Hello

[Kmitch]

Hello ?. We have a sulcata named Franklin. I believe he is 16 years old...I am not sure though. The lady that we took him in from said he was 7 when we got him. He weighs I would say about 40 lbs. We took him in from an elderly lady. And have just kind of learned as we have had him. I feel like we are doing a decent job with him. He had pyramidal when we got him and it does not seem to have gotten any worse over the years, but is there any way to correct it? Also, we live in Michigan. So I was hoping for suggestions with how I should house him during the colder months. He currently lives indoors and spends his days outside when it is nice. But I know soon it will get difficult to keep him inside. So im hoping for ideas for what to do during the winter.

 

[Kmitch]

Also, I'm not sure if you can see in the pictures but he had been chewed on by a dog before we got him. So he has a little bit of messed up shell in the front and his left front leg is messed up. I guess I thought as he grew it would get better. But it stayed looking the same he is just bigger now.

 

[ArmadilloPup]

Welcome! ? Franklin is handsome, and your bunny is cute too!

There's no way to fix the pyramids that are already there, but proper care prevents it from getting worse.

If you haven't seen it yet, here is the dedicated sulcata section on the forum for you to browse through while you're waiting for other owners to respond

 

[Kmitch]

Thanks I will definitely check that out! Bunny is Bianca and she and Franklin are friends .

 

[Walnut's_pet]

Welcome!

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi, and welcome!

Your tortoise needs a dedicated enclosure, both indoors and out (when the weather is good). At his age he should be quite a bit bigger than he is and I feel he's not due to the fact he isn't living in ideal conditions.

When indoors for the winter, a larger sulcata needs a lot of roaming room. The walking helps with digestion. Most people housing large sulcatas during inclement weather opt for some sort of barn, or a dedicated room in the house, or maybe an area set up for him in the basement. In this 'room' he'll need a UVB light where he can sit and warm up, but mounted high enough so as to not burn his shell. He'll need a waterer he can fit his whole body into, and a hiding place. I use a pig blanket on the floor of the hiding place.

Sulcatas have evolved to live in hot climates, day and night, so living in your house on the floor isn't warm enough for him. Try to figure out a larger space that you can give over totally to the tortoise and make it warm enough for him day and night.

It doesn't snow here where I live, and our winters get down to freezing at night, but not as cold as your winters, but here's how I house my 100+lb sulcata in the winter:

Dudley's Rebuild

I have a guy that comes to take care of spiders, roaches, ants, etc. and he has sulcatas of his own, so he understands about not poisoning my animals. He called my attention to what he referred to as "salt and pepper" around Dudley's night house. He said it was termite 'leavings.' Since...

tortoiseforum.org

 

[Kmitch]

Hi, and welcome!

Your tortoise needs a dedicated enclosure, both indoors and out (when the weather is good). At his age he should be quite a bit bigger than he is and I feel he's not due to the fact he isn't living in ideal conditions.

When indoors for the winter, a larger sulcata needs a lot of roaming room. The walking helps with digestion. Most people housing large sulcatas during inclement weather opt for some sort of barn, or a dedicated room in the house, or maybe an area set up for him in the basement. In this 'room' he'll need a UVB light where he can sit and warm up, but mounted high enough so as to not burn his shell. He'll need a waterer he can fit his whole body into, and a hiding place. I use a pig blanket on the floor of the hiding place.

Sulcatas have evolved to live in hot climates, day and night, so living in your house on the floor isn't warm enough for him. Try to figure out a larger space that you can give over totally to the tortoise and make it warm enough for him day and night.

It doesn't snow here where I live, and our winters get down to freezing at night, but not as cold as your winters, but here's how I house my 100+lb sulcata in the winter:

Dudley's Rebuild

I have a guy that comes to take care of spiders, roaches, ants, etc. and he has sulcatas of his own, so he understands about not poisoning my animals. He called my attention to what he referred to as "salt and pepper" around Dudley's night house. He said it was termite 'leavings.' Since...

tortoiseforum.org

Thank you for your reply. How big should Franklin be by now? He was quite small when I picked him up he was a little bigger than my hand and the lady said he was 7 when we got him. I had never had a tortoise before or know anyone that had. We felt bad for the lady so we took him in.. Franklin has full roam of our dinning room and living room. He has a pen in dinning room that we cut q hole in so he can go in and out as he please.. I use this coco bedding that comes in a brick and I have to hydrate it to uncompress it.. not sure if there is something better I should be using.. He does have a UVB light and I use a saucer for a 30 gallon pot for water. Our house is actually quite warm because we heat with wood so our temp in the house fluctuates between 80 and 85...I unfortunately do not have a basement. I did like your suggestion of a barn. I was thinking already of purchasing one of those wooden sheds to use . But I'm not sure what to heat it with. Do you think heat lamps would be sufficient. I'm just really worried about moving him out side during the winter and I want to do it right.

 

[Marshall77]

I want one so bad but I just don't have the room for a tortoise that big. I'm glad you took him in he was probably a lot of work for the other owner.