Thinking about adopting an adult sulcata

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N2TORTS

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Mike hello!
, in any case of what you decide to use as flooring, two things I have learned , which sorta ties in with the lighting,temp ect.... If your area is cold .. 50 to me is freezing ( it's about average 72 here and I worry about the damp, cooler nights we get sometimes for my leo's and sully's)...and Iam sure to a species who's orgins/genetics are from Africa its cold for them too! I didnt say it was impossible to keep one in these temps, but ...??
The raised floor is a great idea .. and as others posted.... Block off outside suround to "grade" level to keep the *critters* out. ( funny you cold peeps .. prob dont have to deal with ants .. or do you?). To be direct, the most important thing is to think about is cleanliness , and EASE of cleaning. For your floor , if you do use ply wood, make sure at least 3/4 and spend the extra and get marine plywood , it will last longer. The down fall of using ply... it warps ( no matter how close your floor joist are together) and this process is even excelled when your tort urinates on the floor. SO with that in mind you should
A: .. extend the lip of the floor beyond the actual house ( this way the debri does not collect under your floor in your void when washing out....

B : Slope the floor . From back wall at 2%... ( or 1/4 per foot) . This will allow for drainge when " wash out " time is needed.
To be honest the best for outdoor enclosure's is Concrete! you can slope the floor , great for wash out ,use any substraight ...timithy hay , alfa ect ...to keep tort happy/warm for bedding .
When dirty you sweep out , hose down . sanatize .. and add new Hay *POOF* its done and clean!
This sounds like an extreme , but honest later down the years when ya see your 100 lb torts poop you'll understand.
Which brings back to the temp ... all this is a plan ahead ..if its cold and your tort spend alot of time indoors .. then .. Wa ~La .." makes sense" ... When they are small its not all that bad .. but think of the Grand Picture ...For such a Grand Tortoise ! =:>)
PS : if you do use plywood .... I would coat it with a " truck bed" rubberized coating ... its easy to apply , cost effective , and found at auto parts store. This will put a moisture barrier and save your plywood. Plus it makes it easy to wipe out.
Happy Building!
JD
 

chadk

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If you want to try a dirt floor, here is my approach...

First off, build a level, raised bed garden frame using a wood that is resistant to rotting, but no toxic. The fake wood stuff like they use for decks now is great for this. Fill with a combo of soil and peat moss. Build your tort shed structure on top of this platform using regular lumber (just want to avoid earth to wood contact. Build a spot that can safely hold your space heater, but will be safe from your tort. You want to be safe from fire hazards and don't want the tort to get too close. You may want to actually run power to it like you would a work shop or other builder away from the house on it's circuit breaker. You'll be running the space heater, a few lamps or CHEs, heat pad, etc.

You are going to want to insulate the heck out of it. Just keep in mind the walls will be banged up pretty good, so use something that can take abuse over the insulation.

I have a food dish and spill proof dog bowl inside. When I change water, I just hose the bowl out right there in the shed on the dirt floor and let the water soak in. It can start getting pretty dusty in there and the heater and heat lamp really suck out the humidity - even in the damp Pacific Northwest.
I treat mine like a chicken coup. Just shovel it out every few months. I figure a natural tort burrow will have tort poo and pee as part of the natural substrate. It never stinks and since it is so dry in there, it dries out the poo super fast so it isn't even messy. Probably sounds gross to some, but I bet this is how baby sullies in the wild get a lot of their humidity. Now if someone can show me that in the wild, a tort would only live in a 'clean' burrow, I may change my mind on this approach :)

My tort doors are just some plastic liner I had, cut to to fit over the doors. I put about 3 layers on the inside of the door, and 3 layers on the outside. This leaves a 4 inch (2x4 framing) air pocket and helps a little with insulation. The layers are cut in strips, but the strips alternate so no 2 strips line up. It is easy to push through, but holds out drafts pretty well (and holds the heat in).

You may want to introduce your tort to this in the summer. Have no door at first. Put him in and give him a special treat in his bowl and show him where the heat pad and\or lamp is. Then let him be. At night, assuming you tend to have cool nights like me, go out and check on him. If he just found some corner to sleep in out in the yard, move him in the shed. Should only take a night or 2 before he figures it out. If you are lucky, he'll figure it out the first night. One of my torts figured it out the first night, the other took a few nights. After they get used to the shed with no doors, then put a thin layer of the plastic. Let them have a few days getting used to pushing through the thin plastic, then finish it off.

As of now, I don't have any other door. They are in a securely fenced yard, but raccoons could come mess with them. My raccoons have probaby never seen a turtle or totoise before, so they don't associate them with food. My chickens, well, that is another story.... But so far this year, I have not had an issue. I now have a dog and geese and goats, the raccoons keep away. I also have a live trap out just in case - and have yet to get a raccoon. So I think the smell of dog is very effective. But if you are concerned, a door would be a good idea.
 
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Maggie Cummings

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Chairman...I hope we haven't overloaded you with advice and directions.

Now...this is the second year that Bob has lived in this shed. I had a professional contractor redo and insulate the shed. But...when Bob can't go out he gets mad. He is about 80 pounds now maybe a little less. But on days that I don't open his doggie door he gets pissed. If I open the door and allow him to see it's too cold out he's fine, but if I don't he gets pissed and he rams the walls or the doors. I have 2 doors one for him and a people door for me. But as I was saying he gets mad and rams the walls and the doors. This is the second full winter he has lived in this shed, and look what he is doing to his favorite corner. He gets his face in this corner...
2eevfie.jpg


and he rams it over and over and after only 2 years this is what he is doing after I paid $800 for a contractor to make a nice inside for him...
2vw8wll.jpg


nice job Bob
15646ir.jpg


I don't even know what to say...

