Sulcata Tortoise indoor pin floor

Loribwp

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My Sulcata is 16 yo, around 60 lbs. We are in Ohio & his indoor pin is within our shed. The current pin has a combination of OSB, plywood, insulation, & floor has dirt on top. There's also a separate protected box inside with sheet metal sides where we have the heater. This year he has started to dig out his floor, going thru the layers. Need to change his flooring and looking for ideas. Thinking of putting down a horse stall mat so the moisture from his urine and spilled water doesnt soften the wood. How have others built their Sulcata floor & kept them warm?
 
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Yvonne G

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I started with the bare dirt and put down a layer of masonry caps, making a solid concrete floor. Then I put the horse stall mats over the concrete.
 

Markw84

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I too use horse stall mats for my large tortoises. For my galapagos, I have the horse stall mats covering the entire floor, and then a 4" layer of fir bark over that for better humidity in the night house.
 

Loribwp

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Sound like a stall mat could work for sure. Thanks for your input. We have his pen built inside of our shed. So there's the shed floor, then some 2x4's. We had insulation in between those, then wood, then dirt. He dug thru. Wonder if I need insulation at all if I put new wood, then stall mat, then dirt on top.
 

Tom

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Sound like a stall mat could work for sure. Thanks for your input. We have his pen built inside of our shed. So there's the shed floor, then some 2x4's. We had insulation in between those, then wood, then dirt. He dug thru. Wonder if I need insulation at all if I put new wood, then stall mat, then dirt on top.
In Ohio? You need as much insulation as you can get.
 

Markw84

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In Ohio? You need as much insulation as you can get.
totally agree with Tom. You need as much insulation as you can provide. Tortoises live on the ground. Where you live the ground temperatures are too cold and in the winter deadly. That will draw most of the enclosure heat and for the tortoise, be the main thing controlling tortoise temperature. Insulating the floor is one of the first and best things you should do for an outdoor night box/house/barn.
 

Tim Carlisle

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I'm in Ohio as well. My floor has 4" of R13 insulation all the way around including the floor. I use a single oil-filled heater connected to a thermostat. I was able to maintain a constant ambient temp of 78-80F even when the temps dipped below zero.
 

Loribwp

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totally agree with Tom. You need as much insulation as you can provide. Tortoises live on the ground. Where you live the ground temperatures are too cold and in the winter deadly. That will draw most of the enclosure heat and for the tortoise, be the main thing controlling tortoise temperature. Insulating the floor is one of the first and best things you should do for an outdoor night box/house/barn.
Thank you. Will replace the torn insulation & wood, and put stall mat down, then some dirt.
 

Robivens

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I'm in Ohio as well. My floor has 4" of R13 insulation all the way around including the floor. I use a single oil-filled heater connected to a thermostat. I was able to maintain a constant ambient temp of 78-80F even when the temps dipped below zero.
I so appreciate seeing that there are other Ohio Sulcata owners. Herc is still small enough to love the majority of the time in the house. Good to see that there are people I can reach out to for advice in the future.
 

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wellington

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If you are putting OSB wood down on the floor don't. I used that in the tort shed at my old place. I even painted it to help with moister etc. It did nothing but start peeling layer by layer. I don't even have any diggers. Regular plywood is much better.
 

Maggie3fan

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My Sulcata is 16 yo, around 60 lbs. We are in Ohio & his indoor pin is within our shed. The current pin has a combination of OSB, plywood, insulation, & floor has dirt on top. There's also a separate protected box inside with sheet metal sides where we have the heater. This year he has started to dig out his floor, going thru the layers. Need to change his flooring and looking for ideas. Thinking of putting down a horse stall mat so the moisture from his urine and spilled water doesnt soften the wood. How have others built their Sulcata floor & kept them warm?
I am not an expert by any means...I have a 20'x12' heated and insulated tortoise shed
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there's a plywood floor, then that is covered with the fuzzy pink insulation another plywood floor and that's it. The shed stays at 85 degrees even when it's freezing outside. There's a sleeping box in the shed with a Kane heat mat on a rheostat, every tort has a hide, uvb, and a che...
100_0782.JPG
the shed floor is 78 degrees give or take a few...
100_0677.JPG
 

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