Getting my Sulcata ready for winter in Florida

[Robina59]

Hi I'm the owner of a young Sulcata named Fred. FRed has gotten to big for his tank so we have made him an enlosure. I have a large yard and we made sure we fenced in a nice section for him. We them dug the beginning of a burrow for him. Over the summer Fred has made himself quite the burrow. I purchased an extra large Igloo Dod house from a thrift store. I have placed it over his burrow and he is well protected from the elements. We packed lots of straw, leaves, ect all,around the base of it so it's nice and secure. It's been getting chilly here in central FL and it's only November. We have a nice heat lamp that we have install through the top of the igloo and his burrow in pretty deep and high enough from the top where he wouldn't be too close. There is a vent in the top of the Igloo that allows fresh air to circulate. I'm mot sure what to do for a door on this but it seems to be working so far. Do you feel I have this safe enough for his first winter outside or do you suggest otherwise. I just want the best for Fred!

 

[cmacusa3]

I would build him a nice heated night box, the elements aren't safe and neither is staying out in the cold burrow. How old and big is Fred?

 

[cmacusa3]

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

Look at this thread and checkout the heated night box part

http://www.tortoiseforum.org/thread-66867.html

 

[Robina59]

Fred is 4 years old and is about a little bigger than a dinner plate. He's been outside all summer now and seems to be doing well. Will he hybernate? I'm going to check out the link you sent me about a night box.

 

[Robina59]

Also will he go into one of these and leave his burrow? He only comes out now to eat and sun himself. He down pretty deep in the ground. That seems to be his happy place. If there is a heat lamp in his dome of the house wouldn't the heat radiate into him burrow?

 

[cmacusa3]

No he will not hibernate, he is not a hibernating species.

This is what I would do, cover that burrow with plywood and keep him out of it during the colder months and get him a nice warm night box built.

 

[Robina59]

Ok thanks for all your help! I'll do that I just want him to be comfy and safe!

 

[Tom]

Your system will not work and is likely to result in Fred's death when things get cold. These are a tropical species and they need it warm year round. It is far too cold and damp underground in Florida in winter and a heat lamp at the surface won't do much. Plus it needs to be dark at night. Hay and straw does nothing to keep an ectotherm warm. Dogloos are great for dogs, but they are not designed for tortoise and don't work well for them.

You need to make a heated night box for Fred, catch him above ground, and close off his burrow and make him start sleeping in his warm box until next spring when things warm back up again. Here is my burrow:
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/sulcata-burrows.50846/
Every fall, when the weather cools, I block off this portion of their enclosure and make them use their night box. I then cover the opening to the burrow with plywood and I bury the edges and you some block around the edges. After about two consistent weeks of them using their night box, I will open up the lower portion of their enclosure and allow them access to this area. They will walk around and look for the burrow entrance and when they don't find it, they retire to their heated box in the evening.

Here is an example of a night box that works well in our North American climate:
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/another-night-box-thread.88966/
Notice the insulation, caulking, and heating equipment. Its taken many years of trial and error to figure out what works best and what doesn't work. I hop I can help you skip that time frame and skip all the errors that I made in the past.

Please ask list of questions if any of this is not clear. Our goal is to help you keep your tortoise healthy through winter and beyond. I don't mind explaining any of this further.

 

[fanofthedog]

@Robina59 my guy lived in a Dogloo for his first 8 years. He had a pig blanket (a heated mat - not too hot) and a low watt night bulb. You can use a cat mat or placemat for the door. I live in SoCal. I do wish I had a better house (I now have an actual heated house for him at night) mainly because in the dog loo you are constantly wondering if the temp is correct and when the evenings are really windy it just feels like the draft is too much. One GREAT thing about having a nice warm house for them (besides the quality of life for them being a million times better) is that they go in to their houses nightly - my guy does like clockwork. It helps me to know he is safe. If he isn't in his house by a certain time I go check to make sure he's on his way

 

[Robina59]

Fred goes in his igloo and down into his burrow by 4:30pm every day and srays there till the sun comes out in the morning. I've decided to purchase a dog house I found that has a lifting top. I'm going to run a heat mat in it and I have some nice heat lamps I had bought for my chicken coop when I had chickens in Va before moving here to Florida I'm going to set them up inside and insulate it good for the cold months. I'll put some bedding in there and some straw. I'm going to make a weighted flap of some type for the door and I think we will be good. In the meantime he's coming into the house at night so he's warm until his heat box is completed. He likes being inside he hangs out with my two dogs and cats and they get along fantastic. He out grew his tank so he pretty much gets free run inside when it's cold. Thank god all my floors are tile!

