I have a juvenile sulcata and we’re building his winter housing. It’s a small greenhouse, off the floor, with a custom built heating system below. In the pictures you will see two cut out holes in the floor where the heater underneath pumps the air (one for intake and outtake). It went down to 32 F last night outside and the overall temp of the cage inside, registering in the middle and up in the air (not ground level) was 52F at the lowest point. I’m assuming a few degrees warmer on the ground. Highest peak for the day was only 72F inside. My husband thinks one infrared bulb will be plenty to bring one area of the cage up to temp. I believe we need a true visible basking light. Our argument is visible light vs non visible light. I don’t think he can get true basking temp from a non visible light.
Sulcata winter enclosure help
- Thread starter Betsy
- Start date
He needs 80 day and night with a basking flood bulb that reaches 95-100. He needs dark at night but heat. Being outside he needs an insulated enclosure with an oil filled radiator portable heater. 32 temps, bulbs will not keep it warm enough.
How old and big is he?
How old and big is he?
So we’re trying to coordinate the temp between the greenhouse fan heater beneath (comes up through the vents) and the bulbs to add. The enclosure is ensulated. My husband doesn’t want a visible bulb for heat bc he wants one bulb that we can use both day and night so as not to clutter the enclosure with wires and lamps. We can use the heater to maintain overall heat at 80, but can we use a red/blue/dark bulb for basking temps? He’s 6 and about 7-8”
Not a red bulb, they need normal dark at night and red can make them eat things they shouldn't. Use a flood bulb. Your husband needs to consider what the tortoise needs. Which is no light at night and a lighted flood basking bulb during the day.
Thank you!
What size sulcata?
What size is that box?
Where are you?
Is this a heated night shelter, or is he going to live in this for several months a year?
I'm not understanding the holes in the ground with the metal spikes around them. You've given up a lot of floor space, and how will you keep him from falling in? Those metal spikes won't stop a large sulcata. What is generating the heat underneath?
Heat lamps and infrared bulbs are not safe for larger tortoises. It will damage the carapace. And also, tortoises can see infrared meter than we can, so that's not a good plan. They need it dark at night.
He’s just a big bigger than my hand, not taller than the spikes, and they will have a wall around them when finished. My husband cut the holes to allow intake and outtake of the heater we added that is insulated and built underneath to rise up and heat the bottom half of the cage. The top half is glass greenhouse. It’s a temp enclosure for night time during the winter months and for the few winter days it gets too cold. I’m in NC and we stay pretty steady in the 60s with sunshine during the day rn. Nights are down to 30s at the worst times but usually 40-50.
Something is terribly wrong. Do you know what it is? They should reach that size by around 10-12 months. At 6 years old it should be at least18-20 inches for a slow grower, and larger for a normal grower.
Was this a dry started baby? Has it been kept too cold? I'm asking because if you don't know why this is, then something is not right, and I would like to help you figure it out and fix it.
I thought he was a pretty slow grower myself and Ive been wondering if it’s because he’s been inside for winters. His usual winter enclosure is too small for him now, hence this new one we’re trying to make. His usual enclosure is fully insulated with the lights built into the cage on the inside. His temps have maintained (thanks to this site teaching me when he was a baby), his diet as well is 80% grass the rest a variety of greens. He’s a very playful, alert, torty. In the summer he’s outside 24/7 and that’s when we see the most growth. He slows down every winter when we have to bring him in.
I said heat lamps are no good for larger tortoises after you said he was 6 years old, but with his size you can get away with it for a while longer. Once he hits 10-11 inches, I would start looking for your next heating strategy.
Do you keep him 80 degrees at night? Does the ambient temp warm into the high 80s or low 90s daily? With a basking area around 95-100?
This is an interesting case to me. Mine grow much slower when outside all day, and they grow much faster when kept mostly indoors. When he's outside 24/7 in summer, does he have a heated night box to sleep in?
80% grass? That is fantastic and way better than grocery store produce, but few people achieve that percentage. I wonder if all that grass is making him grow slower when compared other diets for small sulcatas? I've seen other tortoises of other species eating mostly grass, but also with clover and other stuff mixed in, and they grew pretty fast, which leads me back to temperatures...
Thank you for indulging my curiosity. I've never made living quarters quite like what you have there, but as long as the temperatures stay warm enough, it seems to me like it will work. I hope I offered something helpful in all my rambling.
Want to make sure the temps needed are actually at tort level?
My insulated heated shed has a ceiling fan running 24/7 in the winter in order to get the temps needed at tort level.
My insulated heated shed has a ceiling fan running 24/7 in the winter in order to get the temps needed at tort level.
Yes his temps don’t drop below 82 even at night and basking reaches 98. I order a bunch of different grasses from California and feed that mixed with wild dandelions and clover from the yard in the summer. He’s not a big fan of hay but loves everything else.
He does NOT have a heated box outside, just a general plastic one with a cut out opening. But summer time temps don’t drop below 75 and it’s pretty humid as well.
We lived in a town home the past couple years and that was the first time we could leave him outside in the warm months and he started growing enough to notice each month. Then it stopped at winter and began again when we take him out, almost like he literally doesn’t grow until he’s outside. And we used to let him roam in the house during winter (supervised) for exercise but it didn’t make a difference
Yes we have a heated greenhouse fan we use to maintain the general temp day and night. We’re just trying to balance it now with the bulbs so that we don’t overheat or cause too much humidity and make him sick
Can't really have too much humidity. As long as it stays warm, not below 80 and humid 80% he won't get sick.
This is a clue. Have you kept him dry? How often do you soak him? Also, its cold on the floor of a house, and its cold on the ground outside, even in summer with the evaporative cooling. I'll bet cooler temps have something to do with the size... They really need a heated shelter when living outside. The smaller the tortoise, the more critical this is.
Have you ever run a fecal to check for parasitic worms?
He stays dry and I try to soak him every day but sometimes islets every couple. But I usually find a big pile of poo in his water bowl daily when I change it. His greenhouse is raised and off the ground so the floor in that enclosure is insulated underneath and directly above the heater as well. I haven’t done a fecal check but he does get some pumpkin purée a couple times a year. I’ve also never seen anything but grass in his poo
