Any recommendations for my tortoise enclosure?

[oliviachilton]

Hi! I have a 2-3 month old sulcata tortoise and I recently found out his enclosure right now is WAY too small for him and I feel extremely bad. I found this bookshelf that my mom doesn’t really want anymore and I thought I could diy it into a tortoise enclosure. It is about 6ft x 3ft (not 100% sure how accurate that is.) Is that a good size for right now? I know I will still need to upgrade his enclosure a lot more when he grows older, but is it good for right now? Also, people were saying the lid i have right now is too “fine,” but I’m not too sure what that means. Any suggestions when making a lid for this enclosure. Also, another question, what kind and how many plants should I put in there? I want to make it as natural as possible

 

[DJ Kirk]

Many people on here know more about sulcatas than I do but I would think you need much larger than 6x3 - that's not even big enough for a adult redfoot let alone a sulcata. But for now it's probably OK until it grows. Most people put sulcatas outside with a night box.

 

[Golden Greek Tortoise 567]

Many people on here know more about sulcatas than I do but I would think you need much larger than 6x3 - that's not even big enough for a adult redfoot let alone a sulcata. But for now it's probably OK until it grows. Most people put sulcatas outside with a night box.

Notice this is a 2 month old sulcata. 6x3 will be fine for the young stage, but you’ll need to convert that to a closed chamber. Read this care sheet...

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

 

[Tom]

Hi! I have a 2-3 month old sulcata tortoise and I recently found out his enclosure right now is WAY too small for him and I feel extremely bad. I found this bookshelf that my mom doesn’t really want anymore and I thought I could diy it into a tortoise enclosure. It is about 6ft x 3ft (not 100% sure how accurate that is.) Is that a good size for right now? I know I will still need to upgrade his enclosure a lot more when he grows older, but is it good for right now? Also, people were saying the lid i have right now is too “fine,” but I’m not too sure what that means. Any suggestions when making a lid for this enclosure. Also, another question, what kind and how many plants should I put in there? I want to make it as natural as possible

Please give this a read. All the info your need including the housing info is in 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...

tortoiseforum.org

 

[oliviachilton]

Notice this is a 2 month old sulcata. 6x3 will be fine for the young stage, but you’ll need to convert that to a closed chamber. Read this care sheet...

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

Thank you so much! I will definitely read it! Also, when you say closed chamber, what exactly do you mean? Sorry I’m not too sure of all of these words since this is my first tortoise ever and I don’t want to think it means one thing then get it totally wrong

 

[oliviachilton]

Please give this a read. All the info your need including the housing info is in 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...

tortoiseforum.org

Thank you so much!

 

[Golden Greek Tortoise 567]

Thank you so much! I will definitely read it! Also, when you say closed chamber, what exactly do you mean? Sorry I’m not too sure of all of these words since this is my first tortoise ever and I don’t want to think it means one thing then get it totally wrong

A closed chamber is used to keep humidity in, the top is usually covered. Tortoises need high humidity 85%+ to prevent pyramiding, the higher the better. Try to achieve 100% if possible, that care sheet will explain closed chambers. If you don’t use a bookshelf I would recommend a grow tent, they are large and work very well.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07WK3Q372/?tag=exoticpetnetw-20

 

[oliviachilton]

A closed chamber is used to keep humidity in, the top is usually covered. Tortoises need high humidity 85%+ to prevent pyramiding, the higher the better. Try to achieve 100% if possible, that care sheet will explain closed chambers. If you don’t use a bookshelf I would recommend a grow tent, they are large and work very well.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07WK3Q372/?tag=exoticpetnetw-20

Thank you so much! I will check out a grow tent!

 

[Srmcclure]

Grow tents work great! Just a few tweaks and your good to go! Her are both of mine just so you have an idea. Too is my leopards, bottom is my redfoots. These are 6ft x 3ft

 

[oliviachilton]

Grow tents work great! Just a few tweaks and your good to go! Her are both of mine just so you have an idea. Too is my leopards, bottom is my redfoots. These are 6ft x 3ft

View attachment 305562
View attachment 305564
View attachment 305565

Thank you so much for the picture! It helps a lot! Would you happen to know of a grow tent that is large enough for a sulcata until it’s about one year old? if not that’s totally okay! Thank you for the suggestion!

 

[Srmcclure]

Thank you so much for the picture! It helps a lot! Would you happen to know of a grow tent that is large enough for a sulcata until it’s about one year old? if not that’s totally okay! Thank you for the suggestion!

Yea, there are all kinds of options. The 6x3 should work for the first year though id think.

Take a peak at this. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01DXYMKIO/?tag=exoticpetnetw-20

Grow tents are much cheaper and larger than other temporary options, but you do have to tweak them a bit to work for our purposes because of the humidity we need. My leopards would be a good template for you to think about though since the environment is the same. If you decide to go that route there are a few of us on here that use these and we can help you get the right stuff to set it up ? and help walk you through it.

 

[oliviachilton]

Yea, there are all kinds of options. The 6x3 should work for the first year though id think.

Take a peak at this. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01DXYMKIO/?tag=exoticpetnetw-20

Grow tents are much cheaper and larger than other temporary options, but you do have to tweak them a bit to work for our purposes because of the humidity we need. My leopards would be a good template for you to think about though since the environment is the same. If you decide to go that route there are a few of us on here that use these and we can help you get the right stuff to set it up ? and help walk you through it.

Thank you ? I will definitely consider this when thinking about which enclosure I will choose!

 

[Srmcclure]

Thank you ? I will definitely consider this when thinking about which enclosure I will choose!

There are tons of options to think about so you've got this ??