Sulcata humid hide humidity and temp

[ksp001]

Hi everyone.
I am new to the tortoise life! We love our little gamera already!
Please share with us your recommended set up for a 55 gallon fish tank. We want him healthy and perfectly happy in his new home. We've been editing for a new days but we know it still needs work.
I see lots of people on here with different advice and overall its causing a bit confusion.

So in your opinion how hot and humid should the humid hide be?

Basking temp? Overall humidity and temp of enclosure?
How far should basking light be above basking spot?

Im going to make a trip to the pet store of things so please let me know what you think is needed not needed.

He was given to us as a christmas gift so it was a bit of short notice and had no time to plan. Im a bit obsessed with him so I REALLY need all the deets!
Weve always had plans to get a sulcata and were saving up and trying to plan but that was cut short

Thanks yall!

 

[wellington]

He needs a closed chamber with temps never lower then 80, basking area 95-100 and humidity 80%. If it's a hatchling upto about 6 months maybe a year the fish tank will be fine but will need bigger soon if fed and housed correctly.

 

[wellington]

Thread 'The Best Way To Raise A Sulcata, Leopard, Or Star Tortoise' https://www.tortoiseforum.org/threa...se-a-sulcata-leopard-or-star-tortoise.181497/

 

[wellington]

Thread 'Closed "Chambers"' https://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/closed-chambers.32333/

 

[wellington]

Read the 2 links I posted above

 

[Tom]

Hi everyone.
I am new to the tortoise life! We love our little gamera already!
Please share with us your recommended set up for a 55 gallon fish tank. We want him healthy and perfectly happy in his new home. We've been editing for a new days but we know it still needs work.
I see lots of people on here with different advice and overall its causing a bit confusion.

So in your opinion how hot and humid should the humid hide be?

Basking temp? Overall humidity and temp of enclosure?
How far should basking light be above basking spot?

Im going to make a trip to the pet store of things so please let me know what you think is needed not needed.

He was given to us as a christmas gift so it was a bit of short notice and had no time to plan. Im a bit obsessed with him so I REALLY need all the deets!
Weve always had plans to get a sulcata and were saving up and trying to plan but that was cut short

Thanks yall!

Oh boy are you in for a wild ride...

Start here. Until you understand this one, you will experience a lot of frustration, and your tortoise won't be housed correctly:

Info For New People. Please Read This First.

Hello and welcome to tortoiseforum.org! We are all glad you are here! There is no other forum like this anywhere. We have tens of thousands of members from all over the world ranging from kids with their first tortoise to people who have been breeding and keeping high end tortoises since the...

tortoiseforum.org

 

[ksp001]

Thank you for the information that was very helpful!
Our little one is about 2 years in age. we got him from a local breeder that houses and breeds his kind specifically. Hes got lots of older ones wandering all around where we got him from so hopefully the hatched him correctly.

My husband i will follow the directions given very closely..

his Temps and humidity are where they need to be we keep a close eye on it. We have lots of acreage for this little guy so space will never be an issue. We do have dogs but they are outdoors and we plan on securing about 1 acre so he can't dig out of his area as we do graze cows and sheep and dont want him to be hurt..

when it comes time to transfer him outside(though im sure we've got some years still ) what should we use to keep him securely in? How far should we dig under our pasture fences?

Sorry future planning lol! Better to prepare now than later and in the middle of summer.

Oh boy are you in for a wild ride...

Start here. Until you understand this one, you will experience a lot of frustration, and your tortoise won't be housed correctly:

Info For New People. Please Read This First.

Hello and welcome to tortoiseforum.org! We are all glad you are here! There is no other forum like this anywhere. We have tens of thousands of members from all over the world ranging from kids with their first tortoise to people who have been breeding and keeping high end tortoises since the...

tortoiseforum.org

http://

 

[Tom]

Thank you for the information that was very helpful!
Our little one is about 2 years in age. we got him from a local breeder that houses and breeds his kind specifically. Hes got lots of older ones wandering all around where we got him from so hopefully the hatched him correctly.

