Apartment Balcony Enclosure

[eframcas]

I have a Sulcata that's about 6 years old. Unfortunately, I've always lived in am apartment and her space at most has been a 40 Gallon long tank. I know, not ideal. Finally I am living in a place with at least a balcony where she can spend some time outside and get more out of the natural elements. I was inspired by an enclosure that I saw on here and built something that fits perfectly in my balcony for the tortoise to be outside. I'll link in some pictures (. I have a few questions as well as some information to provide.

Location: Miami, FL
Balcony: Facing south, gets a lot of sun
Tortoise Name: Sammy
Tortoise Age: 6 years old give or take
Diet: Mainly hay with some treats here and there

My goal is to move the tortoise outside full time. Living in Miami allows great weather for her to be outside with the few days a year it gets below 60.

My questions:

1. Best substrate to use that I might be able to plant some grasses in as well.
2. Suggestions for a source of heat during lower temperatures. (Currently using a ceramic heater inside)
3. How to best acclimate the tortoise outside.
4. Suggestions for drainage of water when it inevitably rains. I don't want mold or water to be stuck in the substrate.

 

[JoesMum]

A south facing balcony in a hot location is a recipe for cooking your tortoise. It MUST have the opportunity to retreat into deep shade and not only have the option of being in the sun.

A sulcata grows BIG. Very big. And your tortoise will grow very rapidly into a 100lb plus bulldozer. A balcony isn’t a suitable location for its home at all.

Grass does not grow well in artificial enclosures unfortunately.

Diet should be more than hay. There should be ample supplies of weedy and leafy greens. They can be picky and eat only what they like best. For the sake of Sammy’s health you must widen his diet.

I recommend you read the TFO care guides and compare them with your setup.

They're written by species experts working hard to correct the outdated information widely available on the internet and from pet stores and, sadly, from some breeders and vets too.

Beginner Mistakes
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/beginner-mistakes.45180/

How to raise a healthy Sulcata
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/how-to-raise-a-healthy-sulcata-or-leopard-version-2-0.79895/

For those that have a young Sulcata (contains a list of suitable foods)
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/for-those-who-have-a-young-sulcata.76744/

 

[Maro2Bear]

Agree with everything thst @JoesMum said. Are you certain your Sully is 6 years old? At six years, it should be close to 100 lbs and be the size of a boulder.

Substrate - orchid bark or cypress mulch work well.

Make sure you are soaking your Sully daily, and that it has a nice hide to retreat in to during the hottest parts of the day, and sleep at night.

As noted above, careful of direct sunshine. That enclosure is very small and your tort needs some places out of the sun to hide.

Good luck

 

[eframcas]

A south facing balcony in a hot location is a recipe for cooking your tortoise. It MUST have the opportunity to retreat into deep shade and not only have the option of being in the sun.

A sulcata grows BIG. Very big. And your tortoise will grow very rapidly into a 100lb plus bulldozer. A balcony isn’t a suitable location for its home at all.

Grass does not grow well in artificial enclosures unfortunately.

Diet should be more than hay. There should be ample supplies of weedy and leafy greens. They can be picky and eat only what they like best. For the sake of Sammy’s health you must widen his diet.

I recommend you read the TFO care guides and compare them with your setup.

They're written by species experts working hard to correct the outdated information widely available on the internet and from pet stores and, sadly, from some breeders and vets too.

Beginner Mistakes
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/beginner-mistakes.45180/

How to raise a healthy Sulcata
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/how-to-raise-a-healthy-sulcata-or-leopard-version-2-0.79895/

For those that have a young Sulcata (contains a list of suitable foods)
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/for-those-who-have-a-young-sulcata.76744/

She will most definitely have a place to hide and retreat for cooler temps.

The diet is hay because I took her to a herp vet some time ago and she asked me about the diet, I told her I was giving her mixed greens and she told me to simplify it to hay with some variety here and there. But to make it hay mainly. She had her own Sulcata for 17 years at the time. But I'll definitely look into widening the diet, thank you for that.

I've actually grown grass in planters before, that I kept outside, but not in the same place where the tort lived. I bought a bag of seeds from a website that sold seeds specifically for torts and it did very well in terms of growing. But like I said, I didn't keep the tort in there, it was just to have her forage. She loved it. The question is more about a subtrate that would be good to do both if anyone has any experience with it.

I know an apartment in general is not the best location, but I'm trying to make the best of it in the balcony for her to get the benefit of natural elements. I truly don't think a 40 G tank with artificial lighting has been doing her any justice.

Thank you for all the information and links. I will definitely read up on it. If you have any additional knowledge or information, it will be greatly appreciated!

 

[eframcas]

Agree with everything thst @JoesMum said. Are you certain your Sully is 6 years old? At six years, it should be close to 100 lbs and be the size of a boulder.

Substrate - orchid bark or cypress mulch work well.

Make sure you are soaking your Sully daily, and that it has a nice hide to retreat in to during the hottest parts of the day, and sleep at night.

As noted above, careful of direct sunshine. That enclosure is very small and your tort needs some places out of the sun to hide.

Good luck

I will most definitely make sure she has a place to get out of the sun. I'll be having thermometers on the enclosure to make sure certain areas are as needed. I feel like she is very small too, but it could have something to do with the diet, as @JoesMum mentioned it was very restricting. I've had her for 6 years.

Hopefully in the near future I can have a home with more space for me to build for her.