 

[Robina59]

Your system will not work and is likely to result in Fred's death when things get cold. These are a tropical species and they need it warm year round. It is far too cold and damp underground in Florida in winter and a heat lamp at the surface won't do much. Plus it needs to be dark at night. Hay and straw does nothing to keep an ectotherm warm. Dogloos are great for dogs, but they are not designed for tortoise and don't work well for them.

You need to make a heated night box for Fred, catch him above ground, and close off his burrow and make him start sleeping in his warm box until next spring when things warm back up again. Here is my burrow:
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/sulcata-burrows.50846/
Every fall, when the weather cools, I block off this portion of their enclosure and make them use their night box. I then cover the opening to the burrow with plywood and I bury the edges and you some block around the edges. After about two consistent weeks of them using their night box, I will open up the lower portion of their enclosure and allow them access to this area. They will walk around and look for the burrow entrance and when they don't find it, they retire to their heated box in the evening.

Here is an example of a night box that works well in our North American climate:
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/another-night-box-thread.88966/
Notice the insulation, caulking, and heating equipment. Its taken many years of trial and error to figure out what works best and what doesn't work. I hop I can help you skip that time frame and skip all the errors that I made in the past.

Please ask list of questions if any of this is not clear. Our goal is to help you keep your tortoise healthy through winter and beyond. I don't mind explaining any of this further.

Fred goes in his igloo and down into his burrow by 4:30pm every day and srays there till the sun comes out in the morning. I've decided to purchase a dog house I found that has a lifting top. I'm going to run a heat mat in it and I have some nice heat lamps I had bought for my chicken coop when I had chickens in Va before moving here to Florida I'm going to set them up inside and insulate it good for the cold months. I'll put some bedding in there and some straw. I'm going to make a weighted flap of some type for the door and I think we will be good. In the meantime he's coming into the house at night so he's warm until his heat box is completed. He likes being inside he hangs out with my two dogs and cats and they get along fantastic. He out grew his tank so he pretty much gets free run inside when it's cold. Thank god all my floors are tile!

Thanks for the info Tom. I saw the link and have started on a heat box for him. Thanks for your help!

 

[Tom]

Fred goes in his igloo and down into his burrow by 4:30pm every day and srays there till the sun comes out in the morning. I've decided to purchase a dog house I found that has a lifting top. I'm going to run a heat mat in it and I have some nice heat lamps I had bought for my chicken coop when I had chickens in Va before moving here to Florida I'm going to set them up inside and insulate it good for the cold months. I'll put some bedding in there and some straw. I'm going to make a weighted flap of some type for the door and I think we will be good. In the meantime he's coming into the house at night so he's warm until his heat box is completed. He likes being inside he hangs out with my two dogs and cats and they get along fantastic. He out grew his tank so he pretty much gets free run inside when it's cold. Thank god all my floors are tile!

Dog houses are too tall inside and the doors are too tall and too large. They are also drafty and not insulated. They just don't work well.

Heat lamps will slow burn the top of your tortoises carapace. The larger they are, the worse this effect is. They concentrate too much heat in too small of an area and on cold nights they will not warm the air in the box enough. Your tortoises carapace will be cooking on top, while the rest of him remains too cold.

Bedding only works for animals that generate their own heat. Mammals snuggle into straw and it acts like a blanket to insulate them and slow heat loss. It does nothing for reptiles.

I know the task of building a box seems daunting. I was once where you are and I tried to figure out many practical solutions that would work with my lack of tools and carpentry skills. None of them worked. Over the space of a couple of decades, trial and many errors have taught me what works and what doesn't. My goal in sharing this info is to help you learn what I already know at a much faster pace than what it took me.

 

[Robina59]

The house I got it very well made. The top opens up for easy cleaning and all of the side and where it's connected are all sealed and have metal time down them it's water and draft tight. I plan on insulating it both inside and out and I have purchased a pet heat mat and a small oil filled heater that we are boxing in the inside for heat. It' a large rectangular shape with a flat ceiling so the height isn't that high like a peaked roof house. We are also insulating the bottom and inside the top and making sure that all of the insulation is covered so he's not exposed to it.

 

[Robina59]

I'm a single woman with no help to build one from scratch but I'm sure that he will be comfortable and ward as it gets colder. For now I'm keeping him out on my lanai during the day while its war,
M and bringing him inside at night. If all goes well I should have a well insulated and warm home for him soon.

 

[jdarends]

Warm house on a cool night