My husband i will follow the directions given very closely..

his Temps and humidity are where they need to be we keep a close eye on it. We have lots of acreage for this little guy so space will never be an issue. We do have dogs but they are outdoors and we plan on securing about 1 acre so he can't dig out of his area as we do graze cows and sheep and dont want him to be hurt..

when it comes time to transfer him outside(though im sure we've got some years still ) what should we use to keep him securely in? How far should we dig under our pasture fences?

Sorry future planning lol! Better to prepare now than later and in the middle of summer.

http://

Future planning is GREAT!

If all goes well, they should be too big to live indoors (around 8-10 inches) by about 12-18 months old. If they are started correctly and then housed and fed correctly, indoor enclosures, even huge ones, don't last long.

You, and especially your husband, will be thrilled to know that they do not "dig out". Sulcatas, if they burrow at all, and some don't, dig down at about a 40 degree angle, and use the one tunnel as their burrow in hot weather. They can't be allowed to use a burrow in winter here. They don't dig down and then back up in another direction. One possible exception is if they can see a gap under the fence, they will sometimes push themselves under, and I suppose that could be considered "digging out", but they aren't like a dog that would dig to get out of its fenced area.

Whatever you make the pen put of, it needs to be a solid visual barrier. You can use chain link and other see-though materials, but you have to add a visual barrier for about 18 inches around the entire bottom. I like to use slump stone block for smaller sulcatas, but once they get to around 50-60 pounds, some of them will sometimes figure out how to push through the block and knock parts of the wall down. If that happens, just re-build the wall and set an eight foot by 18 or 20 inch tall piece of plywood in that spot along the wall. They will seldom try it in another spot. This will buy you some time to figure out something more secure, if needed. Usually, if they grow up behind the blocks from the time they are little, they never challenge the wall.

Pasture grazing on grasses and weeds is the BEST possible way to feed a sulcata. That is IDEAL. You have one lucky tortoise there!

 

[ksp001]

Future planning is GREAT!

If all goes well, they should be too big to live indoors (around 8-10 inches) by about 12-18 months old. If they are started correctly and then housed and fed correctly, indoor enclosures, even huge ones, don't last long.

You, and especially your husband, will be thrilled to know that they do not "dig out". Sulcatas, if they burrow at all, and some don't, dig down at about a 40 degree angle, and use the one tunnel as their burrow in hot weather. They can't be allowed to use a burrow in winter here. They don't dig down and then back up in another direction. One possible exception is if they can see a gap under the fence, they will sometimes push themselves under, and I suppose that could be considered "digging out", but they aren't like a dog that would dig to get out of its fenced area.

Whatever you make the pen put of, it needs to be a solid visual barrier. You can use chain link and other see-though materials, but you have to add a visual barrier for about 18 inches around the entire bottom. I like to use slump stone block for smaller sulcatas, but once they get to around 50-60 pounds, some of them will sometimes figure out how to push through the block and knock parts of the wall down. If that happens, just re-build the wall and set an eight foot by 18 or 20 inch tall piece of plywood in that spot along the wall. They will seldom try it in another spot. This will buy you some time to figure out something more secure, if needed. Usually, if they grow up behind the blocks from the time they are little, they never challenge the wall.

Pasture grazing on grasses and weeds is the BEST possible way to feed a sulcata. That is IDEAL. You have one lucky tortoise there!

Thank you very much for all of the advice! So glad to hear they aren't much into digging out! We will definitely make sure there is a solid visual barrier!

 

[Ray--Opo]

Welcome, hold on and get the setup done correctly the first time. The caresheets that have been posted for you have all the answers. Also ask questions, we definitely enjoy helping make your and your torts journey as easy as possible. Once you get the living arrangements figured out. Then everything is put on cruise control and life with your giant friend becomes rewarding.