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He doesn't even look sorry. Anyhow this is just another post to show what Sulcata can do. They are VERY destructive. And this is after only 2 years. Also I consider Bob a good natured clown...but what happens when he gets mad???

dfiwcy.jpg
 

Stephanie Logan

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Bad boy Bob, the Harley king. He's probably been keeping company with that other Chelonian reprobate, Stagger Lee...;)

Next thing you know they'll be hanging out in the pumpkin patch harassing the gourds...! :p
 

chairman

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I don't feel overloaded at all. I really appreciate the input. If I do find a sulcata to adopt I know that it is going to be a big investment, so I'd like to do it right the first time. And I have to say, as usual, folks here have been quite helpful.

Now, as for Bob... Was that 3/4 or 1/2 inch plywood that he managed to split?
 
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Maggie Cummings

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chairman said:
I don't feel overloaded at all. I really appreciate the input. If I do find a sulcata to adopt I know that it is going to be a big investment, so I'd like to do it right the first time. And I have to say, as usual, folks here have been quite helpful.

Now, as for Bob... Was that 3/4 or 1/2 inch plywood that he managed to split?

It's 1/2 inch.
 

suzette

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Hello, I was wondering as if you ever found a Sulcata. to home? And if so where did you get it from?
 

Yvonne G

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suzette said:
Hello, I was wondering as if you ever found a Sulcata. to home? And if so where did you get it from?

Hi Suzette:

2464822a4o2m3fjkc.jpg


to the forum!!
 

suzette

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Thank you Yvonne, I am still trying to figure out how this set up works. But I am sure I will get used to it..
 

Yvonne G

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suzette said:
Thank you Yvonne, I am still trying to figure out how this set up works. But I am sure I will get used to it..

I apologize for hi-jacking Chairman's thread, but I had trouble with the forum format at first too. Once you get the hang of it you'll find its much nicer and much easier than the YAHOOgroups format!

One thing to remember, if your question or comment pertains to the thread (for instance, this thread is about Chairman thinking he's going to adopt an adult sulcata), then its ok to post your question or comment in the thread. But forum etiquette says that if you have a comment or question that doesn't pertain to the original post, then you should start your own or a new thread.
 

suzette

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Oh ok. I am actually trying everything I can think of to do, to find a Sulcata that I used to own. Unfortunatley I had to find him a good a home do to job lose. But the person I gave him to was supposed to contact me if she couldnt take care of him anymore, and I was going to take him back regardless of our situation. And needless to say she did not, And I am trying to find him. I know I sound crazy, but I just want to know that he is ok. And that person that took him will not tell me anything. And I am truly heart broken.
 

chairman

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Well, if it helps any, I haven't exactly found any "adult" sulcatas to adopt yet. Neither of the two adoption places I contacted weeks ago have responded to me... not even to say no. It is a little sad. I did, however, find a pair of younger sulcatas (~6 inch SCL) that I think I might get. From the pictures I've seen their pyramiding isn't that bad. I actually only wanted to get one, but this person didn't want to split them because they are a "temp sexed pair" with parents that are definitely not related. I've been disuading from breeding sulcatas by the general opinion of the forum, but I figure I could take both and hope they're girls, keep them separate, or find a new home for one of them after I make sure they're both healthy.
 

Tom

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I've had the same experience with the rescues. Your plan sounds good to me. If they have been well cared for, don't worry about the pyramiding as its only cosmetic.
 

Stephanie Logan

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suzette said:
Oh ok. I am actually trying everything I can think of to do, to find a Sulcata that I used to own. Unfortunatley I had to find him a good a home do to job lose. But the person I gave him to was supposed to contact me if she couldnt take care of him anymore, and I was going to take him back regardless of our situation. And needless to say she did not, And I am trying to find him. I know I sound crazy, but I just want to know that he is ok. And that person that took him will not tell me anything. And I am truly heart broken.

Good grief, they won't even tell you that he's OK? They could send you a photo or something...that's just not right. It sounds like they've got something to hide, but if they are not caring for him properly you'd think they'd be more than happy to get him off their hands. So I guess they have fallen in love with him and don't want you to show up on their doorstep to take him back?

And to get back on topic (I am so bad about this--sorry!), I am surprised your local rescue won't contact you. Maybe they are understaffed. You're not anywhere close to Colorado, are you? There is a 22" Sulcata named Ellicott here in Colorado that would cost $65 plus a $120 shipping fee that is available for adoption: http://www.corhs.org/turtles.html
 

chairman

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The delay from the rescues is a little bit of a surprise to me. I'd think that the effort and expense to keep an adult sulcata would be enough to encourage the swift processing of applications, but I also bet that they'd rather miss out on me (whose weather is not that much better than theirs) to hopefully find a Floridian or Californian that would like the tortoise in a couple months.

But as for the little guys, I figure I'll still build a big shed for them, even though they're little now. I guess I'll just have to lock them in there when it is going to get too cold. Good thing I was planning on getting UV anyway, eh? I should be able to put up the shed this weekend and pick them up the week after.
 

suzette

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Thank you Taco, I truly do feel they are hiding something because all they would tell me is that he is in Souther Indiana, thats it...But you know what I Will find him and make sure he is ok..

As far as adopting anymore, I have a 1 year old Sulcata, but in the future I personalyy would like to open my own little rescue..I have spoken with my husband about it and hopefully with in the next 15 years..We will have a rescue here..Fingers crossed.

Oh and I live in Indiana..

The profile pic I have is of Gomer he is the one I am trying to find..So if anybody knows of anybody in Southern Indiana that has gotten a new Sulcata in the past few months, Please let me know..:(
 
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