Laurie86
New Member
- Joined
- Apr 17, 2016
- Messages
- 19
Oh and please reply about the transporting idea
New member looking for info on what kind of tort to get
- Thread starter Laurie86
- Start date
Welcome to TFO
Linhdan Nguyen
Well-Known Member
I dont know how the red light is for dogs, i know there are red night heat bulbs for reptiles and some say their tortoises are okay with the red color, others say their tortoises need complete darkness to sleep, so im not sure. And heres a thread with a picture of a LARGE sulcata transportation
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/media/tortoise-ramp.7774/
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/media/tortoise-ramp.7774/
Tortoises have excellent colour vision.
Tortoises live red foods
Tortoises are unreliable at using the intelligence they have and try to eat things that are red without thinking about whether it's edible (I have first hand experience)
Therefore red lights... which colour enclosure decor red... cannot be recommended.
Torts do need complete darkness at night too. Use a Ceramic Heat Emitter (CHE) if you need extra heat at night
Tortoises live red foods
Tortoises are unreliable at using the intelligence they have and try to eat things that are red without thinking about whether it's edible (I have first hand experience)
Therefore red lights... which colour enclosure decor red... cannot be recommended.
Torts do need complete darkness at night too. Use a Ceramic Heat Emitter (CHE) if you need extra heat at night
That should be
Tortoises lOve red foods :redface:
Tortoises lOve red foods :redface:
My friends wife told me this when I asked how she takes their 3 sulcatas to the vet. "I back my mini-van to the back gate and use a modified engine crane lift. We went to a junkyard and lucked out on one for $150. Jeff attached a thick mess harness he found online and attached the corners and mid points with chain link clips."
She is around 100 lbs and she does it by herself more often than not. They range from 85 to 120 lbs.
Hope that helps.
Hi Laurie! Welcome, your tortoise is a cutie, enjoy!!
Laurie86
New Member
- Joined
- Apr 17, 2016
- Messages
- 19
Thank you guys! Very helpful 
I got him a good heater, no red light and this may sound silly but there are tortoise diapers for when they're inside only of course!
Today's the day! I'm so excited
I got him a good heater, no red light and this may sound silly but there are tortoise diapers for when they're inside only of course! Today's the day! I'm so excited
Red lights are not good for tortoises as Joe'sMum explained. Also, any over head type incandescent bulb or heating element is likely to slow burn the top of the carapace on a large tortoise and still not keep them warm enough.
Indoors in a dedicated room can work well with some modifications to the room. You will need to line the floor and walls with plywood to protect them. Even a small sulcata will rub right though drywall in short order. You'll need to seal the edges to hold in the moisture and protect the floors and walls from it. you basically need to turn the room into a giant water sealed basin.
Hay will not work well as a substrate. It will quickly turn to dust and wreck your whole house. I'd use fine grade orchid bark. You can buy it in bulk at a garden center. Hardware store like Home Depot, usually don't have this. If you keep it damp, it will be good for the tortoise and keep it dust free. Feed him on a large tray of some sort to keep the food off the substrate.
Next you'll need to heat this room. 75-80 would be good as an ambient 24/7. Mount the heat up off the floor where the tortoise can't reach it. On a shelf maybe?
Then you'll need to provide some way for the tortoise to warm up on colder winter days. A bank of heat lamps can do this, but you have to be careful to measure temps at the top of the tortoises carapace and never let it get too hot. They need to be able to warm their core temp up into the 90s every day for their digestive and other systems to function properly. When outdoors, they move in and out of the warm sun to accomplish this. Indoors this is tricky to do for large tortoises.
As you can see, there are a lot of problems to solve before having a large tortoise live inside the house.
You didn't say exactly where you are but if its 85 at night, you must be in South Florida. Maybe New Orleans? In any case, in a climate like that, it will be far easier, and probably safer and better for the tortoise if you just made a simple night box, heated it properly, and let the tortoise live outside full time.
Here are three examples of ways to this effective and safely:
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/another-night-box-thread.88966/
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/double-door-night-box.129054/
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/my-best-night-box-design-yet.66867/
We all want to help, so I just want to be clear about this next point. We are all unanimously telling you that it is not safe for a tortoise to roam the house. We've seen many tortoises die, get injured, impacted or sick this way. Just tell me that you have read these warnings and you are choosing to ignore them, and I will not mention it again. I just want to make sure you have read that part.
Indoors in a dedicated room can work well with some modifications to the room. You will need to line the floor and walls with plywood to protect them. Even a small sulcata will rub right though drywall in short order. You'll need to seal the edges to hold in the moisture and protect the floors and walls from it. you basically need to turn the room into a giant water sealed basin.
Hay will not work well as a substrate. It will quickly turn to dust and wreck your whole house. I'd use fine grade orchid bark. You can buy it in bulk at a garden center. Hardware store like Home Depot, usually don't have this. If you keep it damp, it will be good for the tortoise and keep it dust free. Feed him on a large tray of some sort to keep the food off the substrate.
Next you'll need to heat this room. 75-80 would be good as an ambient 24/7. Mount the heat up off the floor where the tortoise can't reach it. On a shelf maybe?
Then you'll need to provide some way for the tortoise to warm up on colder winter days. A bank of heat lamps can do this, but you have to be careful to measure temps at the top of the tortoises carapace and never let it get too hot. They need to be able to warm their core temp up into the 90s every day for their digestive and other systems to function properly. When outdoors, they move in and out of the warm sun to accomplish this. Indoors this is tricky to do for large tortoises.
As you can see, there are a lot of problems to solve before having a large tortoise live inside the house.
You didn't say exactly where you are but if its 85 at night, you must be in South Florida. Maybe New Orleans? In any case, in a climate like that, it will be far easier, and probably safer and better for the tortoise if you just made a simple night box, heated it properly, and let the tortoise live outside full time.
Here are three examples of ways to this effective and safely:
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/another-night-box-thread.88966/
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/double-door-night-box.129054/
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/my-best-night-box-design-yet.66867/
We all want to help, so I just want to be clear about this next point. We are all unanimously telling you that it is not safe for a tortoise to roam the house. We've seen many tortoises die, get injured, impacted or sick this way. Just tell me that you have read these warnings and you are choosing to ignore them, and I will not mention it again. I just want to make sure you have read that part.
Peeing varies according to water intake. And when a sulcata pees, it's pretty crazy. It's a large amount of water all at once, along with a thick white substance called uric salts. It happens without warning and is a crazy mess if it happens inside. When they drink or eat high-water content foods, they almost always pee immediately.
My sulcata eats grass at will. She poops every day in larger amounts than my 30 lb dog.
My sulcata eats grass at will. She poops every day in larger amounts than my 30 lb dog.
Btw, she is a 25 lb tortoise.
Laurie86
New Member
- Joined
- Apr 17, 2016
- Messages
- 19
Hey guys! Just wanted to update since I just found this thread again.
I've had bobble a year now and everything is going great! He stays outside all day when it's nice and comes in at night. Once he gets too big to carry alone I'll build his house outdoors. He's inside all winter since I'm in north Carolina, it gets too cold. He has his own cubby house with his heaters and lamps. He wanders around as he wants and is very happy!
I learned his poop schedule and we rarely have accidents.
We absolutely love having him and he is thriving ❤
I've had bobble a year now and everything is going great! He stays outside all day when it's nice and comes in at night. Once he gets too big to carry alone I'll build his house outdoors. He's inside all winter since I'm in north Carolina, it gets too cold. He has his own cubby house with his heaters and lamps. He wanders around as he wants and is very happy!
I learned his poop schedule and we rarely have accidents.
We absolutely love having him and he is thriving ❤
