Baby sulcata outside shade

[KODY CORDUAN]

Alright, so I would like to build an area for Bilbo to hang out outside some throughout the day (I was looking at Toms pictures) and am having trouble figuring out how to make sure he has an adequate cool area. It's been closer to 100 outside and I can't imagine a shaded area would provide a cool enough escape. I lost a really wonderful iguana to the heat out here and need to be certain that my sulcata can get away from it when necessary. My only thought is digging out a (hobbit) hole that he can walk into and providing a drip system to the area to ensure it stays damp?

 

[Tom]

Alright, so I would like to build an area for Bilbo to hang out outside some throughout the day (I was looking at Toms pictures) and am having trouble figuring out how to make sure he has an adequate cool area. It's been closer to 100 outside and I can't imagine a shaded area would provide a cool enough escape. I lost a really wonderful iguana to the heat out here and need to be certain that my sulcata can get away from it when necessary. My only thought is digging out a (hobbit) hole that he can walk into and providing a drip system to the area to ensure it stays damp?

Baby sulcatas tend to avoid any sort of hole in the ground. I speculate that this instinct saves them from being eaten by whatever dug the hole in the wild in Africa. So we have to provide heavily planted areas with heavy shade from high over head. Shade cloth, sprinklers and misters can all help too, but these are tactics for older ones that are staying outside all day. Mine usually won't start using any sort of underground shelter until they are around 6-8" in length.

For babies, I prefer to avoid the outside temperature extremes. I simply don't put them outside when its higher than about 95 degrees. Sun/exercise them earlier in the morning when the temps are in the 80 and low 90s. They only need to be out for an hour or two a few times a week until they gain some size. The enclosure should be at least half in the shade of a building or tree, and use an area that gets more shady vs. more sunny as the day wears on.

I will sometime also soak my babies outside in partial sun. On a hot day with temps near 100, I find the evaporative cooling of an open topped tub keeps the water temp just right. I put the soaking tubs in dappled shade and monitor the temperature very carefully. This way I get them soaked and sunned all at the same time!

Whatever you do, check the temperature where the tortoise is with an infrared temp gun and a digital thermometer. You can also check the carapace temp. You should check early and often. Babies cannot tolerate extremes and many people have killed their babies from overheating in a matter of minutes. Use caution.

L.A. is a huge place with a lot of different climates. From long beach to the top of the grape vine and all the way east to the IE. There are a lot of different climates in that enormous area. Can we have a little more of a hint about where you are? Different advice for Compton vs. Covina.

 

[KODY CORDUAN]

Oh I see, that makes a lot of sense thank you. I do use my infrared temp gun all the time for sure, so I will try those suggestions! I live in the San Fernando valley.

 

[Tom]

I live in the San Fernando valley.

Oh yeah. You are just south of me. I live up in SCV. Yeah, it gets hot up here.

 

[KODY CORDUAN]

Oh yeah it does! What do you do in the winter months as far as time outside and uv exposure for your sulcatas?

 

[Tom]

Oh yeah it does! What do you do in the winter months as far as time outside and uv exposure for your sulcatas?

I've tried all sorts of different things over many years. For raising babies, here is what I find to be the best:

I start babies in a large glass tank with a covered top, and once they start growing, I move them into a large closed chamber. If you just bite the bullet and build a 4x8' closed chamber, you won't have to build anything else until the tortoise is ready to live outside in a year or two. The indoor enclosure has UV and meets all of their environmental needs. They can live in there full time if need be. On fair weather days (which is almost every day here in our area…) I put little babies out for an hour of sunshine and then I soak them on the way back in. As they gain size, so does their outside enclosure. Also as they gain size, I leave them outside longer during nice weather. My general rule is an hour of outside time per inch of tortoise. By the time they reach 5-6", I leave them out all day in nice weather, but still bring them in at night. In summer, those 5-6 inch tortoises should be fine to stay outside all day in our 100 degree weather as long as they have heavy shade, lots of bushes, and I run sprinklers on mine for one or two minutes every hour or two when temps are near 100. All the evaporation and dampness is good for their shells and it keeps things much cooler too. In winter we usually have those 75-80 degree warm spells and they can still get out for sunshine mid day, but no big deal if not. They can go weeks with no UV in winter as long as they get plenty of it the rest of the time.

Once they reach 8-10" (Usually at 12-18 months of age in a well started baby, or as long as 3-4 years in a dry started baby.) I move them outside full time with a heated night box like one of these:
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/another-night-box-thread.88966/
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/my-best-night-box-design-yet.66867/

Hopefully the night box will go into the same area that you've been using for outside time all along, and it will be an easy transition.

 

[KODY CORDUAN]

Ok great, those nightboxes look easy enough to build, that's nice! When you said bite the bullet and build a 4x8, were you talking about for outside?

 

[Tom]

Ok great, those nightboxes look easy enough to build, that's nice! When you said bite the bullet and build a 4x8, were you talking about for outside?

No. Indoors. That is the size you'll need to get your baby large enough to live outside full time.

 

[KODY CORDUAN]

Ah ok, that'll take some rearranging! So as long as I'm keeping him wet he should be close to a foot in a year and a half?

 

[Tom]

Ah ok, that'll take some rearranging! So as long as I'm keeping him wet he should be close to a foot in a year and a half?

Depends on his start. If you got one of my babies, or one from Lance or Austin, then yes, 12 inches in 18-24 months is a reasonable expectation with good food and the correct conditions. If you got a dry started one, or keep it outside a lot, or use an open topped enclosure, it will grow much slower even on the same food.

 

[KODY CORDUAN]

Ok well I wish I'd known you guys before getting one, but I've got him in a very humid environment now and working on getting him on grass and weeds!

 

[Tom]

Ok well I wish I'd known you guys before getting one, but I've got him in a very humid environment now and working on getting him on grass and weeds!

I never worry about growth rate. I don't care if its fast or slow. What I care about is good health. If your tortoise is getting good foods, good hydration and the right conditions, then don't worry at all about the growth rate. Even when they are all started "perfectly" they still all grow at different rates.

 

[KODY CORDUAN]

I was just surprised that it was that fast! I'm in no hurry, he's plenty of fun crawling around on the couch.. won't have much of that when he gets bigger! Oh speaking of ( though I'm straying from the original topic), do sulcatas stress feom handling.. he seems to either like it or not even notice. Any thoughts?

 

[Tom]

Its your thread. You can jump around all you like!

Sulcatas are very hardy, outgoing and adaptable. Probably number one in each category, which is just one reason why they are the most popular tortoise on the planet now. Very little stresses them out, with the exception of another sulcata that doesn't want them around.

If your baby is eating well, basking and exploring normally, then I think the level of handling you are doing is fine. If the baby loses appetite, or starts to hide a lot, then it may be too much handling and you should ease up a bit. Most of them tolerate handling just fine and get used to it quickly.

 

[KODY CORDUAN]

Ok awesome, I'll be aware of those signs then and give him some space if he starts pouting!!