Liz Burton
New Member
Hello all and thank you for a great resource! I am an Animal Behaviorist working mostly with rescued parrots and occasional reptiles, and Founder/Wildlife Care Manager for Badger Run Wildlife Rehab in Klamath Falls, OR. Badger Run has had a rescued Russian for years and he's part of our educational team - teaching the public good stewardship of the environment and how to make responsible pet choices, considering all factors (behavior, longevity, complexity of care, cost, etc). We recently agreed to take on a 5 year old male Sulcata that the owner could no longer handle. He is about 28 pounds and in apparently good shape. Loves to graze the 2 acres here (under supervision as he is a typical "houdini") and is a great eater. Because we have cold snowy winters here, he has an indoor enclosure, 8' X 4' X 3' with a foot of coir and a ramp with non-skid so he can come out for "indoor walks" when it's cold. Heat and UV present. For warmer months, we're building a 16' x 8' x 3' area which will have a house, built as shown by one of your members, with kennel mat & RHP, fully insulated & temp controlled. My question is, what to use as substrate for the outdoor area? 128 cubic feet of coir is a bit pricey! Sand? Clean fill dirt? Mix? Thank you again for great info!