given a huge 18 yr old Sulcata

[pascualthetortoise]

About a year ago, my family was given a Sulcata from a man who kept hundreds of tortoises. He owed us some money but he gave us Pascual instead. We had never owned a tortoise before, but he said the older Sulcatas were the hardiest. He gave us Pascual, a 17 year old, 90 lb tortoise; an insulated igloo house; and a heating pad.

The heating pad didn't seem to work right off the bat. Price was a contraint, so my parents put in a space heater (not meant for tortoises) that is temp-controlled. We live on the central coast of California, so it can dip below freezing at night. The man who gave us the tortoise said it should be ok to use.

Pascual happily sleeps in his burrow and roams our acre during the summer. During the winter, however, I am CONSTANTLY worried about him! He never comes out during the day anymore and I'm worried the space heater is bad for him--it keeps the igloo warm, but does the hot air cause any damage to his skin or shell? And is it warm enough? I'm guessing it's about 60 degrees. Since he doesn't come out of his house, he doesn't eat or drink. Is this normal?

Does anyone have any advice? I'd love to hear your stories about housing for your big outdoor Sulcatas. I've posted a picture of Pascual and his home.

 

[Yvonne G]

I think you need to build him a shed, insulate it and then you can have a pig blanket plus either a 250watt brooder light hanging from the ceiling, or one of the D'Vilblis oil-filled electric radiators to heat the shed.

 

[ascott]

Are you able to get an oil filled radiated heater vs the forced air type you currently are using?

I wish I had a heated pig blanket to send you..I understand how it is when money is funny....you may be able to find a used radiated heater at a second hand store?

And that is absolutely a gorgeous tort ....the prior owner must have offered the basics needed, nicely done....

 

[Yvonne G]

Also, give Bob Thomas a call and make an appointment to go see his turtle ranch - 805/481-5222 It's a wonderful place for turtles and tortoises, and you'll get lots of ideas on caring for your tortoise from him.

 

[pascualthetortoise]

Thank you all for the advice! I've never heard of a pig blanket, but I'll look into it and I'll check out the other types of radiators available out there.

I think the heating element shouldn't be too much trouble. I am more worried about his behavior. He doesn't really eat or drink or move. Are Sulcatas just naturally more lethargic during the colder months? I was also considering getting a greenhouse and putting his house in there. I'm hoping he'd be more encouraged to leave his house to graze.

 

[T33's Torts]

How come no one gives ME giant sullies!?
Hahaha jkjk

 

[wellington]

Tortoises do have to be able to warm up over at least 85 degrees to properly digest their food. Is he able to warm up to that or above during the day? If not, I would try to get a UVB light so he can bask under it and warm up.

 

[Yvonne G]

I think once you get him warmed up properly he'll come out and eat. My 100lb tortoise comes out every day, rain, frost, sleet or sun. When he gets cold he goes back in.

 

[pascualthetortoise]

I think once you get him warmed up properly he'll come out and eat. My 100lb tortoise comes out every day, rain, frost, sleet or sun. When he gets cold he goes back in.

That is exactly what I needed to know! Thank you so much!

 

[mike taylor]

My sulcatas house is on a thermostat set to 85 degrees . I have a oil filled heater I got from WalMart for 35$ or so . I feed him and give him water inside his house . He will eat and drink then go out for an hour or so then right back in his house . Tom has a thread on building a good heated tortoise house . This spring I will be building one just like it for my little guy . Here is the house He is in now . You see him poking his head out . He is thinking well my pop just gave me some mazuri and spring mix do I really need to go out in the cold to eat some grass . Because I know he's not thinking . Man I'm full I need to find a place to poop . Because i have to clean his house everyday.

 

[pascualthetortoise]

What a cutie! After reading this I think I'm going to build him a new home and get one of these oil filled heaters. I'm not sure who "Tom" is but I saw a great post with a step by step guide on building a shed. The shed was green... Maybe it's the post you are referring to? I'm hoping everything isn't more than a couple hundred dollars. Here's another pic of my guy, just for fun!

 

[lynnedit]

I don't own a Sulcata, but Pascual is very lucky to have found you.

Look for 'culled' wood at Home Depot and other lumbar yards, at least for some of it. I was in our local lumbar yard recently and they had just dismantled a shed so had various pieces that they gave me for free. Keep your eye out!
The pig blankets are very sturdy heat mats, newer ones come with a built in thermostat. They should only cover about 1/3 of the floor, so your Tortoise can move on and off to self regulate temps. And should be large enough for most of him to fit on it.

