probably easier finding a pond liner big enough than a shower curtain-

I just used the Walmart heavy duty. Just buy two and it's more than enough.

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

From what others have said, this may work for you! But by sounds of it I think the other one you found will be easier to heat😊

 

[MandyV]

ok thank you. All I need I think is the thermostats/thermometers

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

ok thank you. All I need I think is the thermostats/thermometers

No too shabby for a few days work, well done!❤️

For the thermostat have you tried typing in either ‘habistat on/off 600w thermostat’ or ‘microclimate on/off 600w thermostat’ into Google n see what comes up for you? For the thermometers, the zoo med one looked quite good, but I’ve also see people say they just use digital ones that measure the humidity and temp you can get from hardware stores🙂I reckon you’ll need two so you can measure both ends of your set up, we have two running👍