Am I taking good care of my sulcatas?

Jaid10

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I would say yes. But to get her to eat it, I would chop it over the food, and over time, start adding more hay.

The new enclosure looks great! I’m not entirely sure how you would put a lid in it, though. Perhaps you could make something like a tent over it? Make a frame and drape tarps,heavy duty shower curtains, or something similar over it?
You could also just put in a heated night box, and make it humid inside. That way, you can lock her inside to sleep, and she can benefit from the humidity.
Everything looks great!
How can I make a heated night box?
 

Big Charlie

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Anyone have any ideas on how to make a top for the 10 by 10 cage?
Is it going to be kept outside or inside? This is for the 6 year old, right? If you are putting it outdoors, you don't need a top, although you'll need to make sure your tortoise has some shade. A heated night box would be good for the tort at night and let him roam inside the enclosure during the day.
 

Jaid10

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Is it going to be kept outside or inside? This is for the 6 year old, right? If you are putting it outdoors, you don't need a top, although you'll need to make sure your tortoise has some shade. A heated night box would be good for the tort at night and let him roam inside the enclosure during the day.
I’m just worried about predators. We have hawks, cats, raccoons, and other animals. Are they anything to worry about?
 

Big Charlie

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I’m just worried about predators. We have hawks, cats, raccoons, and other animals. Are they anything to worry about?
It depends on the size of your tortoise. Once they get big enough that they can't be carried away by a bird, they are usually safe without a top. Cats don't bother my tortoise. Dogs are usually the worst threats to tortoises. Most other threats are nocturnal, so if you can lock him away in a heated night box, that will protect him. You could cover with chicken wire if he is still too small. You don't want anything with really small holes because you want the sun to shine through. You'll want to be sure there isn't any animal waste that he could eat.
 

Jaid10

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It depends on the size of your tortoise. Once they get big enough that they can't be carried away by a bird, they are usually safe without a top. Cats don't bother my tortoise. Dogs are usually the worst threats to tortoises. Most other threats are nocturnal, so if you can lock him away in a heated night box, that will protect him. You could cover with chicken wire if he is still too small. You don't want anything with really small holes because you want the sun to shine through. You'll want to be sure there isn't any animal waste that he could eat.
I’ll look up some night boxes for her. One of my biggest concerns is hawks, I see them all the time. She is around 10 inches long.
 

Jaid10

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Is there any cheap things you guys can recommend to add to her outdoor enclosure? I was thinking I could somehow use an old doghouse to turn into a heated hide.
 

Big Charlie

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Is there any cheap things you guys can recommend to add to her outdoor enclosure? I was thinking I could somehow use an old doghouse to turn into a heated hide.
Doghouses don't usually work well. They are too tall and the doors are too narrow, plus they aren't insulated. You just need a simple box shape with insulation and a wide door.
 

TriciaStringer

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Is there any cheap things you guys can recommend to add to her outdoor enclosure? I was thinking I could somehow use an old doghouse to turn into a heated hide.
I found some scrap culverts to use for shade. After the pic was taken, I dug out space underneath them to sink a little. I’m adding dirt to the top and inside for a cool spot to get away from the midday sun.
 

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vladimir

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I found some scrap culverts to use for shade. After the pic was taken, I dug out space underneath them to sink a little. I’m adding dirt to the top and inside for a cool spot to get away from the midday sun.
Wow, nice idea! Do you have more pics of your outdoor enclosure posted anywhere @TriciaStringer ? I don't want to derail this thread but I'd love to see more [emoji846]
 

TriciaStringer

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D01F2438-6E0B-45F7-AE48-3D398A6757CF.jpeg
Wow, nice idea! Do you have more pics of your outdoor enclosure posted anywhere @TriciaStringer ? I don't want to derail this thread but I'd love to see more [emoji846]
It is still a work in progress and the two yards are not an ideal size for sulcatas. We are fixing up our house to sell it so we can get more land for them. This will have to do for now. I have two crepe myrtles on either side of the yards to provide shade at different times of the day. One is huge and established, the other was just planted. I’ve been watering it with poopy tortoise soak water hoping to give it a nice jumpstart. Today we are continuing to build a double door night box with a dividing wall for our two sulcatas to share. Once it is put in place, we will finish up the dividing fence wall to keep them separate. Sweetheart is 13 yo and Tibby is 19 months. They’ve never seen each other. I’ve ordered hibiscus seeds to get those started. I’d also like to try and grow cactus but we are pretty rainy in Louisiana. I am putting up walls around parts of each culvert so they can’t climb over them and possibly fall. The walls will be filled with dirt and hold the dirt on top of them. I’ll grow the hibiscus bushes in the walled in spots to protect them. We are also getting a load of dirt for a few projects to make our yard more appealing to sell, so I’ll use that dirt to make a hill in the enclosures for our two to climb over. I also have some seeds for a tortoise weed mix. I’ll plant it on top of the hills. Then I’ll start some low planter containers with some seeds so I can drag them into the enclosures and swap them out to give them time to recover and grow again and keep doing that. I am still looking for more shady options, banana trees are on the list. I also have some hosta seeds in my amazon cart. Then I need to add water pools. It isn’t a great enclosure but I hope it makes them happy until we can buy more landD51F31AA-2383-465E-92A7-E7E1E129699F.jpeg
 

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