Re: Marissa, Niki, Terry, Annie...these are the people (help her out gang)

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Posted by Terry on August 11, 2001 at 22:19:49:

In Reply to: Marissa, Niki, Terry, Annie...these are the people (help her out gang) posted by Georgia on August 11, 2001 at 20:45:11:

Hi Linda.
Sulcatas tend to dig if they're not happy in their enclosures.If there isn't enough room, shelter, graze etc.....
These are active creatures that need a lot of room.
My two and a half inch sulcata has a 12'-6' enclosure!His enclosure is made from fencing boards. Bottom boards sunk in the ground to prevent dig outs. The boards nailed to wooden stakes every couple of feet.

My other sulcatas 8" and up have the entire back yard to roam in, and a 6'-8' shed to sleep in at night.

I would give Maggie a much bigger enclosure,3'-6' isn't nearly big enough for a 10" sulcata.
20'-30' sounds much better, the more room though the better for these torts.
Make sure that the area offers plenty of grazing , grasses etc and that there is a shelter.
A shed or dog kennel in a dry, shady area for the tortoise to sleep in and retreat to during bad weather.

My sulcatas never dig, but they do have a large area to spend the day roaming in, and plenty of shade and their shed for shelter.

We are in the process of buying a new house in Phoenix and the first thing we'll do is landscape it to suit the torts.
It has an unfenced pool, so we'll be having a very low, attractive rock wall built around much of the lawn area all the way up to the house. This will allow us to sit and watch the sulcatas from the patio and pool area and also keep the torts safe from the pool.
A bit expensive to have the wall built, but it will be an attractive addition to the yard and keep the sulcatas safe in their own area.
The wall will be just high enough that they can't climb over.

At the moment the house we live in has a chain link fence and the torts never try to dig under, it is reinforced along the bottom though, just incase.
However one of our sulcatas did escape under the fence a couple of times a few years back. But not since we reinforced it with a tight wire along the bottom.And metal stakes through the chain link and pounded into the ground every two feet!

In some areas we have even put bamboo fencing from Home Depot along the bottom of the chain link fence, to prevent the sulcatas from seeing through. That also works well, we cut the bamboo fencing into long strips, about 3' high - 15' long
and attatched it to the bottom half of the chain link fence. This prevents the tortoises from seeing through the fence and wanting to dig under it.

We also portioned off a big section of the yard with another gated chain link fence.About a 30'40' area.
When the dogs are out we put the sulcatas in this area, which also has their shed in it, and close the gate to keep them safe from the dogs.
When the dogs are in the house we open the gate and let the sulcatas out to roam the entire back yard.

None of our tortoises have ever tried to dig out of their enclosures. Aim for the biggest enclosure you can possibly afford.And make sure it offers plenty of graze and a shelter and is interesting with safe landscaping etc....

A plain square or rectangular enclosure is very boring for a tortoise, so try to break up the views with large rocks, safe plants such as hibiscus etc.. If you're going for wood walls, sink them into the ground at least 6" to prevent dig outs.
Make sure the walls are also high enough that the dogs can't jump in.
Here's some web sites with enclosure ideas:

http://www.turtlecafe.net/habitats.htm

http://turtlestuff.com/enclosures.html

Just keep in mind that sulcatas need loads of room. So build the biggest enclosure you possibly can.If you build a small enclosure you'll have to keep adding to it as the tort gets bigger and bigger!

Hope this helps.
Terry.

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: Hi Linda. : Sulcatas tend to dig if they're not happy in their enclosures.If there isn't enough room, shelter, graze etc..... : These are active creatures that need a lot of room. : My two and a half inch sulcata has a 12'-6' enclosure!His enclosure is made from fencing boards. Bottom boards sunk in the ground to prevent dig outs. The boards nailed to wooden stakes every couple of feet. : My other sulcatas 8" and up have the entire back yard to roam in, and a 6'-8' shed to sleep in at night. : I would give Maggie a much bigger enclosure,3'-6' isn't nearly big enough for a 10" sulcata. : 20'-30' sounds much better, the more room though the better for these torts. : Make sure that the area offers plenty of grazing , grasses etc and that there is a shelter. : A shed or dog kennel in a dry, shady area for the tortoise to sleep in and retreat to during bad weather. : My sulcatas never dig, but they do have a large area to spend the day roaming in, and plenty of shade and their shed for shelter. : We are in the process of buying a new house in Phoenix and the first thing we'll do is landscape it to suit the torts. : It has an unfenced pool, so we'll be having a very low, attractive rock wall built around much of the lawn area all the way up to the house. This will allow us to sit and watch the sulcatas from the patio and pool area and also keep the torts safe from the pool. : A bit expensive to have the wall built, but it will be an attractive addition to the yard and keep the sulcatas safe in their own area. : The wall will be just high enough that they can't climb over. : At the moment the house we live in has a chain link fence and the torts never try to dig under, it is reinforced along the bottom though, just incase. : However one of our sulcatas did escape under the fence a couple of times a few years back. But not since we reinforced it with a tight wire along the bottom.And metal stakes through the chain link and pounded into the ground every two feet! : In some areas we have even put bamboo fencing from Home Depot along the bottom of the chain link fence, to prevent the sulcatas from seeing through. That also works well, we cut the bamboo fencing into long strips, about 3' high - 15' long : and attatched it to the bottom half of the chain link fence. This prevents the tortoises from seeing through the fence and wanting to dig under it. : We also portioned off a big section of the yard with another gated chain link fence.About a 30'40' area. : When the dogs are out we put the sulcatas in this area, which also has their shed in it, and close the gate to keep them safe from the dogs. : When the dogs are in the house we open the gate and let the sulcatas out to roam the entire back yard. : None of our tortoises have ever tried to dig out of their enclosures. Aim for the biggest enclosure you can possibly afford.And make sure it offers plenty of graze and a shelter and is interesting with safe landscaping etc.... : A plain square or rectangular enclosure is very boring for a tortoise, so try to break up the views with large rocks, safe plants such as hibiscus etc.. If you're going for wood walls, sink them into the ground at least 6" to prevent dig outs. : Make sure the walls are also high enough that the dogs can't jump in. : Here's some web sites with enclosure ideas: : http://www.turtlecafe.net/habitats.htm : http://turtlestuff.com/enclosures.html : Just keep in mind that sulcatas need loads of room. So build the biggest enclosure you possibly can.If you build a small enclosure you'll have to keep adding to it as the tort gets bigger and bigger! : Hope this helps. : Terry.

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