Re: New sulcata owner

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Posted by Terry on January 10, 2001 at 21:59:01:

In Reply to: Re: New sulcata owner posted by Joanna on January 10, 2001 at 19:23:10:

Joanna.
I'm the wrong person to ask about indoor housing, basking lamps etc as all my torts are housed outdoors.
My one baby sulcata ( around 80 grams now) goes outdoors for about 5 hours a day, so there's no need for me to provide UV lighting for him indoors.

If your sulcata is indoors he will need UV lighting ( a must for indoor tortoises) and a basking light.
I'm not sure that he needs a heating pad as well, it would depend on the size of the indoor enclosure as there must be enough room for him to retreat to a cooler area if he chooses.

Hoku, my baby sulcata spends the night indoors, he comes in at around 5pm.
He spends the night in a Rubbermaid container.
I use a heat pad, the type you can buy at Wal Mart.
I never have it on anything higher than the LOW setting.
The pad is placed on a thick towel on the table, another towel over the heating pad then the Rubbermaid on top of that towel.
He has another towel in the rubbermaid and I place the rubbermaid so only one third of it is on the heating pad.
In the morning I turn on his lamp, which is just a regular 75watt bulb in a clamp on fixture. The bulb is only about one foot above the tortoise.
This is fine for the early morning, but with the heating pad and heat lamp it would get too hot to spend the whole day in there. The heat is all directed at one end, the other end of the Rubber maid is much cooler, no heat at all.You want a heat gradient of around 88-90 under the heat lamp, but you must have a cooler side of around 75-80 degrees. Night time temps around 75-79 for baby sulcatas, they need a cooling down period, but not too cool.

You may not need the heat pad ( under tank heater).
If you're using a basking lamp that should be enough. Maybe you could use the heat pad under a third of the enclosure at night.

So as you can see I'm not experienced with indoor set ups!

Niki, EJ, Marissa or other regulars who do house their torts indoors ( at least part of the year) can help you more.

As far as going out, I've put all my baby tortoises outdoors at a couple of months of age.
However they only go out for a few hours. Depending on the location of their pen , when the sun starts hitting it, time of the year.

Hoku goes out at around 11.30 - 12 am when the sun reaches his enclosure. He stays out till 5 pm when the other torts have already plodded off to their shed and the temperature starts dropping.

His enclosure gets sun the whole time he's out, but obviously the sun shifts and there is also plenty of shade.

You can put a baby tortoise outside when it's a few months old. But make sure that the enclosure is safe from predators ( dogs, cats, rats, racoons, birds of prey etc).
I build the babies enclosures up close to the house where I can peep out and keep an eye on them, luckily there are no predators here.

Make sure the enclosure recieves sun, but also provide shade.
In a very shady area it could be too cool,in full sun too hot. So make sure there is both and that the enclosure is large enough for the little tortoise to roam around and find sunny or shady areas.Make the enclosure in a grassy area to encourage grazing.

Don't put him out too early in the day before it's warmed up. Or leave him out too late , I bring Hoku in about an hour before sun set.

As long as the weather is nice, warm and sunny it's fine to have him out during the day.
I wait till they reach about 8" before leaving them out day and night.
My 8" sulcatas roam the large yard with the adult sulcatas and they all head back to their shed around 5pm. A nice dry shelter is very important if the tortoise is housed outdoors.

I'm not really sure about the weather in your part of the world, but at least during the summer he should be able to go out during the day.
Make sure there are no gaps in or under the enclosure walls he could escape under/through or over!

I build my enclosures using fencing boards.
For the baby sulcata we used just 8 boards.
3 five foot boards for each side, making it 15' long. 2 6' boards for the ends, so he has a 15'-6' enclosure and it only cost around $70.We only made the walls one board high as thare's no way he could climb over at his small size. And there are no predators that could jump in and get him. We use thick wooden stakes along the sides and nail the boards to them for added support.

Believe it or not this enclosure will only be good for a couple of years, then he'll need something bigger, with higher walls and sronger!

