40 Gallon Enclosure Idea?

[chedduhbob92]

Hey ya’ll, new here. I’m about to purchase a baby Sulcata and am starting him/her off in a 40gal. I had the idea to possibly take another 40gal tank and remove one side on each, butt them up to each other and seal them together. Not right away of course but at some point. Any first timer tips are also appreciated but I at least have been researching constantly for the past week, I also used to have a Ball Python so I’m not totally unfamiliar to reptiles in general.

Thank you.

 

[Maro2Bear]

Greetings. Take a read through this care info. Most all the info you will ever need (on Sullys) is here.!

The Best Way To Raise A Sulcata, Leopard, Or Star Tortoise

I chose the title of this care sheet very carefully. Are there other ways to raise babies? Yes. Yes there are, but those ways are not as good. What follows is the BEST way, according to 30 years of research and experimentation with hundreds of babies of many species. Babies hatch during the...

www.tortoiseforum.org

 

[Srmcclure]

Look up Tom's thread about raising sulcatas and leopard tortoises. That will be the absolute best care guide you could find for your baby. I would also not go with a tank, as they can be really expensive... Also look up the thread for easy closed chambers or cheap closed chambersAnd that will get you started off right reading those 2 threads ?

 

[chedduhbob92]

Thank you both for the advice. I’ve definitely changed my approach on an enclosure a bit. I’m a worrier so my Sulcata should do fine being treated like royalty so I know he’s healthy lol.

 

[Srmcclure]

Thank you both for the advice. I’ve definitely changed my approach on an enclosure a bit. I’m a worrier so my Sulcata should do fine being treated like royalty so I know he’s healthy lol.

I totally get that. I'm a worrier too. 100% do a closed chamber though ? follow that care sheet and your future shelled kiddo will be setup like a little king or queen

 

[Toddrickfl1]

It would probably be easier to just use a 75 gallon tank instead of two 40 gallons and convert it into a closed chamber. Your Sulcata will outgrow it pretty quickly though.

 

[Tom]

Hey ya’ll, new here. I’m about to purchase a baby Sulcata and am starting him/her off in a 40gal. I had the idea to possibly take another 40gal tank and remove one side on each, butt them up to each other and seal them together. Not right away of course but at some point. Any first timer tips are also appreciated but I at least have been researching constantly for the past week, I also used to have a Ball Python so I’m not totally unfamiliar to reptiles in general.

Thank you.

WAIT!!!!

The first and most important thing to do is: BUY FROM THE RIGHT SOURCE! I only know of four breeders that start babies correctly and in a way that will keep them healthy, growing correctly, and thriving. Everyone else in the entire country is doing it the old, wrong, dry way. Most of the care advice you find while doing "research" is also going to be wrong. We did it wrong for 30+ years, and most of the tortoise community has not kept up with the new and better info.

Read the care sheet that Mark linked for you, and feel free to ask lots of questions.

A well started baby is going to be at least 50-60 grams by the time you buy it, and that is already right on the verge of too big for a 40 gallon. If you were hatching them yourself and wanted to use a 40 gallon for some 35 gram hatchlings, you might get away with that for a month or two before they outgrow it. If you are going to get a sulcata, you have to think big! Everything for them is big. You also need to think ahead and figure out how you are going to house a giant tropical reptile in your climate when there is snow on the ground and cold temps for months at a time. It ain't easy. Or cheap. Sulcatas are the wrong species for most people. If you don't live somewhere along the southern border of the USA, or in a tropical country, they are exceedingly difficult to care for as adults.