Sulcata advice needed

[REXANNismyprettygirl]

Hey everyone!! I haven't been on here in forever but that is because you all gave me so much info I have been a pretty effective torti mom for Rexann.

Well I am having some issues now...

History: for the last couple months I have been bringing Rexann in at night and putting her in a large rubbermaid container because it has been down in the 30's and 40's at night. I was scared to death she would die in the cold as she has never re-dug a burrow after her first one collapsed. We have a large house build for her with a heat lamp but she refuses to stay in it and instead huddles next to the house in a dip she has made.

The problem: for several days now Rexann starts freaking out and wants out of the container in the morning before it is warm outside and has cut the back of her head open with her shell. A lower container she can easily get out of so that wont work.

Can she be outside?? Tonight the low is 46. She has obviously lived very well on her own for the years before we found her but I am so concerned about her!!

 

[Yvonne G]

I'm afraid Rexann needs some tough love. No, she can't go outside until it warms up later in the day.

I would put her into a cardboard box and fold the flaps over and lock them in place. Put her someplace where she's warm and just make her stay there until it warms up outside.

It froze here last night, but by 9:30 the sun was shining nicely and even though it was still only about 45, it was nice and warm in a protected area out of the wind, so I put my guys out in the sun for the day.

 

[jeffbens0n]

Have you tried putting her in her house every night? Or you could lock her in it at night to keep her warm.

 

[REXANNismyprettygirl]

whenever we "lock" her in anywhere (the house or the rubbermaid tote) is when she does the self mutilation routine of trying to climb walls to get out she is pinching her head inbetween her shell and the wall.

oh and she can chew and dig her way out of a cardboard box in pretty short order time. she is a naughty girl!!

 

[jeffbens0n]

So she won't stay in her house if you just put her in at night without locking her in? Does it stay warm enough for her in there?

 

[REXANNismyprettygirl]

no she wont stay in the house at all. she wants to go lay next to the house behind the ac unit. she has made a little bowl shaped area that she lays down in.

 

[Laura]

i think she needs more then a cardboard box.. my large boys come out and bask in the sun even if its cold.. they are more tolerant then a small one..

 

[Tom]

You need to modify the outdoor house in such a way that you can lock her in there at night. Get a remote probe and check the temps in there carefully. It might be too hot or too cold. How hare you heating it? How big is it? How big is Rexann now? If the temps are correct and you put her in there every night for a few weeks, she'll probably start going in on her own. Both of my new females didn't want to go in the night house on their own initially because the door was to narrow for their liking. They could fit, because I put them in that way, but they didn't "like" it. I made the door a little bigger and put in clear vinyl flaps and they started going in on their own immediately.

The moral is that there is something about the box or the door that is not to her liking. Find the problem and fix it, and she'll start using her box.

 

[pdrobber]

to prevent from climbing the walls of whatever you're using, maybe try something that has walls that are slanted inward? maybe throw a few pieces of wood together and make an open top pyramid type shape so that it's harder to get a footing on the wall to start climbing? like this shape, without the top piece

 

[shellysmom]

Is there any way you can just make her a little warm box out by the A/C? That's where she really feels like her "burrow" is, so my guess is she's going to struggle to escape from wherever she is as long as she's not in the place she wants to be. Locking her up somewhere is fine, except that she continues to injure herself. In the colder weather, I built a little box house around my tort's burrow and ran heat out there, because that's really where he feels the most comfortable. If there's any way you could do something similar -- build a box around it and run a cord for heat, I'm sure she'd be very happy...

 

[Tom]

Shelly'smom makes a great point. When I moved Bert to the other side of the ranch, I put his box where I thought it ought to be. Well Bert kept sleeping outside over where HE thought it ought to be. I simply moved his box over there where he wanted to be and voila! He's never NOT gone in it on his own since then.

 

[Maggie Cummings]

In my opinion you need to make sure the inside of her house is warm enough for her, that means more than 80 degrees, and make it comfy for her and lock her in it every night. If it's warm enough she will get used to it and stop fighting to get out. I would also take some adhesive tape and run it over the edge of her carapace so it's not sharp and she can't hurt herself while she is doing all that fighting. Make sure the inside of her house is warm and comfy, put hay in it or something for her to burrow into and make her stay inside her own house. Remember you are the boss and it's your job to make her safe and comfortable...

 

[Tom]

Good ideas with the tape and the hay Maggie.

 

[Yvonne G]

Good ideas with the tape and the hay Maggie.

Oh boy! another use for duct tape!!

 

[Livingstone]

Theres a reason she wont go into the house, probably because it IS too hot. Does she ever go into the house?
If she goes in and comes back out, try adjusting the temperature as some have mentioned. Could you post a pic of the house and its setup so we can get an idea? Some tortoises dont like to be that hot.

My experience with livingstone is that she wont stay in her house if the temp is too high, she will dig herself a lil depression in another corner and go to sleep there. As soon as I move the CHE away from her house to bring the temp down, she happily goes and sleeps in there.