New tort table for Sulcata

[hermansmom]

We just adopted our 1st Sulcata on Friday and by Saturday evening we had made our 1st table - 8' long x 36" wide.

The platform is 3/4" plywood covered with peel/stick tiles and the walls are 1"x12" wood. The substrate is organic top soil and chopped up grass hay. There is a hide at one end. I also planted some geraniums for him to eat. We have UVB along with a heat lamp and a basking lamp.

 

[Yvonne G]

Nice tort table. You did a good job! Its hard to tell from the picture, but it looks like your water dish might be too deep for a little sulcata. Sometimes they tip over backwards into the water and drown, when the sides are too steep.

Yvonne

 

[Meg90]

Those really big plant saucers are great for large torts, because the terra cotta is so heavy, and they are usually large enough for the tort to fit in. Both of mine only drink when they are sitting in their dish...

 

[hermansmom]

The water was my real concern - I do have it buried but I like the idea of the terra cotta saucer. I put a plastic saucer in 1st and he flipped it!

 

[Meg90]

How big was it? That enclosure is alittle small for a full time residence I think too...Does he have an outside one as well?

 

[hermansmom]

Its 8' long x 3' wide.

We are working on the outside pen this weekend! The weather here in Minnesota has been in the 50's and raining for the past 3 days so I didn't want him outside in that when he 1st got here. Any advice/hints on the outside pen would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Millerlite]

It would be good when you bring him in as hes only 12-13 inches, but when building a outdoor enclosure think of his growth and plan ahead (you will save money in the long run) think of a heat shed, and make it as big as possible

 

[tortoisenerd]

I agree that the enclosure looks small for full time, especially considering the tort will be fast growing.

Great job on still addressing the water issue--that can be tough. At least soak the tort every day or two until you get that figured out for the enclosure. They do need something to completely get into and soak in shallow water. It likely needs to be by the heat to keep it above room temperature to encourage the tort to use it.

I would try to make hides in there in both the cool and warm areas (a wood hut with extra boards in a corner, larger hay pile to cover itself with, etc). Also, something to break up the line of site--when they can see straight across the enclosure it makes it seem even smaller to them. Plants are great for this, real or fake.

If the side are 12 inches high (+ substrate), and the tort is 12 inches, then how is the enclosure safe from escape? The tort just need to get on its hind legs and reach its arms over to get out...I really think you need to examine this more. Even if the enclosure was on the floor in a secure room, it's still dangerous, and they will try and try to get out until they succeed.

Do you have a hard surface to feed on? Slate tiles are great although I don't know what those with larger torts like this use, and in this case it would be the same size as the tort!

I honestly suggest you build an enclosure with sides at least twice as high as the tort, and at least 2-3 times the size of this enclosure, maybe even blocking off part of it for now until the tort grows more. Unless of course this is a very temporary situation, then please ignore this comment. You can probably re-use a lot of the wood.

Just my opinion, not knowing your situation. Minnesota is tough for outdoor tort keeping. Eventually you're going to need to have its own room, shed, enclosed porch, etc...

 

[hermansdad]

All excellent suggestions, thanks guys and gals. We will be building him something outside this weekend. We plan to have a igloo type doghouse as his "hide" with a heated pet mat. Hermansmom loves gardening so she will be planting all sorts of yummies for him in the fenced area. We are only using the one she posted as a temporary home until we get it worked out. He was adopted in a rubbermaid tote... we had to act fast! He is much happier now, but I agree, its to small. We will probably be blocking off part of the basement for him eventually so he can roam freely during the winter months.

 

[tortoisenerd]

Sounds great!

 

[hermansdad]

Ok, we got the plans going for the outdoor enclosure, but I had a question for those more knowledgeable on the subject. Do you bury anything along the fenceline to keep them from burrowing out? We were thinking of burying some plywood about 2 foot deep just in front of the fence. Anyone have experience with this and advise on what to use and how far to bury?

Thanks for your help!

 

[Maggie Cummings]

Some Sulcata dig and some do not. Bob tries to climb out but he has never tried to dig. I was taught that they won't try to dig out if they are happy where they are...but if that's the case why do I see Bob like this all the time? He has a heated insulated shed that cost over $700 to insulate and finish off and a great pen that is planted with grasses and weeds...Plus he has me...what else could he want?

 

[hermansdad]

Some Sulcata dig and some do not. Bob tries to climb out but he has never tried to dig. I was taught that they won't try to dig out if they are happy where they are...but if that's the case why do I see Bob like this all the time? He has a heated insulated shed that cost over $700 to insulate and finish off and a great pen that is planted with grasses and weeds...Plus he has me...what else could he want?

You know the old saying "the grass is always greener on the other side" lol. He's just looking

Thanks for the info Maggie!

 

[Yvonne G]

One thing I have learned about Sulcata: Once they learn that there is a big world out there beyond the fence, there's just no keeping them inside. You're much better off never allowing your sulcata to see the other side of his enclosure, than letting him have supervised visits to the whole yard. They are much more satisfied to stay inside their world, when they haven't seen beyond the fence. (In Maggie's defense, Bob accidentally broke down his fence and got a glimpse of his world, she didn't actually "let" him see.)

Yvonne