The light from above can be a brooder light fixture from a feed store, with a heat bulb as Yvonne mentions. When you have lighting from above, it should be at least 12" or more above his shell to avoid burns (other Sulcata owners can advise more about height).
Good luck, he is very handsome and looks great!

 

[mike taylor]

Yep thats the one i was talking about. Tom is the sulcata expert on this forum . If he tells you something its because he has been there did that don't want you to make the same mistake.

 

[pascualthetortoise]

Thank you! I'll try to document my progress... It's so much fun sharing and it's so great to have people to talk to about this! You don't meet people with giant tortoises every day.

 

[Tom]

You don't meet people with giant tortoises every day.

Hey. I do.


Welcome to the forum and congratulations on your new big boy. There are lots of opinions on how to do this. My argument stems from people offering conditions that they can survive, vs. optimal conditions. There are two seasons in Africa, according to my friend from Senegal, "Hot. And Hotter." Based on the temperature of MY underground enclosures during our summers which are very close to African temps, I'm willing to estimate that the temp a few feet below the surface in a sulcata burrow in Africa is about 80.

Sulcatas can survive temps in the 30's. I said they can SURVIVE those temps. I've seen it. Still, I don't think those temps are "good" for them. I used to keep my sulcatas in a rubber made shed with pig blankets and an overhead CHE. They stayed "warm enough" and they survived that way for years, but I still can't say it was "good" for them. I eventually started building proper heated and insulated boxes for them and their health, vitality, appetite and activity level in winter improved dramatically.

Here is the thread that the other members above were talking about:

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

 

[pascualthetortoise]

Hello, Tom! One question I have about the insulated wooden sheds: do you open the doors every morning and close them every night? The benefit of having flaps is that he can come out whenever he wants. We usually have food waiting for him outside and then he roams around until it gets too cold. We all work during the day so we aren't around to let him out in the warmer parts of the day.

Our current plastic shed is insulated too. It has two layers of plastic and then 5 or 6 inches of thick pink insulation in-between. Not sure if I mentioned that. The guy who gave it to us said something about it being used for fishing. I'm guessing it was a cooler. Last night I raised the temp of the heater and added a bowl of water in the far corner to add some humidity. It improved the conditions a lot. I am planning on getting a different heater for sure, but would you still recommend I build a new shed? Thank you so much for the advice!

 

[Yvonne G]

I have vinyl strip doors over all my tortoise doorways, but at night I still either close a wooden door over the strips, or block a doorway with a piece of plywood held in place by a cinder block. Yes, the strip door holds out heat/cold, but at night when the temps dip way down, quite a bit of coolness filters through the strips.

 

[pascualthetortoise]

Re: RE: given a huge 18 yr old Sulcata

I have vinyl strip doors over all my tortoise doorways, but at night I still either close a wooden door over the strips, or block a doorway with a piece of plywood held in place by a cinder block. Yes, the strip door holds out heat/cold, but at night when the temps dip way down, quite a bit of coolness filters through the strips.

Yes, that's definitely the downside! It was another thing I was thinking of improving. Right now I'm putting a board across the bottom of the flaps at night to minimize the draft. I wanted something Pascual could knock down whenever he wanted to come out. Whenever I see that the board has been knocked over, I know he's emerged and out wandering the yard somewhere lol.

 

[Tom]

Hello, Tom! One question I have about the insulated wooden sheds: do you open the doors every morning and close them every night? The benefit of having flaps is that he can come out whenever he wants. We usually have food waiting for him outside and then he roams around until it gets too cold. We all work during the day so we aren't around to let him out in the warmer parts of the day.

Our current plastic shed is insulated too. It has two layers of plastic and then 5 or 6 inches of thick pink insulation in-between. Not sure if I mentioned that. The guy who gave it to us said something about it being used for fishing. I'm guessing it was a cooler. Last night I raised the temp of the heater and added a bowl of water in the far corner to add some humidity. It improved the conditions a lot. I am planning on getting a different heater for sure, but would you still recommend I build a new shed? Thank you so much for the advice!

Yes. I pop the doors open every morning, even when its cold, and close them up every night. The flaps help keep the warm air in on a cold day.

I would not add humidity until you are SURE that your temps will be staying above 80 degrees 24/7. Better to leave him dry if you are not sure of this, AND a big old one like yours does not need the humidity anyway. High humidity is more for young ones that still have a lot of growing to do. Its not so important for older big ones, although it doesn't hurt anything either, AS LONG AS its not cold. 60 would be too cold with humidity.

 

[pascualthetortoise]

Ok, took the water out! It is definitely warmer in his house, so hopefully he will come out soon.