Constructing a new home for my 10yr old Sulcata

[Lisa Hayes]

George is a rescue Sulcata, who is approx 10yrs old and currently 22 inches long. George currently has a insulated shed attached to a double greenhouse. We live on the south coast in Hampshire, UK.

Due to some garden remodelling and after some reading I have done on the Internet, I want to build George a new house. I want something that he can use all year round. I read on another site about a guy who has kept Sulcata's for over 20 years. He recommends not using sheds/enclosures with wooden floors. He suggests building them straight on the dirt.

When I first got George, he fitted on to an A4 sheet of paper. We built him an enclosure with 9" concrete blocks. However as he grew we moved him to another part of the garden. My plan is to now build him a purpose build house, that will be a permanent structure for him. He will still have full access to our 85' garden for grazing.

The enclosure is approx 17' by 12'. There is a high brick wall one side and 9" concrete block walls on the other walls. The concrete blocks are laid flat, so that the wall is 9" deep. The block wall at the back of the enclosure is about 31" high.

I want to construct a house accross the end of the enclosure, so it will be approx 12' in length and I am thinking about building it out approx 6' or 7'. how does that sound for size? It will eventually house both of my Sulcata's?
My plan is to insulate the brick/block walls and then cover the insulation with timber boards.

My questions are:
- how high should I build it?
- should I build a separate sleep box compartment in it?
- should I put any windows in it?
- what should I use on the roof? i was thinking about timber sheeting on part of it and polycarbonate sheeting on part of it to create some natural daylight
- substrate for the floor? Dirt? Wood bark? I use something called Readigrass in George's current shed?

 

[THEELEG]

I got on YouTube and was looking at different enclosures,

I don't know how big your yard is but this guy has some good vids

 

[Happydomes]

Hi Lisa,

I'm in the UK and am just putting the finishing touches to my outdoors sulcata house.

Things I considered when building mine were the cost of heating, getting enough natural UV light during the long months of winter, and space for them to move about when the weather is too cold for going outside. I also wanted it to be somewhere we would be able to go and visit them.

To keep the costs of heating down I have put in electric underfloor heating to supplement the ceramic bulbs and daytime heat bulbs. This was then screeded over and tiled. I plan to lay a thick layer of substrate over the top when they move in. I'm also installing a thermal heat mass next to their insulated hide, to keep the heat up over night, and the costs down over winter.

The shape of their enclosure is domed, again to keep the costs of heating down. It's all insulated from ground to top with thick insulation boards, with more insulation around the separate hide. The Windows are a bit of a thermal bridge, but I'd rather they got daylight. Pretty much all of the Windows are south facing, with the thermal heat mass getting a blasting in the afternoon and evening. Temperatures inside the dome are about 10° warmer than external temprature s without any heating on, even in winter.

The size of the enclosure is about 16' in diameter, and being a dome it has a circular base. The height is about 10'. I couldn't make it any bigger unfortunately or else I would have considered adding an extra half dozen feet to the diameter. Again I wanted it to be a pleasant space for us to visit them, hence the height, otherwise a lower structure would keep costs down again.

It has taken me about 3 months to build it from scratch, and has cost arm and a leg, but hopefully they should be happy when they move in in a week or so.

Good luck with your build

 

[Happydomes]

This was it about a week or so ago. When I have a little more time I'll post up some more photos of the build. It may be of use as we have simular issues with sulcata ownership in the UK

.

 

[Tom]

1. If you build straight on the dirt there are two problems. The ground is too cold where you are, and what will stoop him from digging a 30 meter burrow? I think you need a floor of one sort or another.

2. Even a big 150 pound male sulcata is only 16-17" tall. The taller you make your heated shelter, the more "dead air" you will be paying to heat. I make mine only 20" inside for this reason. Some people like to make their sheds tall enough to walk into, but then you are heating a lot of air that your tortoise does not need and can't use.

3. I would make a separate sleeping box in it.

4. I would add windows for light and for ventilation on warm summer days.

5. I make my floors out of plywood.

6. Your two sulcatas should not ever live together as a pair. This doesn't work for sulcatas. Groups of adults can sometimes work if they are all female or if there is only one male, but in the latter case you will turn the females into egg making machines and you will have a new full time job of raising 100s of babies all year long.

 

[Careym13]

This was it about a week or so ago. When I have a little more time I'll post up some more photos of the build. It may be of use as we have simular issues with sulcata ownership in the UK

.

WOW! What a cool structure!