Sulcata Habitat in Northern Utah

[DoobyScoob]

Hey everyone, I need to some ideas for building habitats in Norhtern Utah. Right now my Sulcata is little and can still live inside with us but he or she will grow and I want to be prepared. Any advice?

 

[Tom]

Hey everyone, I need to some ideas for building habitats in Norhtern Utah. Right now my Sulcata is little and can still live inside with us but he or she will grow and I want to be prepared. Any advice?

Move south. Then, once you are in the right climate with warm sunny winter days, build a heated night box.

 

[DoobyScoob]

Move south. Then, once you are in the right climate with warm sunny winter days, build a heated night box.

I don’t have to move anywhere. I know there are people with Sulcata tortoises living in the same climate that are doing fine. Any helpful advice?

 

[Tom]

I don’t have to move anywhere. I know there are people with Sulcata tortoises living in the same climate that are doing fine. Any helpful advice?

They need a large heated area to roam around. Build a large heated insulated building of at least 50x50 feet with redundant floor heating and a large back up generator for the inevitable power outages that will come. Install lots of lighting in the 5000-6500K color range, as well as banks of UV tubes and banks of heat lamps carefully set at the correct height so as not to damage the top of the carapace, and you should be good to go.

The above will meet the tortoises needs in a cold climate over winter. The way almost all people keep them in colder climates is not optimal, even though some of them manage to survive.

 

[Maggie3fan]

I don’t have to move anywhere. I know there are people with Sulcata tortoises living in the same climate that are doing fine. Any helpful advice?

They need a large heated area to roam around. Build a large heated insulated building of at least 50x50 feet with redundant floor heating and a large back up generator for the inevitable power outages that will come. Install lots of lighting in the 5000-6500K color range, as well as banks of UV tubes and banks of heat lamps carefully set at the correct height so as not to damage the top of the carapace, and you should be good to go.

The above will meet the tortoises needs in a cold climate over winter. The way almost all people keep them in colder climates is not optimal, even though some of them manage to survive.

Come on Tom! Life is simply not perfect.
@DoobyScoob...
I live in the PNW...At the present time I keep 6 tortoises. I have 2 complete rooms in my house with tort tables, aquariums, and a rubbermaid tub, and a 12'x20' heated and insulated rehabbed tool shed into tort shed. It's totally insulated floor walls top...half of the room belongs to Mary Knobbins, Sulcata, then the other half is broken into 2 sections, and over them is a tort table...each tortoise has a basking light a hide and a CHE. The shed stays at 85 degrees no matter what the outside temp is. I don't measure like Tom does....I have 3 large pens made with cinder blocks...one pen is resting, one just reseeded, and one being grazed by 1 Sulcata when the time comes she's put in another pen and the whole thing is repeated. Start thinking how you might set him up......then I have 6 medium and small pens for the other torts.
Spring, Summer and Fall I carry the smaller torts and put them each in a pen, I have 10 box turtles who live in tort tables inside and they are put outside in a pen with a pond. So it seems sometimes all I do is carry animals in and out...haha. The Sulcata has a doggie door that I open daily and she has the choice to go in or out, as does the other pet tort....In a perfect world you would have a set up like Tom described, or in a normal world there are many of us who try and mimic the African Savanna in the cold North.it does take more work and you really need to make the best possible habitat you can. If you are not willing to totally commiting to the care of this Sulcata find a different home for him....or work your butt off to set him up correctly and then and only then will keeping him becomes easier...

so that's the shed this winter...
I grow Rose of Sharon to help feed them. I have numerous ROS trees....
This is tort table and floor of part of the tort shed...
In the sleeping box with a farrow pad for warmth sleeping yet big
enuf for the tort to get off the pad.

PM me if you wanna see more pictures, I hope I have given you some ideas....

 

[Tom]

Come on Tom! Life is simply not perfect.
@DoobyScoob...
I live in the PNW...At the present time I keep 6 tortoises. I have 2 complete rooms in my house with tort tables, aquariums, and a rubbermaid tub, and a 12'x20' heated and insulated rehabbed tool shed into tort shed. It's totally insulated floor walls top...half of the room belongs to Mary Knobbins, Sulcata, then the other half is broken into 2 sections, and over them is a tort table...each tortoise has a basking light a hide and a CHE. The shed stays at 85 degrees no matter what the outside temp is. I don't measure like Tom does....I have 3 large pens made with cinder blocks...one pen is resting, one just reseeded, and one being grazed by 1 Sulcata when the time comes she's put in another pen and the whole thing is repeated. Start thinking how you might set him up......then I have 6 medium and small pens for the other torts.
Spring, Summer and Fall I carry the smaller torts and put them each in a pen, I have 10 box turtles who live in tort tables inside and they are put outside in a pen with a pond. So it seems sometimes all I do is carry animals in and out...haha. The Sulcata has a doggie door that I open daily and she has the choice to go in or out, as does the other pet tort....In a perfect world you would have a set up like Tom described, or in a normal world there are many of us who try and mimic the African Savanna in the cold North.it does take more work and you really need to make the best possible habitat you can. If you are not willing to totally commiting to the care of this Sulcata find a different home for him....or work your butt off to set him up correctly and then and only then will keeping him becomes easier...
View attachment 340813
so that's the shed this winter...View attachment 340814
I grow Rose of Sharon to help feed them. I have numerous ROS trees....View attachment 340818
This is tort table and floor of part of the tort shed...View attachment 340819
In the sleeping box with a farrow pad for warmth sleeping yet big
enuf for the tort to get off the pad.
View attachment 340820
PM me if you wanna see more pictures, I hope I have given you some ideas....

And this is what happens when they are kept in a little shed and/or allowed to roam in snow:

Not eating

I do understand that there's times that some tortoises don't feel like eating... however that's never been my experience with Sulcata and Mary Knobbins has not eaten for 5 days. I never experienced Sulcata not eating. Today I pushed her out the door and closed it and all she's done is spend...

tortoiseforum.org

And remember Bob's big stone? They need room to roam Maggie. Cooped up in tiny quarters for months on end is simply not good for them.

 

[Tim Carlisle]

I keep mine in and 8x6 heated house, with access to a heated 16x12 greenhouse. This is the first year I've done the greenhouse thing and it's worked out really well. During the day when it's sunny, it gets around 65-70F when the outside temps are in the 20's. He's chomped away at most of the grass inside it, but resorts to hay until it grows again.

 

[DoobyScoob]

I keep mine in and 8x6 heated house, with access to a heated 16x12 greenhouse. This is the first year I've done the greenhouse thing and it's worked out really well. During the day when it's sunny, it gets around 65-70F when the outside temps are in the 20's. He's chomped away at most of the grass inside it, but resorts to hay until it grows again.

Can I see pictures of your set up?

 

[Tim Carlisle]

Can I see pictures of your set up?