Should I relocate Sulcata to East Coast?

[TurtlePoop]

I have a 1-year-old sulcata in Los Angeles, CA. I am moving to Washington, DC for school and will be there for, at least, the next two years. I'm thinking about bringing my sulcata with me? Is that a bad idea? I'm worried about him not getting enough time outside during the winter.

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi TurtlePoop:

Welcome to the Tortoise Forum!!

Ok, you've asked for our opinions, so I'm going to be honest with mine. Since the tortoise is only a year old, I think you ought to see if there is someone in L.A. who will take the tortoise...either on a foster basis or permanently. You are going to be busy with school and homework and really won't have the time and money to spend on the tortoise. He will need an expensive UVB light and a fairly large habitat. You'll have to buy food.

Young sulcata tortoises CAN live in Washington DC, however, in this case, I think it would be in the tortoise's best interest to stay in California.

What would you like us to call yoU?

 

[Jacqui]

My question is, where are you going to be living there? In a place by yourself or having a bunch of roommates?

 

[TurtlePoop]

My question is, where are you going to be living there? In a place by yourself or having a bunch of roommates?

I'll have a very sunny apartment all to myself located a block away from my school.

 

[TurtlePoop]

Hi TurtlePoop:

Welcome to the Tortoise Forum!!

Ok, you've asked for our opinions, so I'm going to be honest with mine. Since the tortoise is only a year old, I think you ought to see if there is someone in L.A. who will take the tortoise...either on a foster basis or permanently. You are going to be busy with school and homework and really won't have the time and money to spend on the tortoise. He will need an expensive UVB light and a fairly large habitat. You'll have to buy food.

Young sulcata tortoises CAN live in Washington DC, however, in this case, I think it would be in the tortoise's best interest to stay in California.

What would you like us to call yoU?

Duly noted. Thank you for your reply!

 

[Tom]

Hmm... Tough call. You could make a case either way. L.A. is certainly a better place for him weather wise...

But if I were in your shoes I would want my baby with me. I took my first sulcata off to college with me back in the early nineties. I lived in an apartment, but had the time, space and weather to sun him regularly.

Good luck deciding.

 

[Dizisdalife]

When I went to college I took my dog (age 2) and my cat (age 10). The dog went to all my classes with me. He either sat next to me or played frizzby with the other dogs until class was over. The cat did what cats do. This was at the University of Illinois in Champaign -Urbana, Il. I can't imagine taking a sulcata and caring for one while attending college. From age 1 to age 3 these guys grow a lot. Their needs for diet and habitat change as much as they do. In the last year my sulcata youngster has grown about 8 inches and gained 10 pounds. I have built and enlarged his outdoor pen for him. I built a heated house for him to use outside. He has gone from living mostly in an indoor enclosure to living entirely outdoors. He has gone from eating 20-30 grams of store bought produce to eating, some days, a half-pound of a variety of foods including cactus, hibiscus, graze, Mazuri, and that occasional peach.

All that being the case, if I were going off to college today I would take my tortoise with me and find a way to manage with him. If I turned out that it wasn't okay I would ship him back home to LA.

 

[Jacqui]

I am going to vote to take him with you. Seems you have the potential to house him, even if it will mostly be inside. The main reason for me boils down to if it were myself I would be taking him. I found while out on the road in the semi, I got bad cases of critter withdrawal. Keeping them in the truck was a lot of extra work and at times a major pain in the rear, but not having them was worse for me. So I vote for giving it a try, after all if it isn't working out you can take or send him back home and then atleast you tried while learning a few things.

 

[wellington]

I would have a hard time not taking him. It all can be done in cold climates as well as not cold climate. Little more expensive and a little more work? And time? But, I feel if taken care of the proper way, right equipment, food, water, sunshine whenever possible, they all will come out happy, healthy, and probably no signs of them being raise in cold or warm, or hot climates. In the summer time, I pretty much have perfect climate for most torts, hot and humid, most times. However then I have winters, cold. So I do what I have to do to make him happy, warm, and thrive during those winter months.

 

[Lilithlee]

I vote take him with you. I live 60 mintues outside DC, and I'd say from May to late September you can keep him outside.