Our Sulcata Enclosure in Los Angeles, California

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Meg90

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Does Bob play with that ball? he has a nicer setup than my apt!
 
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Maggie Cummings

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Yes, Bob does play with the ball...But the point I was trying to make ..is that I got Tony when he was 24 hours out of the egg. He lived in the tort table that you can see in the picture. Then when he got big enough he would spend the day in the yard with Bob and he slept in the tort table at night. Then this summer he got too big for the tort table and discovered his "manhood". And man oh man was he proud of it! Anyway, I started noticing that Tony wasn't eating very much. Then the weather turned and they both had to stay inside and I started seeing Bob biting Tony's face and ramming him trying to flip him over. So then I had to make the decision to have my sister re-home Tony. It was a miserably hard choice to make. But you see how much room I have for them and I still had trouble. Male Sulcata need a lot of room. So that is why I am suggesting that you don't have enough room for 3 Sulcata and the size of the 3 year old is kinda proof of that. I don't mean any disrespect and I certainly don't mean to be mean...but this forum is all about helping each other and experienced keepers helping newbies...and I think I would be remiss if I didn't speak out here and point out a potential problem...

2ai08bp.jpg

This is just one third of the yard. I have divided it in thirds so 2 thirds can be growing out while he munches down on one third. I have it planted with various grasses and weeds and it seems to work out fairly well...except I get really tired of hauling cinderblock...
 

Meg90

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I'm glad that you are posting these pics Maggie...I didn't mean to offset your point. I saw another post on here where two other torts were housed in the same enclosure, and while one was growing normally, the other hardly grew at all. Even though they all seemed "happy"....

All torts need their own space, and based off of what I have seen, should be housed accordingly.

Props to you Maggie, for taking such good care on Bob and Tony
 
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Maggie Cummings

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Meg90 said:
I'm glad that you are posting these pics Maggie...I didn't mean to offset your point. I saw another post on here where two other torts were housed in the same enclosure, and while one was growing normally, the other hardly grew at all. Even though they all seemed "happy"....

All torts need their own space, and based off of what I have seen, should be housed accordingly.

Props to you Maggie, for taking such good care on Bob and Tony

No...I knew I didn't word that properly...I meant that I didn't really make my point about Bob and Tony not having enough room. In the winter picture you should have been able to see 2 balls. I don't know what happened they were there a minute ago!!! Bob loves to play with the balls and it's a serious kick to see him ramming them and then chasing after them...I laugh out loud at Bob a lot...
 

Randomchic

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Love your pictures! I'm trying to get ideas for enclosures before I adopt a tortoise. I was wondering, if I make and enclosure for a tortoise in a corner of my yard which has protection against them digging out, but then allow them out into the rest of my yard which is just surrounded by chain link, would they tend to want to dig out of a yard that is about 1/2 acre of lawn? Or would I have to watch them closely any time they are out roaming? How long does it take them to dig out? I would just love to give them access to our large yard but don't know how feasible this is? Thanks!
Amber
 

Yvonne G

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It has been my experience that if they can see through the fence they always try to get through to the other side. You can solve this problem by placing some 1"x12" boards lengthwise around the bottom. Do you have cement below the chain link? If not, you will surely have a tortoise that digs out. And with a sulcata it only takes a few minutes. You can either bolt the boards through the fence, or tie them in place with those plastic ties.

If you live in an area where its ok to have the desert tortoises, Gopherus agassizii, it takes them a little bit longer to dig. You might be able to catch them at it and save the day, but then again, maybe not.

Try to find out if there's a turtle club where you live. Its pretty helpful to the new tortoise keeper to go see how people pen up their tortoises.

Its good you are doing your research before taking the plunge.

Yvonne
 

krissy2288

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Hey im just wondering but do tortoises really play with bouncy balls cuz i have heard on yahoo questions that they think its food and they just try to bite it and it just looks like their playing....is this true?
 
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Maggie Cummings

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Bob doesn't try to bite the balls. He hits one with his foot then chases it around the yard. It's really fun to watch. If he was trying to bite it, he'd be hitting it with his mouth which is not what he does. And the second question...Bob has never tried to dig out. But I had to put cinder block in front of the chain link because he tries to push thru it to get into the yard next door.
 

BigBiscuit

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I love how you lined up the tortoises for their pictures, like siblings standing next to each other. Very cute!
 
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Maggie Cummings

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BigBiscuit said:
I love how you lined up the tortoises for their pictures, like siblings standing next to each other. Very cute!
 

Chase

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Wow, the torts themselves look awesome. Their shells have no pyramidding (spelling?) at all... how did you avoid that?
 
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