Thinking about sulcata tortoise few questions

[Tortoise person]

Hi, Im new to the forums and have a few questions about sulcata tortoises. My plan is to buy a baby or possibly a pair of tortoises and house them in a pond liner in my garage in winter. We live in Atlanta, Ga and can get down into the 20's in harsh winter. During the summer I plan to modify a deck storage box for them to live in. By the way my garage is not heated or a/c in any way. Once they get larger i plan to keep them outside permanently. Whats the best way to do that? Also their outdoor area is going to be a large enclosed wooden deck. It also has a small step is that ok? Thanks for your time!

 

[wellington]

Hello and Welcome. Please read Toms threads below in my post for proper care and housing for young sulcata babies. Do not get a pair, unless you can hiuse them separately, tortoises do not need nor want a friend. They are solitary animals, specially sulcatas. The ideas you mentioned for keeping a Sulcata is not idea at all. Hatclings need to be kept in a closed controlled chamber a garage without heat could be too cold to easily maintain the temps and humidity they require. A deck for larger ones, offers no grazing and steps should not be a plan in their enclosure. A very large properly fenced off area is a proper home for an adult.

 

[Tortoise person]

Thanks for your advice! Unfortunately the largest area i could provide for one is the deck. Are there any other species that would be suitable. Maybe smaller so I could build a pen for it? I really want a tortoise but not a small one like a russian or a greek. Thanks

 

[wellington]

You don't have any yard available or not big enough for a sulcata? All tortosies should have an outdoor enclosure to graze in. You could make a grassy enclosure on the deck, grow your own grass and weeds in it. However, I'm afraid the tortoises you don't want are the only ones that stay small enough for a deck size, yet they still need a lot of room. What size is the deck and could you devote the whole deck to a tortoise?

 

[Tortoise person]

Well the yard is pretty much just forest, no grass or anything fancy like that. Unfortunately i cannot devote the whole deck to the tortoise. I was looking into redfoots they seem to need less room. Would they work in a deck box on the deck? Im sorry Im annoying u with these questions I just dont want to do anything wrong and wind up with a sick tortoise.

 

[Tortoise person]

By the way the yard about .25 acre

 

[Alaskamike]

There are many things you could do, it just takes inventiveness and a bit of effort. Georgia is a good place to raise a tortoise, but you do have to provide the warmth they need in the cooler months. Babies especially cannot take the cold. especially cool and damp. Most species cannot digest their food till their internal temps are up to 80f.
It is commendable you are investigating and researching BEFORE you get a tortoise - way too many people don't and the poor animals end up in bad situations. No 2 houses, yards, climates, etc are the same, so some adaptation is needed. The important thing is to know what your specific tortoise species needs and then go about creating that. I assume you intend on keeping your tortoise for life so size does matter The bigger the tortoise, the more space it needs, and they seem to grow fast. My experience has been the effort and $ needed to build the environment for good care far outstrips the cost of the tortoise. But inventiveness can reduce the costs significantly.

The basics are all outlined in the tortoise specific sections, most with "stickys" at the top on care for that species.

You say you don't want a small tortoise. Take a look at redfoots / yellowfoots. They are really a great in-between size. and can be quite entertaining. They will grow to 12-20lbs and are long lived. But regardless of what you get, you cannot skimp on the basics ; proper nutrition, water/humidity, heat, hides, and grazing/walking room. If you cut corners much on any of these you will have less than a healthy tortoise - it might even die.

And... please don't get discouraged with the recommendations members here make. Most have been raising and caring for tortoises for a long time, and they really care about your success as well as the health of your tortoise.

 

[Tortoise person]

Ive been reading up on redfoots and they seem great! And they seem to be able to be maintained in smaller areas. So could I maintain a redfoot in a modified deckbox with a hole cut in the side leading to a small area to run around in my deck? Also could I put some potted plants in the outside area for food and grazing? I really want a tortoise I just dont want to screw up! Thank you all so much!

 

[Alaskamike]

Yes. That could be done. Especially when small.

I took a plastic under-bed container that was about 18"x 36" and about 5" sides I got from Wallmart. Put in potting soil and got seed mix for torts from Carolina Supply. It seemed to sprout up over night. Within weeks it was full of good to eat plants.

When I has little ones I'd put then in there for an hour or so and they are it like crazy. They never could eat it down to nothing and it kept growing.

You can add a tort chow called Mazuri to their diet also and it provides some needed nutrient.
A bit of calcium sprinkled a couple times a week helps too.

It's being incentive and willing to experiment and tweak can as well as adjusting to size that makes all the difference.

Torts are not hard , once you understand their needs and create the proper set up.

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi, and welcome to the Forum!

I think you'd be making a mistake getting a sulcata with the living conditions you've described. They love to 'march' around their territory and would be pretty stressed out to be confined in such a small space. Babies would do ok but as they get bigger it would be stressful.

We have a nice thread for beginning tortoise keepers:

http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/beginner-mistakes.45180/

 

[wellington]

What size deck box are you talking about? Even RF need a lot of space. A 6x4 or something close to,that size will not be big enough for any adult tortoise except the smaller species and then its just the minimum you should do. Not really sure why the forest area you have couldn't be used. Sounds like it would be a great place with some work maybe for one of the forest species. Even if you had to grow grasses and weeds in low sided containers in order to get some natural growing foods placed into the forest area. This would be for once it's an adult size. So, your deck area could still be used for when it's still small and will give you lots of time to get the forest area prepared.
Btw, your not annoying anyone. Glad your searching first and asking questions. That's what this forum is for. So, ask away. Hopefully we can help get your setup right for you, so you can get the tortoise you really want,

 

[Careym13]

Welcome to TFO!! Glad you are here and that you are asking lots of questions! Would it ever be possible for you to clear a part of the forest area you described in your yard? Then you could put down grass seed and make more of a yard?

 

[Tortoise person]

Well I could but the area would only be about 10x15 at its largest. Is that alright? Thankyou!

 

[Tortoise person]

The deck box is about that size but that is just the shelter area. There would be an outdoor area for them to walk around, probably 8x10. As for a dirt area I could easily clear out a small area, but grass hates our yard but I could probably grow weeds or lettuce. Thanks for all of your help!

 

[Careym13]

Well I could but the area would only be about 10x15 at its largest. Is that alright? Thankyou!

That is a pretty good amount of space for an outdoor area. I'm fairly certain that wouldn't be enough for a full grown Sulcata, but I would think it might be ok for a Redfoot. And you can just clear more as the tort grows, you wouldn't have to do it all at once but at least you wouldn't have to worry about crowding the tort onto your deck.

 

[Careym13]

The deck box is about that size but that is just the shelter area. There would be an outdoor area for them to walk around, probably 8x10. As for a dirt area I could easily clear out a small area, but grass hates our yard but I could probably grow weeds or lettuce. Thanks for all of your help!

I've had good luck growing Fescue grass in areas that other grass won't grow. Maybe you could try that.

 

[SarahChelonoidis]

The deck box is about that size but that is just the shelter area. There would be an outdoor area for them to walk around, probably 8x10. As for a dirt area I could easily clear out a small area, but grass hates our yard but I could probably grow weeds or lettuce. Thanks for all of your help!

Forest is good for a red foot - don't clear it and plant grass! A treed yard with understory plants like hostas would make for a happy footed tortoise. They're not grass eaters anyway.