As usual I'm rambling, check out Turtle Cafe for enclosure ideas, indoors and out.
Hope this helps a bit.
Terry.

Turtle Cafe

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Comments:
: Joanna. : I'm the wrong person to ask about indoor housing, basking lamps etc as all my torts are housed outdoors. : My one baby sulcata ( around 80 grams now) goes outdoors for about 5 hours a day, so there's no need for me to provide UV lighting for him indoors. : If your sulcata is indoors he will need UV lighting ( a must for indoor tortoises) and a basking light. : I'm not sure that he needs a heating pad as well, it would depend on the size of the indoor enclosure as there must be enough room for him to retreat to a cooler area if he chooses. : Hoku, my baby sulcata spends the night indoors, he comes in at around 5pm. : He spends the night in a Rubbermaid container. : I use a heat pad, the type you can buy at Wal Mart. : I never have it on anything higher than the LOW setting. : The pad is placed on a thick towel on the table, another towel over the heating pad then the Rubbermaid on top of that towel. : He has another towel in the rubbermaid and I place the rubbermaid so only one third of it is on the heating pad. : In the morning I turn on his lamp, which is just a regular 75watt bulb in a clamp on fixture. The bulb is only about one foot above the tortoise. : This is fine for the early morning, but with the heating pad and heat lamp it would get too hot to spend the whole day in there. The heat is all directed at one end, the other end of the Rubber maid is much cooler, no heat at all.You want a heat gradient of around 88-90 under the heat lamp, but you must have a cooler side of around 75-80 degrees. Night time temps around 75-79 for baby sulcatas, they need a cooling down period, but not too cool. : You may not need the heat pad ( under tank heater). : If you're using a basking lamp that should be enough. Maybe you could use the heat pad under a third of the enclosure at night. : So as you can see I'm not experienced with indoor set ups! : Niki, EJ, Marissa or other regulars who do house their torts indoors ( at least part of the year) can help you more. : As far as going out, I've put all my baby tortoises outdoors at a couple of months of age. : However they only go out for a few hours. Depending on the location of their pen , when the sun starts hitting it, time of the year. : Hoku goes out at around 11.30 - 12 am when the sun reaches his enclosure. He stays out till 5 pm when the other torts have already plodded off to their shed and the temperature starts dropping. : His enclosure gets sun the whole time he's out, but obviously the sun shifts and there is also plenty of shade. : You can put a baby tortoise outside when it's a few months old. But make sure that the enclosure is safe from predators ( dogs, cats, rats, racoons, birds of prey etc). : I build the babies enclosures up close to the house where I can peep out and keep an eye on them, luckily there are no predators here. : Make sure the enclosure recieves sun, but also provide shade. : In a very shady area it could be too cool,in full sun too hot. So make sure there is both and that the enclosure is large enough for the little tortoise to roam around and find sunny or shady areas.Make the enclosure in a grassy area to encourage grazing. : Don't put him out too early in the day before it's warmed up. Or leave him out too late , I bring Hoku in about an hour before sun set. : As long as the weather is nice, warm and sunny it's fine to have him out during the day. : I wait till they reach about 8" before leaving them out day and night. : My 8" sulcatas roam the large yard with the adult sulcatas and they all head back to their shed around 5pm. A nice dry shelter is very important if the tortoise is housed outdoors. : I'm not really sure about the weather in your part of the world, but at least during the summer he should be able to go out during the day. : Make sure there are no gaps in or under the enclosure walls he could escape under/through or over! : I build my enclosures using fencing boards. : For the baby sulcata we used just 8 boards. : 3 five foot boards for each side, making it 15' long. 2 6' boards for the ends, so he has a 15'-6' enclosure and it only cost around $70.We only made the walls one board high as thare's no way he could climb over at his small size. And there are no predators that could jump in and get him. We use thick wooden stakes along the sides and nail the boards to them for added support. : Believe it or not this enclosure will only be good for a couple of years, then he'll need something bigger, with higher walls and sronger! : As usual I'm rambling, check out Turtle Cafe for enclosure ideas, indoors and out. : Hope this helps a bit. : Terry.

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