Sulcata Pair... a pair, I know :(

[FoldintheCheese]

I intervened to rescue two sulcatas in poor conditions. I know pairs are not a good idea. We're keeping one, but the second one I am rehoming. I've been calling him(?) "BB" for "Big and Bossy." They are both too young to sex from what I've read, but I think BB is a boy b/c he has a longer tail and moves it to the side.

They leave each other alone 95% of the day, but BB doesn't hesitate to climb over, wedge in front of, wedge next to the other one, and he mounts the other one 1-3x a day. BB soaks more, eats more, and basks more with the other one avoiding them or sitting still stopping what they were doing. Same age, but clearly BB has been eating more for a while. That said, it's been 2 days and they both seem hydrated, eating, and pooping, so not all bad.

It's a temporary situation, but I'm looking at probably 2-4wks before BB moves on. I can cut some wood and split the habitat in half, but they would each have 1/2 the space to roam. I know pairs aren't good. Which is better-- sharing a bigger space (24x48" for 2 6" sulcatas) or private and small (2x2' per 6" sulcata)? I can try it and see how it goes, but they've already been through so much already. I don't know if the smaller space would be more distressing.

 

[Markw84]

Unfortunately you are in a tough position. 4x2 is nowhere big enough for one 6" sulcata. At that size a sulcata needs at least an 8x3 or 8x4 enclosure as a minimum. Since you are intending to keep one, you need to find a way to provide a lot more room for it. This time of year where you are you could make a large enough pen outdoors much easier and cheaper and use the 4x2 for sleeping at night only. Not ideal for 6" sulcata, but better than the limited room of a 4x2 enclosure if that's all you can do indoors. They need more room absolutely as soon as possible as you are trying to rehab them.

 

[wellington]

I agree with Mark. Rescuing them and putting them in a bad situation isn't rescuing them! You need to rehome one now and do much better for the one you keep. If you can't, rehome both.

 

[FoldintheCheese]

Unfortunately you are in a tough position. 4x2 is nowhere big enough for one 6" sulcata. At that size a sulcata needs at least an 8x3 or 8x4 enclosure as a minimum. Since you are intending to keep one, you need to find a way to provide a lot more room for it. This time of year where you are you could make a large enough pen outdoors much easier and cheaper and use the 4x2 for sleeping at night only. Not ideal for 6" sulcata, but better than the limited room of a 4x2 enclosure if that's all you can do indoors. They need more room absolutely as soon as possible as you are trying to rehab them.

One is 5" and one is 6" (BB). I was told the 2x4 (it's slightly bigger but definitely not 8x3) would be big enough for some months for the 5" until he/she moves outside. I saw a post from
@Tom that says 4x8 that lasts until they are 8-10in. They will be moved outside completely well before they reach that size unless what I found online about growth rates is wrong. I can definitely do a pen outside. There were some animal hospital sites saying the extreme heat we get here was not safe for this age, so that's why I started inside to begin with. Going outside for part of the day is doable as well, though, and might be a way to be safe with the heat. It was 110+ a few days last week.

In terms of rehoming, all the shelters are overrun here, and the rescue in Houston can't meet for 2 weeks, so I'm stuck. There's a veterinarian moving to Austin interested in adopting, but she won't be here for 4 weeks. There are others interested in rehoming sooner, but no one prepared or experienced, which makes me nervous. Not that I am experienced (clearly)

To that end, I haven't seen a kind of guide or book people agree on for in-depth information that people can use to figure out their unique situations, and I've seen a very wide range of what is recommended for all kinds of things by vets, zookeepers, people who have been raising them for years. What one animal hospital will say is good someone on this forum will say is terrible. I would think a guide written by a vet would be the gold standard, but that hasn't been the case. Is there a golden book on sulcatas that people agree on?

To be clear, my plan was this...
1, Get them the heck out of that small aquarium into a clean space with food and clean water and lamps for light and warmth.
2, Rehome the bigger one.
3, Use a temporary indoor setup while I plan the outdoor space for the smaller one so it's ready to build as soon as we are out of heat advisories.
4, Move outdoors to 9x24' space and start reinforcing fence around the rest of the yard for more grazing space come spring.
That said, we have a good sized yard, but it's not acreage. There's 30'x50' of just grass. But is that enough? I thought it was, but maybe not. There's not a #5 step to this plan. That is the space we have. 9x24 for main habitat and an additional 30x50' for grazing. If this isn't enough, I'll rehome them both.

@wellington I'm aware one bad spot to another isn't a proper rescue, but truly respectfully, I make no apologies for getting them out of a fly infested aquarium, eating peas daily. "Now" would be great, but rehoming is taking time.

 

[wellington]

One is 5" and one is 6" (BB). I was told the 2x4 (it's slightly bigger but definitely not 8x3) would be big enough for some months for the 5" until he/she moves outside. I saw a post from
@Tom that says 4x8 that lasts until they are 8-10in. They will be moved outside completely well before they reach that size unless what I found online about growth rates is wrong. I can definitely do a pen outside. There were some animal hospital sites saying the extreme heat we get here was not safe for this age, so that's why I started inside to begin with. Going outside for part of the day is doable as well, though, and might be a way to be safe with the heat. It was 110+ a few days last week.

In terms of rehoming, all the shelters are overrun here, and the rescue in Houston can't meet for 2 weeks, so I'm stuck. There's a veterinarian moving to Austin interested in adopting, but she won't be here for 4 weeks. There are others interested in rehoming sooner, but no one prepared or experienced, which makes me nervous. Not that I am experienced (clearly)

To that end, I haven't seen a kind of guide or book people agree on for in-depth information that people can use to figure out their unique situations, and I've seen a very wide range of what is recommended for all kinds of things by vets, zookeepers, people who have been raising them for years. What one animal hospital will say is good someone on this forum will say is terrible. I would think a guide written by a vet would be the gold standard, but that hasn't been the case. Is there a golden book on sulcatas that people agree on?

To be clear, my plan was this...
1, Get them the heck out of that small aquarium into a clean space with food and clean water and lamps for light and warmth.
2, Rehome the bigger one.
3, Use a temporary indoor setup while I plan the outdoor space for the smaller one so it's ready to build as soon as we are out of heat advisories.
4, Move outdoors to 9x24' space and start reinforcing fence around the rest of the yard for more grazing space come spring.
That said, we have a good sized yard, but it's not acreage. There's 30'x50' of just grass. But is that enough? I thought it was, but maybe not. There's not a #5 step to this plan. That is the space we have. 9x24 for main habitat and an additional 30x50' for grazing. If this isn't enough, I'll rehome them both.

@wellington I'm aware one bad spot to another isn't a proper rescue, but truly respectfully, I make no apologies for getting them out of a fly infested aquarium, eating peas daily. "Now" would be great, but rehoming is taking time.

2x4 is for a hatchling, nothing bigger than maybe 3-4 inches. It's to small for yours.
@EppsDynasty has a rescue and that's the best you could do for them is turn them over to them.