new owner, hatchling baby sulcata outdoors or indoors? (year round)

[Jake Renshaw]

Hello fellow tortoise enthusiast! I will be buying two baby sulcata tortoises in the next week or so and am debating on putting them outside or keeping them inside (year round)? Any suggestions? BTW, I live in SoCal and you all know the temps here! Thanks

 

[ascott]

Well, I would like to ask D) why are you electing to house two sulcatas?
I ask this because a pair is a really hard thing to achieve with any harmony....

I would say in my opinion, you will in the beginning want to house indoors as their primary for a while and also at the same time be sure to take them to an outdoor secure pen/space to get natural sun and grazing practice....then with eventual plan of course for out door living...

 

[Laura]

Real sun is best.. you should have a secure place outside where they can spend several hours a week outside, untill they get bigger,, then outside 24/7

 

[Tom]

There is no way to maintain the proper temps outdoors 24/7 here in SoCal. The best strategy is to have a large indoor set up that will suit their needs 24/7, and then build an even bigger safe enclosure outside and put them out there when the weather permits. Because it is very dry where I live, I don't like to leave tiny hatchlings out side for more than an hour or two. By the time they are a year old, they are outside all day every day, weather permitting. I still bring them in at night to sleep, until they are at least 8-10". At that point they move outside permanently into a big outdoor enclosure with a suitable heated hide.

Ascott is right about the pair thing. Pairs are a bad idea. You are better off with just one. They don't need or want a friend. It won't be seen as a friend it will be seen as a competitor. If you must have more than one, it is better to have three or more.

 

[wellington]

For added help in raising them healthy and smooth, check out the threads at the bottom of my post.